Is culture a driver of regional development? The example of the Louvre in Lens and the coalfield
Tuesday, January 22nd: 10:00-11:45 a.m., Arcole room
Is culture a driver of regional development? The example of the Louvre in Lens and the coalfield
29 November 2004. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin announced that Lens had been chosen as the host site for the new Louvre.
The choice to locate it on the former Lens No. 9 pit signalled the entire Nation’s recognition of this region and a desire to contribute to the redevelopment of Lens and the coalfield. The project was launched in December 2010 and inaugurated two years later by the President of the Republic, François Hollande.
In January 2014, the museum welcomed its millionth visitor and in June 2015, in association with the region’s key players, it was selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a tourist destination contract, ALL – Around the Louvre-Lens.
With this contract, a 10-to-15-year tourism development strategy commenced in order to create a national and international destination of excellence.
Through their partnership, Museumexperts/SITEM and the IAU (Urban Planning and Development Institute), are organising a seminar that will reveal this story, still being written, which seems to us to be particularly innovative and rich in lessons for those who seek to use culture as a driver of development.
We offer you an insight into the ambition of the participants at the heart of this project, also describing their initial successes, the moments of doubt and the challenges that remain to be met in the medium-to-long term.
After an overview of this subject by Vincent Gollain of the IAU, which will rely on several reports and expert missions conducted in 2018, the following speakers will contribute in turn to offer a holistic view of this innovative, long-term process that seeks to contribute to regional redevelopment through culture:
- Presentation of the Museum and its role in regional development, Marie Lavandier, Museum Director,
- Presentation of the ALL Destination Contract: Norbert Crozier,
- The economic impact on the region, Christine Trotignon, Hauts de France Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
- The impact on hotel investment and tourist capacity development: the example of the Esprit de France hotel group, Séverine Quoniam,
- Reports by the Director of IREST (Institute for Research and Advanced Studies in respect of Tourism – Paris 1 University), Francesca Cominelli, and Ekaterina Travkina, head of the project at the OECD, who are conducting a study into the museum’s impact on the region.