
{| style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="300px" |+Wallonie (French language)
Wallonien (German language)
Walonreye (Walloon language) |- | align="center" colspan=2 style="background:#efefef"| {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" |- | align="center" width="140px"| |} |- | align="center" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;"|''List of state mottos: Walon todi ! (Walloon forever!)'' |- | align="center" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:0px"| |- |Official languages || French language, German language |- |Capital || Namur (city) |- |List of Minister-Presidents of Wallonia || Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe |- |Area
- Total |
16,844 Square kilometre |- |Population
- Total (2002)
- Population density |
3,358,560 inhabitants
199.39/km2 |- |National anthem || ''Li Tchant des Walons'' |} Wallonia (French language: ''Wallonie'') or Walloon Region (French: ''Région Wallonne'') is the predominantly French language region that constitutes one of the three Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium of Belgium, with its capital at Namur (city). It encompasses the southern half of Belgium and comprises the following Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium: *Hainaut *Liege (province) *Luxembourg, province of Belgium *Namur (province) *Walloon Brabant Its major city and towns include Liege (city), Namur (city), Charleroi, Mons, Tournai, Arlon, Bastogne, Wavre, Verviers and Dinant. The French dialect Belgian French is spoken throughout the region, except in the German speaking community in Belgium, an area where German language is used instead. In 1990, Belgium also officially recognised Champenois, Lorrain, Picard language, and Walloon language as regional languages. At the time of Belgium's independence, Wallonia did not include the German language areas in the north east of the region that became part of Belgium following the Versailles treaty. Some 70,000 people live in the German-speaking community in Belgium, which is sometimes presented as the best-protected minority in Europe. Nevertheless, there is a drive in the German-speaking community towards gaining more autonomy from the Walloon region. The current president of the executive of the German-speaking community, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, wants his community to obtain regional autonomy, thus cutting it completely off from Wallonia. == Economy == The current Walloon economy is relatively diversified, although certain areas -- especially in the Borinage, Charleroi and Liège are still facing massive problems, with very high unemployment and low economy innovation. Industrial activity was, and is, concentrated in the key industrial areas of Borinage/Charleroi and Liège. Services are heavily concentrated in the urban areas. Tourism is quite well developed in the Ardennes area south of the Meuse River. During the past decades, areas as the provinces of Namur (province), Walloon Brabant and Luxembourg, province of Belgium, and the area around Tournai have seen their share of economic activity rise significantly faster than the old industrial areas. The Walloon economy was once -since the 18th century- dominated by the extensive iron and coal industries, as Wallonia was one of the first regions of continental Europe to see Industrial Revolution. Subsequent downturns in the profitability of these types of heavy industries saw Wallonia exchange its position as the major economic engine of Belgium with its northern neighbour, Flanders and with other regions in Western-Europe. == Politics == Walloon politics is similar to the politics of the French-speaking community in Belgium: the French-speaking socialist party PS is viewed as dominating both. The liberal party Reformist Movement (MR) is a close second on both, and the greens (Ecolo) and Christian Democrats, who recently renamed themselves the Centre Démocrate Humaniste (CDH) battle for a distant third place. Wallonia has no notable political party that is only active in Wallonia, and not in Brussels. General public policy is currently dominated by the PS which has members in the regional and federal government, as well as all large and nearly all mid-size city governments. Elio Di Rupo, its president is widely seen as by far the most powerful politician in French-speaking Belgium. Many Flemish nationalists portray him as the number one in Belgium. Walloon public services are quite important and accordingly funded. The employment in Walloon public services is relatively high compared to that in the rest of the E.U. Also, when during 2002 and 2003, the question of giving voting rights in municipal elections to non-citizens (thus not requiring them to acquire citizenship, as is the case for federal and regional elections), French-speaking parties were in favour, although around 1/3 of the French-speakers were against; both sides claim their arguments got only rare attention in the mainstream press. Public radio and television are considered by some to be influenced by the dominant political forces. The Board of Directors of RTBF, the public television and radio, includes many nominees from the governing parties. The Groupe d’étude et de réforme de la fonction administrative mentions the "direct intervention of the presidents of the political parties in the nomination of department managers in 2003, in spite of promises of depoliticization" (Source: GERFA, [http://www.gerfa.be/memorandum2-1.html#ChapIIA], point A.2.3, in French). This sometimes translates in censorship. Members of the dominant French-speaking parties have attempted to forbid journalists of a public TV channel from interviewing Flemish politicians. == Etymology == The name Wallonia is related to the name ''Wales'', as the old Germanic term ''Walh'' simply means "stranger". Both Wallonia and Wales are regions where a "strange" (i.e. non-Germanic languages) language and culture exist. ''Wallachia'' in Romania has a similar derivation. The term ''Walloon''' was also used in the late 18th and the 19th century to refer to French-speakers who migrated to the Netherlands, e.g. 'Walloon parishes' in Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands). == See also == * List of Minister-Presidents of Wallonia * Walloon Parliament * Walloon language == External links == *[http://www.wallonie.be/en/home.shtml Official gateway to the Walloon Region] Wallonia li:Wallonië
