Movement of Walloon Proclamation

The Movement of Walloon Proclamation or MW is a political movement Walloon which was creates in order to promote and carry out the ideas of the 2nd Manifeste for the Walloon culture.

Origin and stake

The Movement of Walloon Proclamation was made up in A.S.B.L with Namur in April 2004 following the second Manifeste for the Walloon culture in 2003 of which it gathers the signatories and pursues the goals. It has as a finality to on standby allow the awakening of a Walloon reality of its plenary recognition. According to the formulation of the M.M.W., it is about the " recognition of the moral person and cultural of Wallonie". It is chaired by Jean Louvet, famous Dramaturge, also signatory and joint author of first Proclamation for the Walloon culture.

Bruno Demoulin and Jean-Louis Kupper, in their History of Wallonia, prehistory to the 21e century , devote the dates of 1983 and 2003 to two Proclamations for the Walloon culture.

One of the goals of the M.M.W is to remain vigilant with regard to the representation of the Wallonia in the media.

For example, the comparison of two caricatures in one of the two principal daily newspapers of the press French-speaking Belgian is revealing of a faintness certain as for the Walloon claims with their more high level. Thus the newspaper the Evening , nine away years, published drawings " humoristiques" showing the Minister-President of the Walloon region of the time as being explicitly qualified of good to intern whereas he each time announced the need for bringing up to date the application of the potential of Wallonia in order to leave his economic decline. Without the methodological rigor of the journalist Jose Fountain, this " repression in douce" passes most of the time unperceived and " fabrique" a kind of Walloon subconscious inapt for its own awakening. It is the point of view adopted by the M.M.W and that in 1983 the first Proclamation denounced already: “We let us have of it enough the ordinary antisocial behavior which makes feel guilty the Wallons and paralyzes their energies”. This work of decoding is ensured within the M.M.W by various personalities, but also by other speakers who contribute their share within the framework it M.M.W without being member about it necessarily.

Another aspect can possibly relate to the development of a legislative text. It was the case on September 15th, 2003 when the M.M.W deposited a Décret with the Walloon Parlement.

Another reason of existence, the M.M.W makes it possible any person to sign second Proclamation, it meets to analyze the political situation of the moment, organizes days of meeting (conference), reacts in the press of time to other, etc They are the people worried by the question of the recognition of Wallonia like moral person and cultural. They ensure by their character militant that this question is not extinct.

Walloon cultural crisis

The M.M.W estimates that there exists a true Walloon cultural crisis licenses years since. Press articles illustrate this point of view regularly. It is not divided by all, some (E) S estimate that it is not necessary to support the idea of a Walloon culture. According to recurring press articles, the performing arts in general, in particular the cinema and the theater, suffer from a shortage of means and a very bad recognition of their potential abroad. The French-speaking Belgian Radio-television, television and radio public financed by the taxpayers, is often the fire of criticisms sometimes virulent which gives rise to think that the R.T.B.F misses with its public missions, in particular its policy of reorganization woke up many suspicions reflected to the Walloon Parliament. In fact, this audio-visual organization is the principal vector of representation of the Immaterial patrimony of Wallonia, its deficiencies have de facto reflected in the cultural, and identity field by domino effect.

A possible example of these deficiencies is illustrated by the denigration of the potential of the dialectal expression. In this direction, the Walloon Cultural Union represents some 300 local companies, 5 provincial Federations, more than 2.500 actresses and actors, more than 200 directors, close 300.000 annual spectators. However, this one regularly emits the press releases outraged with regard to this R.T.B.F, here is an extract: “Nowhere elsewhere in Europe, a public radio would not show such a contempt towards a component of the cultural landscape in which it emits. ”

It should be known that in the middle of Europe of diversity and the tolerance, the endogenous regional language which is the Walloon is not recognized in the Réseau Mercator and thus from any official support at the European level in spite of the existence of an organization of defense of the minority Langues does not profit. The finality of this network is to provide information objective and reliable on all the languages known as regional or minority, gold, the Walloon is not taken again as such in the list of the minority European languages, it is mentioned only indirectly like belonging to the Langues of oil and for this reason, we can read on this site that “the various languages of Oil have a quasi-non-existent place in the media”. Without this recognition, it is difficult to profit from the support of the European Community. This aspect of the Walloon immaterial patrimony survives after a fashion thanks to the tough will of the Walloon ones. The M.M.W contributes to inform the Net surfers on these questions.

