Advanced Training and Study Program on Culture Management in China
- The opera in Beijing
Over the past ten years, numerous new theatres, cultural centres and museums have sprung up in virtually every major city in China. This construction boom has given rise to considerable demand for qualified personnel, as well as for events that can be staged in the many new buildings. China is not able to meet this demand on its own, with the result that there is increasing interest in international cooperation agreements. However, there continues to be a lack of knowledge about international business practices and quality standards in international partnerships. This is what the three-phase training programme for young Chinese cultural managers in Beijing and Berlin, which was launched in the autumn of 2009, seeks to address.
Structure and organization
Around 20 Chinese young professionals working in different sectors of the cultural domain are selected in a nationwide process and then take part in seminars and work experience to acquire knowledge about the contents and structures of German and European culture management. The training programme for young Chinese executives in the area of cultural management is a project of the Goethe-Institut, the Institute for Arts and Media Management of Freie Universität Berlin, and Stiftung Mercator. Stiftung Mercator provides 160,000 euros in funding for the project. The training programme “Advanced Training and Study Program on Culture Management in China” is divided into three phases.
1st phase
The training programme begins each year in September. The young executives take part in a ten-day seminar focusing on theory and basic principles in Beijing and attend a course of German language tuition.
2nd phase
After completing the first phase, the participants spend several weeks in Berlin. Depending on their specific areas of expertise and professional backgrounds, they attend a range of more advanced seminars before undergoing a two-week work experience placement in a cultural institution. The programme is rounded off by a visit to European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 and excursions to the cultural institutions at home in this area.
3rd phase
The programme ends with a final week in December in Beijing for the purposes of follow-up and analysis, and finishes with the awarding of certificates.
Objectives
The objective of the training programme is to establish permanent and sustainable networks in the area of cultural management and to enhance the transfer of knowledge between China and Germany. The focus is on the practical communication of expert knowledge from leading German cultural institutions and on the teaching of the basic principles of content-based and value-oriented cultural management.