Cultural Alliance Gartz: Neighborhood meeting gains German prize!

Cultural Alliance Gartz: Neighborhood meeting gains German prize!

The club name "Kulturallianz e. V." Could hardly be chosen, because in the middle of the rural idyll Gartz (or) a neighborhood meeting point was created for people. This place, set up in the old gasworks, has set itself the task of strengthening the local community. With a variety of events - from book readings to creative evenings to concerts and exhibitions - the cultural alliance attracts the locals and thus contributes to the cultural diversity of the Region. The Foundation Nextan.de recognized these efforts and awarded the cultural alliance to the German neighborhood award, endowed with 2000 euros. The award ceremony took place in the Potsdam State Chancellery on Tuesday.

Luca Piwodda, the mayor of Gartz, emphasized the important role of cultural alliance as a model for rural areas. "Our goal is to create a place that brings people together who would otherwise not meet," said Piwodda. This approach aims to dismantle barriers and promote a universal space of communication. In addition, citizens' talks on topics such as renewable energies and an exchange with the "Fridays for Future" movement were already taking place.

Diversity in event planning

The cultural alliance actively contributes to the participation of the population. Every year, the association is now organizing 35 various events, all of which aim to promote cooperation. "We finance ourselves through donations, sponsors and own work," said Piwodda and added that public funds were not available. Many materials, such as beer tent sets, are used by the local sports club to support the events. Festive events such as a town hall tower and a Christmas market in Gartz are coming up for the coming time.

The initiatives of the cultural alliance were highly praised by Katharina Roth, a representative of the Foundation Nextan.de: "We want to honor projects that strengthen the coexistence and encourage them to imitate." Nationwide, 80 projects were nominated for the German Neighborhood Prize, five of them from Brandenburg, which underlines the relevance and effect of the cultural alliance.

Meaning for rural communities

When the award was handed over, Katharina Roth emphasized how valuable the cultural alliance is for Gartz, where traditional meeting points such as restaurants and shops are becoming less and less common. These changes can do little to ensure that people communicate with each other. Minister Katrin Schneider (SPD) also emphasized the need for such gatherings: “Where there are no more meeting points, it is important that initiatives such as the cultural alliance flower to promote the exchange and encounter of people.”

In times of social division and polarization, the cultural alliance represents a place where connections can be created and community can be cultivated, underlined the minister. Such a room is by no means a matter of course. Last year the prize went to the Prignitz inclusion location "Distelhof", which shows that such initiatives are urgently needed in rural regions.