For example, it is within this framework of the audio-visual that Dominique Nahoé (independent journalist, regional ex-director of Wallonia Frequency and the production center of Hainaut) cosigné a report/ratio within the group Veille Media of the M.M.W. This text clarifies the vicissitudes of the reconversion of the French-speaking Belgian Radio-Télévision, baptized " Magellan" plan;. According to this report/ratio, the reorganization of the R.T.B.F consisted in dismantling a whole of important regional tools which contributed to fertilize the immaterial patrimony of Wallonia.

Call to supplement the Contract with Walloon A future of cultural size

Received Élysette by the Minister-President Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe in 2004, the M.M.W plays a headlight part for many Walloon militants. Thus the M.M.W launched a Call to supplement the Contract with A future Renewed in Wallonia of cultural size, a call cosigné by Jose Fontaine, Directeur of the review | Toudi, Jean Louvet (president of the M.M.W.) and Jean-Claude Vandermeeren (secretary of Walloon F.G.T.B). Many of other signatories joined this call. The press was made the echo of it. At the Walloon Parliament, the deputy Christophe Collignon, the son of Robert Collignon (former president of the Walloon Parliament and ex-Minister-President of the Walloon region), expressly quotes the M.M.W in his harangue with the chief of the Government on December 8th, 2004. Thus following a popular consultation, the culture became a component with whole share of the Walloon project.

Two Proclamations and the M.M.W. : a reference impossible to circumvent

This taking into account impossible to circumvent of the reference to the Walloon culture in the legislative texts of the Wallonia is a priority of the M.M.W. This is why, at the time of the in May 2006 presentation of the special decree instituting a Walloon Constitution, the deputy Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe quoted the Manifeste for the Walloon culture by twice in order to underlining the continuity of the ideas between these two texts. It is not the first time that this text is quoted like reference. In the same way, the Walloon Cultural Union affirmed at the time of its Congress of June 12th, 2004 a similar message: “noting that the first Proclamation for the Walloon culture which claimed the recognition of Wallonia as moral person will be 20 years old on September 15th; that, instead of giving to Wallonia the place which returns to him, the French Communauté Wallonia-Brussels, as it was and it is always the case within the Kingdom of Belgium, is too often used as extinguisher, exhorts the Walloons to be entrusted to the Walloon people and to the Walloon institutions of competences as regards culture, of teaching, fundamental research and public mediums. ”

Sat technical of the M.M.W.

The Movement of Proclamation for the Walloon culture is independent. They are the contributions of its members who ensure the general and administration expenses. A review, Toudi , generally ensure the publication of the writings of the M.M.W.

External bonds

Manifeste of 1983 http://www.toudi.org/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=321
Manifeste of 2003 http://forum.toudi.org/viewtopic.php?t=1329
One pordjet di libe eciclopedeye E lingaedje Walloon
extracts from '' Histoire of Wallonia, Of prehistory at the 21st century '' speaking about proclamations.
article of the newspaper '' the Evening '' which comments on the event of second Proclamation.
Two articles on the Walloon cultural crisis: in general and in particular in the audio-visual
reaction in the press following the Call of the M.M.W
Walloon Cultural Union: Report of the congress 2004 and press release in connection with the RTBF
network Mercator: list languages and quotation in connection with the languages of oil
resources: the report/ratio '' Veille Media '' on the reorganization of the RTBF and the drawings " humoristiques" quoted in the analysis of the Speech anti-Walloon of J. Fountain.
Intervention of the deputy Charles Collignon at the Walloon Parliament (page 13)

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