What do the parties in Lower Saxony say on culture and media?

The AfD wants to promote the German language and rejects gender-inclusive language in public authorities, media and institutions. It considers such forms grammatically wrong and harmful to the language as a cultural asset. Regional dialects are to be protected.

The AfD wants to protect the German language. It is against gender-inclusive wording. That means special forms that name women and men, for example with a star sign. The party also wants to keep dialects alive. Libraries should get more money for books.

The AfD wants to preserve and fund German and regional culture, customs and historic buildings. Significant structures are to be reconstructed, and local history and industrial museums are to receive more support. The party sees these as regional anchors in an age of globalization.

The AfD wants to keep customs and old buildings. Important buildings should be rebuilt. Small local museums should get more money. The party says people need their home region to feel secure.

The AfD wants to keep public funding for museums, theaters, opera houses and orchestras but expects them to focus on outstanding historical works. It criticizes what it sees as a left-leaning politicization of the arts scene and commits to artistic freedom without political directives.

The AfD wants to keep funding theaters, operas and museums. These places should mainly show famous old works. The party thinks the arts scene is too left-wing. Music schools and clubs should keep getting money.

The AfD demands that the SPD-owned media holding ddvg give up its stakes in publishing houses. In addition, press groups and commercial radio and TV broadcasters are to be separated from one another. The party justifies this with the independence of the media.

The SPD owns shares in newspaper publishers. The AfD wants the SPD to give up these shares. Newspaper companies should also not own radio and TV stations. The AfD says this makes media more independent.

The AfD wants to give notice on the state treaty with public broadcaster NDR in 2024, effective 2026, and in the long run leave all broadcasting treaties. Non-commercial broadcasting is to offer only what private stations cannot provide. Broadcasting councils are to be elected directly by citizens.

The AfD wants to end the contract with the broadcaster NDR. Public broadcasting should become much smaller. It should only show what private stations do not offer. Citizens should elect the boards that oversee broadcasting.

The AfD wants to abolish the mandatory broadcasting fee. Non-commercial radio and TV services are instead to be funded by levies on media corporations, money from patrons, and voluntary donations from the audience.

Today every household must pay for public broadcasting. The AfD wants to end this duty. The money should come from media companies and donors. People who watch or listen can give money if they want.

The CDU wants to keep alive the memory of the flight and expulsion of Germans and to safeguard the cultural heritage of expellees. Funding and a dedicated university chair are planned. The party wants to counter the exclusion of ethnic Germans from Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The CDU wants to remember the expellees. These are Germans who had to leave their homes after the war. Their culture should be kept and studied. There should be money for this. Germans from Russia should not be shut out.

The CDU wants to develop Lower Saxony's Kulturfördergesetz (culture funding law) further and expand funding structures as needed. Investment programs for smaller cultural institutions are to become permanent, and the Landschaftsverbände (regional cultural associations) are to get more influence and money. The platform argues that culture is also an economic asset for a region.

The CDU wants to give more support to culture in Lower Saxony. The law on culture funding should be improved. Small museums and stages should get steady money for building work. Regional culture associations should have more say. They support culture in their local area.

The CDU wants to raise state subsidies for municipal theaters and the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra on a regular basis. Independent theaters, amateur stages, amateur music groups and volunteer-run cultural venues are also to receive lasting funding.

The CDU wants to give more support to theaters and orchestras. The money from the state should go up regularly. Amateur theater and music groups should also get money. Volunteer-run culture venues should get more targeted help.

The CDU wants to make working conditions for people in the cultural sector in Lower Saxony more attractive. It plans a grant program for freelance artists, simpler funding applications and a more stable Künstlersozialkasse (artists' social insurance fund), which it demands from the federal government.

The CDU wants to help artists. Freelance artists should be able to get grants. A grant is money that supports their work. Applying for funding should get easier. The social insurance fund for artists should become more secure.

The CDU sees cultural funding as support for young talent as well. It wants to strengthen music and art schools, develop the Landesmusikakademie (state music academy) into a Music Academy of Lower Saxony and create dedicated support for top talent.

The CDU wants to support young talent in music and art. Music schools and art schools should get more help. The state music academy should grow and become more important. Very good young musicians should get special support.

