Review: Kick-off event

On October 19, 2022, around 60 people from Burscheid and Wermelskirchen came together at Kattwinkelsche Fabrik for the kick-off event. The joint participation process was introduced by a stimulating presentation by Dr. Yasmine Freigang, Head of Department of “Culture in Westphalia”, the regional association of Westphalia-Lippe, on the topic of “modern strategic cultural planning” as well as the report of the inventory by cultural manager Jasmin Dorner. The presentations are available for download here. Please get in contact if you need an english version.

During the break, there was time for an initial exchange and refreshments before the group work began. The topics discussed were “cultural tourism”, “sustainability”, “cultural education”, “cultural programs” and “networking”.

The first ideas for intercommunal cooperation were collected and discussed in a lively exchange. At the end, the participants had the opportunity to mark their favorites with colored dots. These included, for example, a joint calendar of events, a digital platform, a joint cultural office for Burscheid and Wermelskirchen as well as a tourist office, cultural tourism offers such as themed trails or city tours, an annual cultural meeting, bringing culture to the people, and various ideas for making public transport more attractive for visitors to culture.

Discussions take place in the arched truss hall of the Kattwinkelschen Fabrik.

In addition to the first concrete ideas, such as a joint digital platform or joint event series, the cornerstones of cooperation were also discussed. The discussions focused primarily on creating an “intermunicipal WE”, getting rid of a perceived competitive mindset, accepting differences in a non-judgmental way, and appreciation by politicians.

The results of the kick-off event can be found in this downloadable presentation: