SPD on culture and media

The SPD wants every child in Schleswig-Holstein to be able to learn a musical instrument. To that end, music schools are to receive more state funding. The platform argues that music supports development and bridges differences of language and culture.

Every child should be able to learn an instrument. That is what the SPD wants. Music schools should get more money for this. The SPD says music is good for children's development.

The SPD is counting on close cooperation among elementary schools, music schools and cultural institutions. The state's music schools are to be strengthened financially for this purpose. According to the platform, music benefits children and young people and connects people across linguistic and cultural differences.

The SPD wants to make the state's regional and minority languages more visible in public spaces. It intends to build on the language policy of the former "coastal coalition" and says fee-funded broadcasters also have a duty here.

People in Schleswig-Holstein speak several languages, such as Frisian and Danish. The SPD wants these languages to be seen and heard more often. Radio and TV should help too. This means the stations paid for by the broadcasting fee.

The party wants to continue the language policy of the coastal coalition. Public broadcasters are to reflect linguistic diversity more strongly. Funding areas such as culture, education, research and social affairs are also to be strengthened. In the SPD's view, lessons from language promotion can be applied to other languages, for example in nursing care, where a person's native language builds trust and closeness.

The SPD wants to put the state's cultural funding on a statutory footing with a dedicated law, raising the standing of arts and culture. Funding is also to become more transparent through regular reports.

The state spends money on arts and culture. The SPD wants a special law for this. The law should make culture more important. The state should also report regularly on where the money goes.

Regular cultural funding reports are to show how the state supports culture. The cultural dialogue started under the coastal coalition is to become a permanent, systematic exchange among the state, artists, operators of cultural institutions, counties and municipalities. As a new standard, arts and culture are to be a fixed part of all structural planning for cities, towns and regions. Cultural and creative centers run by associations and initiatives are to receive support.

The SPD opposes the state and municipalities balancing their budgets by cutting culture spending and wants to secure this through rules in the budget codes. At the same time, socio-cultural centers, public art and the digitalization of culture are to receive more support.

The SPD does not want cuts to culture. The state and towns should not fix their budgets this way. There should be firm rules for this. Culture centers should get more security. Art in public places should get more money too.

The party wants to push for corresponding rules in the federal and state budget codes, arguing that short-term savings make everyone poorer in the long run. Socio-cultural centers and initiatives are to be stabilized through project-based funding. For publicly funded construction projects, a fixed percentage is to be mandatory for art. The platform regards the obligation to pay artists exhibition fees as a step in the right direction. Museums and memorial sites are to have enough staff and money, and digital platforms and cultural offerings are to be supported.

The SPD wants to preserve and expand theater offerings in Schleswig-Holstein, including in rural areas. Funding for public theaters is to rise automatically with collectively agreed staff costs.

The SPD wants to keep the theaters in the state. There should be more theater, also in the countryside. Theaters should get more money when wages go up. The same should apply to public libraries.

For public theaters, the party stands by adherence to collective wage agreements. Theater funding is to follow collectively agreed pay increases for staff dynamically. The same principle is to apply to public libraries. The platform sees the Schleswig-Holstein State Theater as a guarantor of culture in rural areas.

The SPD wants to improve social protection for artists and workers in the creative industries and plans to launch an industry dialogue for this purpose. Pop culture is to receive public funding, and the state government is to get a single point of contact for the creative industries.

Many artists have poor social protection. They often lack pension or health insurance. The SPD wants to change that. It wants to talk with the industry about it. Pop culture should also get public money.

According to the platform, the pandemic showed that solo self-employed and temporarily employed cultural workers are inadequately covered; in the long run a dedicated solution is needed. Work in the sector is often precarious and lacks a uniform pay structure. In the SPD's view, pop culture should not be left to the market alone. Within the state government, a new, knowledgeable point of contact is to handle creative-industry issues and work in exchange with the scene and the events sector. The sector's restart after the pandemic is to be supported.

The SPD wants to preserve and further develop public broadcasting while also promoting local media diversity. The platform counts access to free, independent media as part of essential public services.

The SPD wants to keep public TV and radio. These stations should keep developing. Small local media should get help too. This includes community radio and local stations. Everyone should get good information.

The party wants to fund local broadcast content and community radio stations. Public distribution infrastructure and open-access internet platforms are to be expanded. The Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein media authority (MA HSH) is to be strengthened. The media treaty between the two states is to be amended so that community and local radio stations and local TV providers can be better funded. The platform counts public and private broadcasters, publishers, regional newsrooms and online outlets alike as part of the media landscape.

The SPD wants to fund and secure remembrance culture in the state and strengthen the work of memorial sites statewide. Civic education is to be firmly anchored in all types of schools and at all grade levels.

The SPD wants people to remember history. There should be more money for this. Memorial sites should be strengthened too. All schools should teach about politics. This way young people learn why democracy matters.

According to the platform, remembrance culture should convey knowledge, create empathy and show that democracy was fought for and must be defended. The SPD cites the rise of nationalism, racism and antisemitism as the reason. The work of memorial sites is to be strengthened across the state. In the party's view, civic education must not be dropped in competition with other subjects within the flexible timetable of teaching hours.