We are working towards establishing an environment that is sensitive to discrimination as defined by the AGG for all staff and visitors in our offices, events and venues. We also aim to go beyond the requirements laid down in law to achieve participation for as many people as possible, irrespective of their race, ethnic or social origin, disability, language, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender or other features.
The Haus der Berliner Festspiele and Gropius Bau’s status as listed buildings presents us with particular challenges regarding accessibility. It is our aim to facilitate access for all visitors that is as barrier-free as possible. To do this, we are continually working to find lasting solutions and to improve our facilities. We value your suggestions as part of this process!
Information on accessibility at the Gropius Bau
Information on accessibility at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele
We are also working to ensure that our online presence is as accessible as possible. Our website and the Berliner Festspiele Media Library have dedicated sections in Easy German Language. And we are already working on a service in German Sign Language (DGS). Most of our content is also available in English.
To drive the advance of diversity-orientated development processes within the Berliner Festspiele, a number of members of staff take part voluntarily during working hours in a cross-departmental working group on diversity. The Diversity Working Group supports the development and establishment of diversity-orientated, fair and future-proof cultural practice in an organisation by and for everyone. It focuses its work on the areas of personnel, programming and audiences, and how these interact.
As a contribution to treating each other with respect in a diversity-sensitive manner, it is important to us to support persons affected by discrimination. A variety of points of contact have been established for this purpose. Visitors can report any discrimination that they have experienced or witnessed to info@diversity.berlinerfestspiele.de.
Employees, applicants and persons in positions similar to employees have the options of approaching the KBB’s Anti-Discrimination Officer for an anonymous consultation, making a complaint through the Complaints Office under Section 13 Paragraph 1 of the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) or consulting the works council (Betriebsrat).
As a division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB) GmbH, the Berliner Festspiele together with the Gropius Bau operate within an institutional framework shared with the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) and the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). As a public cultural institution, the KBB has a special duty to uphold the principles of equal opportunity and protection from discrimination.
The Theatertreffen introduced a female quota for the 2020 festival, with women accounting for at least 50 per cent of those in directing roles for the ten outstanding productions. This has been extended up to 2025. Jazzfest Berlin joined the international Keychange initiative in 2018. Here the festival pledged to achieve gender equality in its programme by 2022. Jazzfest Berlin maintains its support for the initiative’s values and aims beyond this period and will continue to uphold them.
Since 2018 cultural institutions and activists in the fields of arts and culture have come together through regional or citywide declarations and formed the solidary network of THE MANY. The declarations help the networked institutions to position themselves with regard to racist and discriminatory incidents and to send a strong, shared signal.