Culture in the focus: City Association celebrates 100th session in Steyr!

Culture in the focus: City Association celebrates 100th session in Steyr!

The Austrian City Association committed the 100th meeting of his cultural committee in Steyr on April 30, 2025, an important event that looks back on the long history of cultural discussions and developments in Austria. At the meeting, led by the chairman Doris Lang-Mayerhofer, city councilor from Linz, the central role of culture for the reconstruction and social responsibility of the cities was emphasized. Lang-Mayerhofer emphasized how important culture is in the political landscape, especially in times of challenges and change.

Städtbund General Secretary Thomas Weninger supplemented the explanations with the indication that culture promotes a crucial element of participation in society and should therefore be accessible to everyone. The mayor of Steyr, Markus Vogl, is pleased to be expressed about the direction of the meeting in his city and also advocated strengthening culture in the face of political challenges.

sustainability in focus

A central topic of the anniversary meeting was sustainability. From 2024, a new funding program for promoting energy efficiency will be initiated in art and cultural businesses. In addition, certification for "green events" is introduced in order to also set ecological standards in the cultural sector. The cultural committee also found out about the environmental label for sustainable cultural companies of the BMLUK, which is intended to serve as an important orientation aid.

The implementation of Fair-Pay and the budgetary protection of cultural companies were one of the other essential topics. This clearly shows the urgent need to provide financial resources for cultural institutions in Austria. The cultural committee was founded on July 1, 1948 and had the goal from the start to support and maintain city and state theater as well as other cultural institutions. Historically, the commitment of the cultural committee already began with advice on the merger of theater -preserving bodies in April 1948.

culture as an economic factor

The importance of art and culture as economic factors shows the study of the 2010 urban barometer, according to which 78% of city residents are satisfied with the cultural offer. Satisfaction also increases with the size of the residential community as well as the age and the training of the respondents. In cities with 100,000 to 300,000 inhabitants, satisfaction is the highest and the lowest in the smaller cities with less than 10,000 inhabitants.

art and culture contribute to the uniqueness and authenticity of the cities. They are not only identity -creating, but also promote tourism through museums, festivals and festivals. The Austrian Association sees itself as a constitutional advocacy for cities and larger municipalities in Austria, which represents more than two thirds of the population and 70 percent of the jobs.

The cultural budgets of the communities have been affected by the economic crisis in the past. For example, net expenditure for culture in 2009 dropped by 1.8% to 352 million euros. In this context, the city of the city appeals to the need to steer funds in such a way that support for artists are effectively arrived and duplicate payments to the cities are avoided.

The initiatives of the cultural committee and the discussions of the anniversary meeting show how artists and cultural workers are to be valued and supported in the current time. A strong cultural environment is of central importance for the development and preservation of cities and municipalities in Austria.

For further information on the role of art and culture in the cities and the work of the Austrian Association of the city, you can use the content to wien.gv.at and Staedtebund.gv.at Visit.