Some discussion might be usefull here, before just handling the axe. == Facts on politicization of press == After every change in the board of administration, one can find articles in the press with the political color of every individual administrator. The fact on Télé-Bruxelels was confirmed to me by both its then editor in chief, and by a delegate of the association of professional french-speaking belgian journalists. I guess it is not difficult at all toi have it also confirmed by other sources. :Rudy, thanks for your comment. However, I don't believe it is appropriate to write about "Tele-Bruxelles" in an article about Wallonia. You are probably aware that this TV channel has nothing to do with Wallonia. I understood that Brussels was not part of Wallonia. In addition, it is unfortunate that we can only take your experience for granted. It would be far better and would comply with Wikipedia policies (Wikipedia:Cite your sources, Wikipedia:No original research) if sources would be cited. Don't take it personally. I am sure what you added is correct, but I want that every reader can find authoritative sources to corroborate your findings. These sources should be cited. --User:Edcolins 21:18, Dec 14, 2004 (UTC) :: Right about Télé-Bruxelles, except (minor note) it are exactly the sme political parties deciding on it. But, on the whole, TLB is to be dropped here. :: On the other hand, indépendant sources, well, at every nomination round, everybody can find in in many papers, the exact party affiliation or loyalty of every single new administrator. Pour des rappports critiques et de fond, le GERFA est connu. :::Thanks again Rudy. I tried to integrate the indicated source. Now, where could we find a source confirming this: ::::"This sometimes translates in censorship. The dominant French-speaking parties are known to have tried, only a few years ago, to forbide the journalists of a public TV channel from interviewing Flemish politicians." :::I am concerned by the rumour status of this statement, although again I am not denying it is probably true. --User:Edcolins 08:30, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC) :::: I will check with a contact in the Association des Journalistes Professionelles, and in academia to see if there are more recent studies or other evidence on this. :::: About the board of directors from the RTB, is there any memeber that is NOT a political nomination? :::: Aside from that, should this paragraph on press not be moved to the article in the French-speaking Community as that is the appropriate one? ::::: Yes, it is probably better to move the paragraph about the politicization of the media in French-speaking Belgium to the French Community of Belgium, you are right. ::::: Regarding this paragraph, I have two questions however: First, what about the VRT, the Dutch-speaking Belgian public TV, (and what about the BBC by the way, I'll check that)? It would be nice to compare both, if it adds something to the discussion. Secondly, many Belgian politicians are in Board of directors of bigs companies in Belgium (Elio Di Rupo is member of the Board of Directors of Dexia, one of the main banks in Belgium, for instance), however, this is not considered to be a politicization, why? --User:Edcolins 08:29, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC) :::::: About VRT, I've been doing some verifications of things I supposed. Politisation apparently also exists, but, according to some people, it would be considerably less. Also, the resulting color at VRT would be less heavily dominated by one political color. Nevertheless, my personal appreciation is that its information is biaised with following 'systematic' bias: :::::: # friendly towards the 'zuilenbestel' (one 'zuil' being the politico-syndicalo-mutual insurrance organisations); :::::: # very indulgent towards the cost of our current de facto political system; :::::: # clearly left leaning (80% of its journalists have said voting on green or red lists); :::::: # very critical of free market enterprise, and very apologetic towards state initiative; :::::: # strong unitaristic preference, strongly anti-Flemish (this has been openly and eplicitely acknowledged in the past by severel senior ex-journalists); :::::: # conservative towards modernisation of our democratic institutions: against referenda, ... :::::: The way this bias is 'implemented' is by often allowing 'subcontractors' spread the propaganda, without asking many (if any at all) critical questions, and even going so far as to allow these subcontractors (friendly academics, politicians, ...) to ell factual lies. :::::: About politicians having mandates in private companies, this is 100X less then what's tought. Di Rupo is rather an exception. On the other hand many politicians, especailly members of parliament, ex-ministers with political mandates etc. have mandates in public companies and organisatins, or cumulate several 'fully paid & full-time mandates'. Di Rupo at one given moment was at the same time mayor of Charleroi, president of the PS, and member of the senate, totally three fat salaries that each required officially full-time work!
