CDU on culture and media

The CDU wants to give lasting support to Saarland's industrial heritage sites and the events held there. It also wants to conclude a preservation pact for culture with the municipalities so that cultural funding does not fall victim to budget cuts after the pandemic.

Saarland has many old industrial sites, such as the Völklingen Ironworks. The CDU wants to strengthen these places. They also host festivals and exhibitions. The CDU also wants a pact for culture with the towns. Culture should not be cut to save money.

Besides the Völklingen Ironworks World Heritage Site, the platform mentions other industrial heritage sites that link history with festivals and exhibitions. The CDU wants to commemorate the Luisenthal mining disaster, whose 60th anniversary falls in 2022, in a fitting way, also with young people in mind. Cultural spending counts as voluntary and, according to the platform, is therefore often at risk of cuts. The platform takes a broad view of culture, from grassroots and independent scenes to high culture, and also wants to support pop, youth and club culture.

The CDU wants to preserve the Saarland's major cultural institutions, including the State Theater with its three divisions. The Musikfestspiele Saar festival is to receive a fixed funding amount again. New cultural projects are also to get reliable conditions.

The CDU wants to keep the big cultural institutions in the Saarland. One of them is the State Theater. The Musikfestspiele Saar festival should get fixed funding again. New cultural projects should also be able to grow.

The State Theater is to remain a three-division house, and the Saarland Cultural Heritage Foundation is to build an attractive exhibition program. The platform treats the two arts universities, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie orchestra, the independent scene, the Max Ophüls festival and the “Perspectives” festival as fixed parts of the cultural landscape. The CDU wants to promise the Musikfestspiele Saar a fixed sum again. For new approaches such as the “Resonanzen” festival, more professional structures are to be created; the platform accuses the culture ministry of frequent changes in staff and concepts.

The CDU wants to build a new Saarlandhalle arena in Saarbrücken that is suitable for large events. The platform justifies this with competition in the Greater Region and with aging venues.

The CDU wants to build a new Saarlandhalle arena in Saarbrücken. Big events should take place there. The CDU says the old venues are too old. The Saarland should keep up with nearby regions.

Construction is to start quickly once a site has been found. The platform calls the arena the most important project for the Saarland as an event location. A new trade fair and convention center is already being built at the Congresshalle site. The CDU also wants to examine whether a music center with a concert hall is feasible and could be combined with the space needs of the music university.

The CDU wants to provide lasting support for club-based culture and cultural education, partly because of the effects of the pandemic. Funds for more professional structures are to be made permanent and relieve volunteers of administrative work. Offerings for young people are to grow.

The CDU wants to support culture in clubs. Cultural education should also get money. Volunteers should have less paperwork. There should be more offers for children and young people.

Funding for the state academy for music and cultural education is to continue, as is support for children's and youth theaters and the state music council. The CDU wants to expand programs such as “Kultur macht stark” and “Kreative Praxis.” State competitions and youth projects run by choirs and music clubs are to keep receiving support so that young people join clubs early. More exchange between grassroots culture and the major cultural institutions is also planned.

The CDU wants to preserve the Saarland's language, customs and traditions and to support local heritage museums and heritage associations for that purpose. In the platform's view, culture and Heimat (homeland) should shape the identity of people in the state.

The CDU wants to preserve language and traditions in the Saarland. Local heritage museums and clubs should get money and recognition. There should also be money for local celebrations.

The support is to consist of both money and non-material recognition. The CDU also backs funding pots that local councils, for example, could use to pay for locally rooted celebrations such as class-year reunions. The platform describes Heimat as a place of familiarity and security, especially in rural areas and in times of digitalization.

The CDU wants private broadcasters to coexist with strong public broadcasting. The public broadcaster Saarländischer Rundfunk is to provide information on the state's own topics. The state media authority is to remain independent and be funded appropriately.

The CDU wants both private and public broadcasters. Saarländischer Rundfunk should report on the Saarland. The Saarland should keep its own media authority. This authority should get enough money.

Public broadcasting is to provide independent basic coverage with political and current information. The platform expects Saarländischer Rundfunk to contribute to a sense of home and identity across all age groups; the CDU regards the new financial equalization scheme as a solid basis. The Saarland state media authority is to stay regionally rooted. Its funding is to be adjusted to its tasks; the platform points to the safeguarding of local private radio stations during the pandemic.

The CDU wants to secure and increase funding for film and media, also with the help of federal and EU money. Movie theaters outside urban centers are to be preserved. The platform points to film festivals and to the Saarland as a filming location.

The CDU wants to give more money to film and media. Some of it should come from the federal government and the EU. Movie theaters in rural areas should stay. The film industry should be better connected.

Access to federal and EU funds is to become easier, and state money is to leverage such funds. The CDU wants to co-finance federal programs such as the “Zukunftsprogramm Kino” as needed and accompany them with state measures. Networking within the industry is to receive continued support. As an opportunity, the platform cites technical and artistic location advantages, for example for virtual reality film production.