Editing Genk (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Genk KoolmijnWinterslag Schacht-Ontvangstgeb.jpg|thumb|upright|270px|Headstock at the former Winterslag Colliery]]
Genk is the industrial centre of the province of Limburg and offers over 45,000 jobs, making it economically the third most significant city in [[Flanders]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}}

In 1900, Genk was a quiet village with around 2,000 residents. At that time, Genk was known for its natural environment, popular among artists and painters who used Genk as a setting for their pieces. In 1901, coal was discovered in Genk and three mining sites were developed: Zwartberg, Waterschei and Winterslag (C-mine today). As a result, the population grew exponentially: today Genk has about 65,000 inhabitants with 107 different ethnic backgrounds. The mines had some good years, but in 1966 the Zwartberg mine closed, followed by Winterslag (C-mine today) in 1986 and Waterschei in 1987.

The [[Genk Body & Assembly]] factory of [[Ford Motor Company]] was the largest and most important employer in Genk until recently, employing some 5,000 people and building the [[Ford Mondeo|Mondeo]] sedan and hatchback, the [[Ford Galaxy#Second generation Galaxy .282006 to present.29|Galaxy]] (second generation, from 2006 and onwards) MPV/minivan, and the [[Ford S-MAX|S-MAX]] sub-MPV. The factory closed in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20054924 | title=Ford plans to shut Belgian plant| work=BBC News| date=2012-10-24}}</ref>

===C-Mine===
The city went looking for new opportunities for the enormous mine sites on its territory, including the Winterslag site. In 2000, the idea began to grow to accommodate a creative hub in the buildings of the old coal mine of Winterslag. In 2001, the city of Genk bought the site from LRM (Limburgse Reconversie Maatschappij) and the name "C-mine" was born in 2005. As regards content, the creative hub works on four cornerstones: education, creative economy, creative recreation and artistic creation and presentation. With a university college specialised in various artistic graduation subjects, an incubator for young entrepreneurs, a cultural centre, a design centre, a cinema, C-mine expedition, etc. the C-mine mission has succeeded. It has created 330 jobs in 42 companies and organisations, including around 200 jobs in the creative sector in 33 creative companies.

Each day, C-mine produces: games, apps, websites, sets for television, drones, light shows, design items, stage productions, etc. C-mine is a site of creative makers in each of the four segments.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.c-mine.be/Contact_Info/Over_C_mine | title=Over C-mine | website=www.c-mine.be | access-date=16 November 2016 | archive-date=1 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401151550/http://www.c-mine.be/Contact_Info/Over_C_mine | url-status=dead }}</ref>

* Companies in C-Mine:
* E-nventors Lab / C-mine crib: E-nventors Lab is the research & development department of E-nvention that examines the latest technologies.