Head of Cultural Affairs Eric Neiseke has been given the green light to draw up a Kulturentwicklungsplan together with the agency "just be" from Braunschweig, which will set the course for Salzgitter's cultural future. "With the political mandate, we can now use the Kulturentwicklungsplan to develop an instrument of contemporary cultural policy with the aim of identifying, developing and transferring opportunities and potential for the city of Salzgitter. Neiseke is delighted that the council members followed his suggestion that the agency 'just be' should accompany the city of Salzgitter on this cultural path in an advisory capacity: "During the selection process, agency manager Ms. Bartels had the most concrete ideas about what cultural goals the city could pursue in the future. It was particularly important to both of us to involve as many target groups as possible in the development process, especially our younger generation. Ms. Bartels, Managing Director of just-be GmbH, also feels that the awarding of the contract to her agency confirms the common goal that the Kulturentwicklungsplan should "address citizens in particular and take up their suggestions and wishes in order to breathe lasting life into the project".

The project will kick off with an event on November 7, 2017 in the Kulturscheune, to which numerous cultural representatives from the city of Salzgitter have been invited. "We have already written to many recipients and will also be sending out invitations in the next few days," says Councillor Neiseke. There, the city council will present the further course of the process in more detail together with Ms. Bartels. An expert input is planned from Prof. Dr. Rothärmel to initiate a discussion about the visions for the future. In so-called world cafés, all those present will have the opportunity to formulate their ideas. These are to serve as a starting point for the numerous further project steps - including online surveys and cultural conferences with citizen participation in several districts - in order to be able to present a cultural vision for the city of Salzgitter at the end of the process that as many Salzgitter residents as possible can identify with.