Brussels

The International House of Literature Passa Porta is a unique, multilingual meeting place in the heart of Brussels for anyone and everyone curious about ideas, texts and stories. Passa Porta manages the ICORN residency in Brussels, with the support of the City of Brussels and the universities in Belgium's capital.

Passa Porta is where readers meet their favourite writers from Belgium and abroad and where they discover new talents. It is where authors and translators have access to a stage or a workspace. And every two years the Passa Porta Festival celebrates Brussels as a city of literature with the arrival of hundreds of writers and artists from around the world.

Passa Porta joined ICORN since 2007 and aims to make a concrete contribution in the fight against the unacceptable situation of so many writers. The City of Brussels actively supports the project “Brussels City of Refuge” by making an apartment available where the guest writer can live. It presents Brussels as a hospitable, open metropolis, committed to freedom of expression and human rights. The universities of Brussels are supporting the writers during their stay.

Brussels hosted the ICORN Network Meeting in March 2023.

Since 2009, Brussels City of Refuge has hosted seven writers, artists, and journalists in ICORN residencies.