Inclusion Advisory Board

What matters does the Cultural Advisory Board deal with?
Tobias Möller: First and foremost, of course, we are there to advise the administration and politicians on cultural issues. These topics are very often discussed in advance in our advisory board. We reflect on the administration's proposals for resolutions and amend them in order to give the city councillors in the culture committee or city council a wide range of decision-making options. At the same time, however, we also present what would result from the decisions made. That is our main formal task.
Heda Bayer: As we have a lot of people from the field, we on the Cultural Advisory Board have the insight to explain what decisions or possible decisions mean in practice.

What are the tasks of the advisory board?
Tobias Möller: Many, many. We see ourselves as a bridge between politics, administration, civil society and, of course, all cultural organisations. Every organisation has different needs. You can't say "culture needs this" as long as it only affects a single organisation. There are things where you can say "the landscape needs this" and that is also part of our expertise - balancing individual needs and actual social needs, but still ensuring that ideally everyone is heard.
Heda Bayer: And I would also say to sound the alarm where we see that something could go really wrong or get lost.

What topics are you currently working on?
Tobias Möller: It's a colourful potpourri. On the one hand, we have the Capital of Culture at the moment, which of course involves discussing one or two things during ongoing operations. But this is an issue that has kept us very busy over the last five years. The Cultural Advisory Board has made a significant contribution to us being awarded the title; it has been able to contribute many things that have supported the integration into the community.
Right now, of course, we're dealing with the massive cuts that have hit our area disproportionately hard. It is a completely different challenge to look together with the associations and - as my colleague has just said - to sound the alarm that we are currently facing a massive reduction in substance. We need to find the best possible ideas and solutions for the future.
Heda Bayer: And also look for creative solutions to maintain diversity. Otherwise we really will lose the youth. They have already been through a lot during the coronavirus pandemic and we can't allow any more cutbacks to happen.
Tobias Möller: We also see our role on the Cultural Advisory Board as a cross-sectional task. That we don't just look after the young, not just the old or just the middle-aged, but that we have all generations in mind.
Of course, we both live the broad concept of culture, which does not delimit itself with: "This is a stage and everything else that does not take place on the stage is not culture". That would be rubbish. And to see how we can bring the different types of performance together and, above all, how we can bring society together again, enable it to communicate and offer incentives.
Culture shows that things can be different, that you can see things differently, that many things on this earth are not as fixed as they sometimes seem to us, for better or for worse, but that there is a lot of potential for visions. And a vision is not there to be achieved, but to remain in motion. That's culture for us: keeping moving.
Heda Bayer: We currently have a unique opportunity to start taking stock of the Capital of Culture projects - from the smallest things that went well to the major projects, because we can already see what all this effort has achieved.

How can people get involved and support the work of the Cultural Advisory Board?
Tobias Möller: We are very often out and about in public life and you can simply talk to us or send us an email.
We are currently preparing a consultation hour for the Cultural Advisory Board. We had a different format for a long time, the Jour fixe Kultur, which we also want to revive. But there's not enough time at the moment, partly because of the Capital of Culture.
Heda Bayer: It also helps us a lot when people from the city turn up to the public meetings, ask questions or simply attend. That's a great support.
Tobias Möller: I would emphasise that once again. People are welcome to attend the Cultural Advisory Board meetings. Very often - especially when there is only a public part - we are happy to answer questions afterwards and engage in dialogue. That's one of the easiest ways to get involved.

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