Bern's cultural strategy put to the test
The coronavirus pandemic is hitting the cultural sector and cultural professionals extremely hard, writes the City of Bern. The cultural strategy discussed in spring therefore needs to be reviewed and adapted to current needs.
A participatory development process for the 2021-2024 package of measures began in August 2019. An initial draft was discussed publicly with stakeholders and interested parties at the 4th Bern Culture Forum in February 2020. Based on the feedback, the departments concerned planned to revise the package of measures and submit it to the municipal council for approval in summer 2020.
Just ten days after the cultural forum, the first cultural events had to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the city writes. The lockdown followed shortly afterwards. It will probably not be possible to resume normal operations for some time yet. As a result, the situation for cultural professionals and cultural institutions is currently uncertain and difficult.
For this reason, the Executive Board has decided to review the 2021-2024 package of measures. Kultur Stadt Bern will hold talks with cultural professionals, event organizers and other stakeholder groups by the end of 2020.
