In general, there are no legal provisions governing cultural financing in Germany, which would indicate the specific amount and / or means to distribute public funds. Exceptions are the Act on the Cultural Areas in Saxony (Sächsisches Kulturraumgesetz), which provides for joint funding of cultural endeavours of regional or supra-regional importance by the Land, the counties and the municipalities. As well as a cultural treaty for the federal capital, which defines the funds to be allocated by the Federal Government to cultural institutions and activities in Berlin. With the amendment to Saxony Law in the summer of 2008, the cultural... read more →
New Search
If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchAt present, the Federal Constitution for the Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz – GG) includes one phrase referring to culture and the arts: "The arts and science, research, and teaching shall be free." (Article 5.III GG). According to the interpretation of the Constitutional Court, this clause not only stipulates a right for creative artists to be protected from state interference but also mandates the state to preserve and promote culture and the arts. This principle was explicitly reaffirmed in Article 35 of the 1990 Unification Treaty. In the past two decades, there have been efforts to insert a more precise "cultural... read more →
The topic of digitisation has only been recognised as an area of cultural policy work in recent years. In 1997, the first Computer Games Museum (https://www.computerspielemuseum.de/) opened in Berlin as a permanent exhibition on digital interactive entertainment culture. In 2011, the Computerspielemuseum in Berlin opened a new permanent exhibition. Since 2009, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, together with two games associations, has awarded a prize for an educationally valuable computer game (endowed with 385,000 EUR, sponsored by the games associations). In 2009, Gamescom (www.gamescom.de/), the world's largest trade fair for computer and video games, was also... read more →
In recent years, the issue of gender equity has received greater attention. In June 2016, the study "Women in Culture and Media" of the German Cultural Council was published, which contains data on the proportion of women in the individual branches of culture, in broadcasting, in education, in leadership positions, as well as the presentation of the legal instruments of gender equality policy in Germany and recommendations for action. The BKM has made gender equality in the arts, culture and media a key concern of its policy. In the 2017 coalition agreement, the governing parties committed themselves to this, "To... read more →
The goals of the New Cultural Policy in Germany largely reflect the requirements and objectives of the Council of Europe's definition of "social cohesion". In addition, they are of growing importance in relation to equality of cultural opportunities, cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. In this context, the 1999 integrated federal and state action programme entitled "Socially Integrative City" is also of interest. The aim of the programme is to improve living and housing conditions in neighbourhoods - in urban and socially vulnerable areas. The programme has been continued since 2020 under the title "Social Cohesion". The positive impact that culture... read more →
The media have only become a focus of public cultural policy in the narrower sense in recent years. Previously, only film promotion was considered an object of this policy area. It is carried out by the Federal Government and the Länder in order to promote film as a cultural asset and to support the national cultural industry. Article 5 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany states that everyone has the right "freely to express and disseminate his or her opinion in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself or herself without hindrance from generally accessible... read more →
The language in schools, media and other forms of communication as well as the official language in the Federal Republic of Germany is German. Maintaining the German language is the task of all social groups. Learning the German language is also an important prerequisite for integration. Improving the language skills of immigrants is therefore a focal point of integration efforts. In addition to the Länder and municipalities, the Federal Government itself promotes language acquisition with a variety of measures. In addition, there is a wide range of private providers. Dialects are cultivated and also promoted on a regional and communal... read more →
National minorities The Federal Republic of Germany has ratified the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. It entered into force for Germany on 1 February 1998. The autochthonous minorities and ethnic groups of German nationality, i.e. those traditionally resident in Germany, are protected by this Convention. Four recognised national minorities live in Germany: the Danish minority, the Frisian ethnic group (North Frisians, Sater Frisians), Sorbs and the German Sinti and Roma. The protection and promotion of national minorities also includes the minority languages Danish, North and Sater Frisian, Upper and Lower Sorbian as well as... read more →
The culture industries are a separate and autonomous pillar of cultural life in the Federal Republic of Germany. Generally, the cultural field is divided into three sectors: a) private cultural enterprises, b) state or municipal publicly financed institutions and c) not-for-profit, intermediary organisations, foundations, associations etc. According to the Conference of Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy in 2009 the cultural and creative industry consists of 11 submarkets: music industry, book market, art market, film industry, broadcasting industry, performing arts market, architecture market, design industry, press market, advertising market and software and games industry (and others). Once a year, the... read more →