# Brussels Public Meetings Scrape Summary - March 9, 2026

**Scraping Date**: Monday, March 9, 2026  
**Sources Attempted**: Regional Parliament + 4 commune sources  
**Success Rate**: 3/5 working, 2 with issues

## 🎯 Key Highlights

### 🏆 Transparency Champions

**Anderlecht - Gold Standard**
- ✅ **Complete YouTube livestream archive** since 2021
- ✅ **Next session: March 26, 2026** (livestream already scheduled)
- ✅ **Upcoming 2026 dates**: March 26, April 23, May 21, June 25
- ✅ **Official documents portal** with full agenda access
- ✅ **47-member council** with clear structure

**Saint-Gilles - Participation Leader**
- ✅ **Permanent Citizens Council** (35 residents, 2-year mandates)
- ✅ **Multiple interpellation channels** (council + police council)
- ✅ **Structured citizen participation** with neighborhood contracts
- ✅ **Historical citizen engagement** (G1060 project since 2018)

### 📅 Confirmed Upcoming Meetings

**Anderlecht** (all with YouTube livestreams):
- March 26, 2026
- April 23, 2026  
- May 21, 2026
- June 25, 2026

**Etterbeek**: Monthly meetings (except July-August), generally Mondays at 8 PM

## 🚨 Issues Identified

### Critical System Downtime
- **Regional Parliament**: ❌ Complete website failure (nginx 502 errors)
  - Homepage: `parlement.brussels` - DOWN
  - Plenary sessions page - DOWN
  - **Impact**: No access to regional legislative calendar

### Website Restructuring
- **Watermael-Boitsfort**: ⚠️ URLs in INDEX are outdated (404 errors)
  - Recent sessions: September 23, 2025; May 27, 2025; December 16, 2024
  - Site still has council features but needs URL updates

### Content Extraction Issues
- **Ixelles**: Only returning footer content (possible JavaScript dependency)
- **Evere**: Only showing contact info instead of transparency content

## 📊 Success/Failure Analysis

| Commune | Status | Data Quality | Notes |
|---------|---------|--------------|-------|
| **Anderlecht** | ✅ Excellent | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Complete transparency, live streams, scheduled dates |
| **Saint-Gilles** | ✅ Excellent | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Rich participation framework, citizen engagement |
| **Etterbeek** | ✅ Good | ⭐⭐⭐ | Basic council info, clear schedule structure |
| **Watermael-Boitsfort** | ⚠️ Partial | ⭐⭐ | 404 errors but recent session dates visible |
| **Regional Parliament** | ❌ Failed | ⭐ | Complete website downtime |

## 🔍 Content Insights

### Meeting Patterns
- **Standard timing**: Monthly meetings (except summer break)
- **Common format**: Evening sessions (8 PM typical)
- **Public access**: All meetings are public with citizen interpellation rights
- **Documentation**: Most provide agenda/minutes online

### Transparency Levels
1. **Anderlecht**: Full video archive + live streaming
2. **Saint-Gilles**: Comprehensive citizen participation tools
3. **Standard**: Basic agenda/minutes publication
4. **Issues**: Some sites with technical or structural problems

### Citizen Engagement Features
- **Interpellation rights**: Available in most communes
- **Video access**: Anderlecht leads with complete YouTube integration
- **Participation councils**: Saint-Gilles has permanent citizen council structure

## 📋 Recommendations

### Immediate Actions
1. **Monitor Regional Parliament** - critical source currently inaccessible
2. **Update INDEX** - Watermael-Boitsfort URLs need correction
3. **Test browser scraping** - for JavaScript-heavy sites (Evere, Ixelles)

### Follow-up Priorities
1. **Complete commune coverage** - attempt remaining 15 communes from INDEX
2. **Verify 2026 schedules** - cross-check published calendars
3. **Track meeting outcomes** - monitor agendas leading to actual sessions

### Best Practice Documentation
- **Anderlecht model**: Use for other communes seeking transparency improvement
- **Saint-Gilles participation**: Benchmark for citizen engagement

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**Next Scrape**: Monday, March 16, 2026  
**Critical Watch**: Regional Parliament website restoration