Belgium
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Wallonia:
Wallonia
Wallonia
Wallonia
Wallonian
Wallonia
{| style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="300px" |+Wallonie (French language)
Wallonien (German language)
Walonreye (Walloon language) |- | align="center" colspan=2 style="background:#efefef"| {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" |- | align="center" width="140px"| |} |- | align="center" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;"|''List of state mottos: Walon todi ! (Walloon forever!)'' |- | align="center" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:0px"| |- |Official languages || French language, German language |- |Capital || Namur (city) |- |List of Minister-Presidents of Wallonia || Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe |- |Area
- Total |
16,844 Square kilometre |- |Population
- Total (2002)
- Population density |
3,358,560 inhabitants
199.39/km2 |- |National anthem || ''Li Tchant des Walons'' |} Wallonia (French language: ''Wallonie'') or Walloon Region (French: ''Région Wallonne'') is the predominantly French language region that constitutes one of the three Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium of Belgium, with its capital at Namur (city). It encompasses the southern half of Belgium and comprises the following Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium: *Hainaut *Liege (province) *Luxembourg, province of Belgium *Namur (province) *Walloon Brabant Its major city and towns include Liege (city), Namur (city), Charleroi, Mons, Tournai, Arlon, Bastogne, Wavre, Verviers and Dinant. The French dialect Belgian French is spoken throughout the region, except in the German speaking community in Belgium, an area where German language is used instead. In 1990, Belgium also officially recognised Champenois, Lorrain, Picard language, and Walloon language as regional languages. At the time of Belgium's independence, Wallonia did not include the German language areas in the north east of the region that became part of Belgium following the Versailles treaty. Some 70,000 people live in the German-speaking community in Belgium, which is sometimes presented as the best-protected minority in Europe. Nevertheless, there is a drive in the German-speaking community towards gaining more autonomy from the Walloon region. The current president of the executive of the German-speaking community, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, wants his community to obtain regional autonomy, thus cutting it completely off from Wallonia. == Economy == The current Walloon economy is relatively diversified, although certain areas -- especially in the Borinage, Charleroi and Liège are still facing massive problems, with very high unemployment and low economy innovation. Industrial activity was, and is, concentrated in the key industrial areas of Borinage/Charleroi and Liège. Services are heavily concentrated in the urban areas. Tourism is quite well developed in the Ardennes area south of the Meuse River. During the past decades, areas as the provinces of Namur (province), Walloon Brabant and Luxembourg, province of Belgium, and the area around Tournai have seen their share of economic activity rise significantly faster than the old industrial areas. The Walloon economy was once -since the 18th century- dominated by the extensive iron and coal industries, as Wallonia was one of the first regions of continental Europe to see Industrial Revolution. Subsequent downturns in the profitability of these types of heavy industries saw Wallonia exchange its position as the major economic engine of Belgium with its northern neighbour, Flanders and with other regions in Western-Europe. == Politics == Walloon politics is similar to the politics of the French-speaking community in Belgium: the French-speaking socialist party PS is viewed as dominating both. The liberal party Reformist Movement (MR) is a close second on both, and the greens (Ecolo) and Christian Democrats, who recently renamed themselves the Centre Démocrate Humaniste (CDH) battle for a distant third place. Wallonia has no notable political party that is only active in Wallonia, and not in Brussels. General public policy is currently dominated by the PS which has members in the regional and federal government, as well as all large and nearly all mid-size city governments. Elio Di Rupo, its president is widely seen as by far the most powerful politician in French-speaking Belgium. Many Flemish nationalists portray him as the number one in Belgium. Walloon public services are quite important and accordingly funded. The employment in Walloon public services is relatively high compared to that in the rest of the E.U. Also, when during 2002 and 2003, the question of giving voting rights in municipal elections to non-citizens (thus not requiring them to acquire citizenship, as is the case for federal and regional elections), French-speaking parties were in favour, although around 1/3 of the French-speakers were against; both sides claim their arguments got only rare attention in the mainstream press. Public radio and television are considered by some to be influenced by the dominant political forces. The Board of Directors of RTBF, the public television and radio, includes many nominees from the governing parties. The Groupe d’étude et de réforme de la fonction administrative mentions the "direct intervention of the presidents of the political parties in the nomination of department managers in 2003, in spite of promises of depoliticization" (Source: GERFA, [http://www.gerfa.be/memorandum2-1.html#ChapIIA], point A.2.3, in French). This sometimes translates in censorship. Members of the dominant French-speaking parties have attempted to forbid journalists of a public TV channel from interviewing Flemish politicians. == Etymology == The name Wallonia is related to the name ''Wales'', as the old Germanic term ''Walh'' simply means "stranger". Both Wallonia and Wales are regions where a "strange" (i.e. non-Germanic languages) language and culture exist. ''Wallachia'' in Romania has a similar derivation. The term ''Walloon''' was also used in the late 18th and the 19th century to refer to French-speakers who migrated to the Netherlands, e.g. 'Walloon parishes' in Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands). == See also == * List of Minister-Presidents of Wallonia * Walloon Parliament * Walloon language == External links == *[http://www.wallonie.be/en/home.shtml Official gateway to the Walloon Region] Wallonia li:Wallonië
