Socio-cultural center
A socio-cultural center is an institution of a socio-cultural nature. Socio-cultural centers have been established in the Federal Republic of Germany since the 1970s. Events with contributions to the promotion of young artists in the fields of theater , music , literature , film and visual arts aim to enable active participation in cultural and political life.
target
The work of sociocultural centers includes the integration of different age groups, social classes and nationalities, the support and promotion of social and political work as well as the implementation of democratic decision-making structures, which are the prerequisites for the active and independent participation of as many people as possible in the houses.
From the variety of individual skills, regional traditions, the respective financing options, but also from the different employee structure and the social and age-related composition of the users, a heterogeneous center landscape with different offers has developed, which defies a final generalization.
activity
Today, the centers are active with different accentuations, especially in child and youth work (children's shops, open areas, homework help, creative courses, holiday camps, vocational preparation and training, advice, employment projects, open workshops), in district work (city or district Newspapers, district festivals, urban development initiatives, cooperation with citizens' groups , associations and schools), in program and event work (theater, cabaret, music, exhibitions, readings, cinema, disco and dance events), in senior work (creative and health care Courses, social care, history workshops , dance events, book lending) and in educational work and political work (seminars, workshops , educational leave , discussion events, language courses). In addition, sociocultural centers are also “service providers” in a district, city or region. They leave rooms and technical infrastructure to culturally, socially or politically active associations, groups and initiatives, provide rehearsal and production facilities for music and theater groups as well as studios for artists and other things. In addition, almost all facilities have an open communication area with restaurants .
history
At the beginning of the 1970s, the first socio-cultural centers emerged in connection with the new social movements . They were founded as self-governing communication centers, cultural shops or town houses , often against the political resistance of parties and local governments. In response to this, in 1979 in Wilhelmshaven (according to a different source, Berlin is also possible) nationwide institutions for the Federal Association of Sociocultural Centers came together. In their development phase, sociocultural centers wanted to be models for other social forms of work and life. Their self-image was expressed in terms such as “ alternative culture ” , “ counter culture ” and “ counter public ”. Last but not least, they were also shaped by the very personal life plans and political approaches of their actors. They wanted to “live and work together” and demanded that the separation of mental and manual labor be abolished. They strived for the democratization of culture and cultural democracy and demanded acceptance and equal treatment of the most diverse forms of cultural expression and organization by political bodies and the public. Socioculture was therefore the answer, reaction and lived alternative to or to a consumer and entertainment-oriented understanding of culture.
Federal Association of Sociocultural Centers V.
The Federal Association of Sociocultural Centers represents over 460 self-administered sociocultural centers in Germany . V. in Berlin. The federal association and regional working groups have the task of coordinating and promoting the work of the centers and representing their interests vis-à-vis the public and political bodies. The networking at federal and state level is intended to guarantee advice, training, exchange and support for existing and future centers. The aim of the federal association is to recognize socio-cultural work in self-administration as an integral part of cultural life and to treat the centers equally with established cultural institutions. It is not only a network itself, but also part of one. As a member of the German Cultural Council , she is in the Council for Socioculture and in nationwide associations such as B. the Fonds Soziokultur e. V. also represent and cooperate with other professional associations and institutions at the federal level. In addition to advising the centers, their activities also include the publication of their own newspaper and series of brochures, the organization of further training measures, the implementation of congresses and meetings and the corresponding political lobbying .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Hugo Thielen mentions "Berlin" in the Stadtlexikon Hannover , p. 497. Possibly this is just a misleadingly worded "sentence" because it is lexically in short form