Kulturelle Herausforderungen

The report focuses on empirical data of cultural life from a cultural political perspective. Despite the common experience of growth, a significant increase of cultural life participation cannot be empirically verified with regard to the time budgets applied – at least not of provisions attributed to the narrower definition of culture. There are more visits (especially of large cultural institutions and popular cultural events) but not necessarily more visitors. While the prerequisites for cultural participation have improved over the past years, cultural policy has to acknowledge the definite availability of cultural interest which is a rather scarce resource sought after by many providers. There is already a need for cultural policy to legitimize the issue of generating further demand. This is even more imperative with regard to the demographic and socio-economic structural change over the next years: The inability of generating a new audience is imminent. Ageing as well as an increasing immigrant proportion and growing poverty are additional future challenges for cultural life.

The following report offers an insight on the theoretical and empirical issue of cultural adult education. It is understood as an institution for the refinement of the aesthetic senses which, according to Welsch, can easily become anesthetic – a situation of suspended sensitivity. A second empirical approach presents the current provisions systematized by three “Portals of Participation“. Cultural educational provisions may be attributed to the “systematic-receptive type“, the “independent-creative type“ or the “understanding- communicative type“ – a finding revealed by a programme analysis in German-Polish border regions and capitals. After the introduction of institutional and regional specifics, the report concludes by formulating three areas of innovation in cultural education also generating research perspectives.

The author bridges the gap between culture and education by dealing with two sides of the coin. He initially observes a currently active interest in culture. Cultural education is a generally accepted objective in the field of cultural policy. By using a historical outline, the author illustrates this attribution to a lack of visions in cultural policies. Beneficiaries are institutions for cultural education as well as classical institutions for adult education such as adult education centres. Especially within regional education networks, they are given new chances as co-producers of cultural education. New challenges also arise: overall, participation must be increased with consideration to the difficulties of reaching all social environments. Additional burdens are an educational understanding which is largely reduced to career applicability, the various habits of regional actors as well as the current critical financial situation with upcoming distribution battles.

Based on communication and body, the report points out modern cultural practices and focuses on options characterised by new technologies which have been established in everyday life and used in various designs. It also discusses the role of continuing education within this process of change. Here, the author refers to the reflection of shaping a cultural identity, the development of cultural competences and holistic approaches – integrating head, heart and body.

Vienna’s adult education centres have developed a frame curriculum which focuses on the eight European key competences in continuing education with consideration of national and European educational strategies as well as the European Qualification Framework. The report focuses on the frame curriculum’s key elements and its contact points with the National Qualification Framework – taking the programme area of art and culture as an example. Cultural awareness and artistic competence as a key competence contains reception, production, reflection and mediation as central activity level. In contrast to the normative conception, sensual perception and expressiveness, fascination, curiosity, sensuality, imagination and fantasy become the centre of cultural as well as artistic awareness. Based on longer quotes, the report provides an insight to the concepts of knowledge and skills developed by the White Paper for Art and Culture. Subskills and descriptors are developed in a comprehensive chart.

How can the performances of continuing education become more influential in the German Qualification Framework (DQR)? The author presents concrete recommendations derived from a cross-provider work group: presentation of key competences across all levels; classification of qualifications acquired in continuing education to individual levels (example of level 6). With regard to the inclusion of non-formal and informal competences in continuing education, the author refers to the potential of EU guidelines for validation.