The CDU wants to preserve Low German and Sater Frisian and anchor them more firmly in daycare centers, schools, libraries and public offices. It regards both languages as part of Lower Saxony's identity and points to the European language charter. Regional traditions and customs are also to be brought closer to young people in particular.

The CDU wants to protect Low German and Sater Frisian. These are separate languages in Lower Saxony. Children should get to know them in daycare and school. People should be able to speak Low German in public offices. Young people should also learn about old customs.

The CDU wants more money for cultural work under Section 96 of the Federal Expellees Act, which covers preserving the cultural heritage of Germans expelled after World War II. The office of the state commissioner for expellees and ethnic German resettlers is to be kept permanently.

The CDU wants more money for the culture of expellees. These are Germans who had to leave their homes after the war. There is a state commissioner for them and for ethnic German resettlers. This post should stay for good.

The CDU wants to advance remembrance culture in Lower Saxony and to support and develop its memorial sites. This covers Nazi-era sites such as Bergen-Belsen as well as museums on Germany's division and the review of colonial-era collections.

The CDU wants to strengthen memorial sites in Lower Saxony. They remind people of the Nazi era and of divided Germany. The Bergen-Belsen memorial should work better for school groups. Museums along the former border should get help. The CDU also wants to remember the victims of the East German dictatorship more.

The CDU wants to draw up a plan for a state foundation to look after state-owned castles and palaces. In addition, Marienburg Castle is to be renovated and opened to the public, and state museums, open-air museums and World Heritage sites are to get continued support.

The CDU wants to take better care of the state's castles and palaces. It plans a state foundation for this. Marienburg Castle should be repaired and open to visitors. Museums and World Heritage sites should keep getting help.

The CDU wants strong public broadcasting, financed in the future through an index model in which the license fee is tied to an index. It also wants to preserve the mix of public and private providers and strengthen quality journalism through a certification.

The CDU wants strong public broadcasting. The money for it should follow an index model. That means the fee follows a fixed measure. Private stations and publishers should keep their place too. Good journalism should get a quality label.

The Greens want to revise Lower Saxony's heritage protection law. Climate protection, resource conservation and accessibility would have to be weighed against heritage concerns as a matter of law. Solar panels on protected roofs would become easier to install.

Many old buildings are protected by law. The Greens want to change this law. Climate protection and access for disabled people should count more. Solar panels on old roofs should be easier to allow.

The Greens want minimum fees for artists and cultural workers and predictable funding for cultural institutions. The platform argues that the Covid pandemic showed how precarious the conditions are under which art and culture are often created.

Many artists earn little money. The Greens want minimum fees for them. Theaters and other cultural venues should be able to plan safely. Applying for funding should become easier.

The Greens want to gear the state's media funding toward training young journalists and toward regional and local reporting. This is meant to secure local diversity and counter media concentration. Community media, film and games are also to receive more funding.

The Greens want many different media in Lower Saxony. Media companies should get money if they train young journalists. Reporting on local topics should also be rewarded. Community radio and local TV should get more money. Old films and newspapers should be saved in digital form.

The SPD regards video games as an important digital art form and wants to open media funding to them. Digital art is to receive the same protection and support as offline art.

The SPD sees video games as art. The state should support making video games. Parents should be able to learn more about video games. Esports should get support too.

The SPD wants better working conditions and social protection for people working in culture. State subsidies are to be tied to collective wage agreements, and minimum fees at theaters are to rise. The platform points to problems that became visible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People working in culture should have better jobs. The lowest pay at theaters should go up. The state should give more money when wages rise. Artists without a steady job should be better protected.

The SPD wants a broad, diverse, and accessible range of cultural offerings across the state. State cultural institutions are to be preserved and renovated, and music schools, independent theaters, and sociocultural centers are to receive more support.

Culture should be open to everyone. The SPD wants to keep the state's museums, libraries and theaters. Old buildings should be renewed. Music schools should get more money from the state. Children from poor families should be able to take part too.

The SPD commits to independent media and wants to secure Bürgermedien (community media) for the long term and set them up where none exist. The background is the difficulty of maintaining quality regional reporting. The idea of a European media platform is supported.

Free media are important for democracy. The SPD wants to secure community media. These are local stations where citizens make the programs. New ones should be set up where there are none. The SPD also backs a European media platform.