Wallonia
Some discussion might be usefull here, before just handling the axe. == Facts on politicization of press == After every change in the board of administration, one can find articles in the press with the political color of every individual administrator. The fact on Télé-Bruxelels was confirmed to me by both its then editor in chief, and by a delegate of the association of professional french-speaking belgian journalists. I guess it is not difficult at all toi have it also confirmed by other sources. :Rudy, thanks for your comment. However, I don't believe it is appropriate to write about "Tele-Bruxelles" in an article about Wallonia. You are probably aware that this TV channel has nothing to do with Wallonia. I understood that Brussels was not part of Wallonia. In addition, it is unfortunate that we can only take your experience for granted. It would be far better and would comply with Wikipedia policies (Wikipedia:Cite your sources, Wikipedia:No original research) if sources would be cited. Don't take it personally. I am sure what you added is correct, but I want that every reader can find authoritative sources to corroborate your findings. These sources should be cited. --User:Edcolins 21:18, Dec 14, 2004 (UTC) :: Right about Télé-Bruxelles, except (minor note) it are exactly the sme political parties deciding on it. But, on the whole, TLB is to be dropped here. :: On the other hand, indépendant sources, well, at every nomination round, everybody can find in in many papers, the exact party affiliation or loyalty of every single new administrator. Pour des rappports critiques et de fond, le GERFA est connu. :::Thanks again Rudy. I tried to integrate the indicated source. Now, where could we find a source confirming this: ::::"This sometimes translates in censorship. The dominant French-speaking parties are known to have tried, only a few years ago, to forbide the journalists of a public TV channel from interviewing Flemish politicians." :::I am concerned by the rumour status of this statement, although again I am not denying it is probably true. --User:Edcolins 08:30, Dec 15, 2004 (UTC) :::: I will check with a contact in the Association des Journalistes Professionelles, and in academia to see if there are more recent studies or other evidence on this. :::: About the board of directors from the RTB, is there any memeber that is NOT a political nomination? :::: Aside from that, should this paragraph on press not be moved to the article in the French-speaking Community as that is the appropriate one? ::::: Yes, it is probably better to move the paragraph about the politicization of the media in French-speaking Belgium to the French Community of Belgium, you are right. ::::: Regarding this paragraph, I have two questions however: First, what about the VRT, the Dutch-speaking Belgian public TV, (and what about the BBC by the way, I'll check that)? It would be nice to compare both, if it adds something to the discussion. Secondly, many Belgian politicians are in Board of directors of bigs companies in Belgium (Elio Di Rupo is member of the Board of Directors of Dexia, one of the main banks in Belgium, for instance), however, this is not considered to be a politicization, why? --User:Edcolins 08:29, Dec 16, 2004 (UTC) :::::: About VRT, I've been doing some verifications of things I supposed. Politisation apparently also exists, but, according to some people, it would be considerably less. Also, the resulting color at VRT would be less heavily dominated by one political color. Nevertheless, my personal appreciation is that its information is biaised with following 'systematic' bias: :::::: # friendly towards the 'zuilenbestel' (one 'zuil' being the politico-syndicalo-mutual insurrance organisations); :::::: # very indulgent towards the cost of our current de facto political system; :::::: # clearly left leaning (80% of its journalists have said voting on green or red lists); :::::: # very critical of free market enterprise, and very apologetic towards state initiative; :::::: # strong unitaristic preference, strongly anti-Flemish (this has been openly and eplicitely acknowledged in the past by severel senior ex-journalists); :::::: # conservative towards modernisation of our democratic institutions: against referenda, ... :::::: The way this bias is 'implemented' is by often allowing 'subcontractors' spread the propaganda, without asking many (if any at all) critical questions, and even going so far as to allow these subcontractors (friendly academics, politicians, ...) to ell factual lies. :::::: About politicians having mandates in private companies, this is 100X less then what's tought. Di Rupo is rather an exception. On the other hand many politicians, especailly members of parliament, ex-ministers with political mandates etc. have mandates in public companies and organisatins, or cumulate several 'fully paid & full-time mandates'. Di Rupo at one given moment was at the same time mayor of Charleroi, president of the PS, and member of the senate, totally three fat salaries that each required officially full-time work!
Wallonia
Belgium
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
W
WA | WB | WC | WD | WE | WF | WG | WH | WI | WJ | WK | WL | WM | WN | WO | WP | WR | WS | WT | WU | WX | WY | WZ |Words begining with Wallonia:
Wallonia
Wallonia
Wallonia
Wallonian
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