Once a year, as part of the KULTURWERSTATT NIEDERRHEIN, new opportunities in cultural work are discussed and funding opportunities for regional projects are presented.
The fourth event in this series took place last week at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences and focused on the theme of ‘InterKulturRaum Niederrhein’. The venue in Kamp-Lintfort, with its eventful history shaped by structural change, could not have been a more fitting choice for this occasion. In particular, the various waves of immigration since the Second World War have shaped the character of the town and thus contributed to its cultural diversity. This topic is currently taking on new relevance with the influx of so many people from a wide variety of regions around the world. This raises the question of how immigrants and the local population can successfully coexist culturally, and what role art and culture can play in this. These key questions were the focus of the conference.
Dr Ansgar Müller, District Administrator and Chair of Kulturraum Niederrhein e.V., opened the event together with Dr Christoph Müllmann, Head of the Cultural Affairs Department for the City of Kamp-Lintfort, and Prof. Dr Schürholz, the new Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Environment. In the first part of the event, eight examples of best practice from various areas of cultural life were used to provide an insight into how intercultural work can be carried out. The second part of the event featured a panel discussion, providing a forum for questions and the exchange of views. Here, the central question of ‘How can we manage to overcome these intercultural challenges?’ was discussed at length. The event concluded with three workshops on various topics relating to intercultural work, which also provided participants with an opportunity for in-depth debate.
