International Forum

The International Forum (IF) has existed since 1965. Founded as the “Begegnung junger Bühnenangehöriger” (Meeting of Young Stage Professionals), it is the oldest institution of its kind in continuous operation. It began as an event that provided information and discussions for young professional theatre-makers from West Germany. In 1970 the circle of participants was widened when agreements were reached with institutions in Austria and Switzerland. As a result of the co-operation with the Goethe-Institut that began in 1980, young theatre-makers could be invited from all over the world.

The aim of the International Forum remains the same today: to create an open forum for early-career theatre-makers, a space that offers time and opportunities for artistic exchange, to work collaboratively, and experiment and explore theatrically – without the pressure of having to deliver a presentable product. Up until today the process of questioning and being questioned continues to have a long-lasting influence on the working methods and way of thinking of the participating artists. It is no coincidence that unique transnational and long-lasting working relationships have repeatedly evolved from the International Forum.

With the introduction of international participants, the Forum also took on a broader range of themes, focussing more strongly on socio-political issues on a local and global level in order to investigate theatre as a space for public debate located between arts, politics and society. Discourses around changing perspectives, equality, structural power imbalances and access were increasingly explored in the International Forum. This was the case even more so as the exchange between the local theatre scene and their international colleagues – especially those from countries that are out of the focus of the Western European cultural sector – called for a pluralistic view of the world and critical engagement with other points of view and forms of work that transcend the horizons of the German-speaking cultural landscape.

In the year 2000 the International Forum received the Fritz Kortner Prize, awarded by the magazine Theater heute and funded by the Friedrich Stiftung. In 2001 the International Theatre Institute (ITI Germany) awarded its prize on the World Theatre Day to the International Forum and its former director Manfred Linke.

In 2025, the 60th anniversary of the International Forum was celebrated with the artistic programme “Forum Theatertreffen 1965–2025”. It was curated by Aljoscha Begrich, Sima Djabar Zadegan and Nora Hertlein-Hull and consisted exclusively of contributions by alumni, giving an impression of the breadth of artworks created by the 2476 artists from 90 countries who have taken part – till now outside the public eye – in the International Forum.

From 1965 to 1968 the “Meeting of Young Stage Professionals” was run by Joachim Werner Preuß, in the period from 1969 to 2005 as the “International Forum for Young Stage Professionals” it was run by Manfred Linke. From 2006 to 2014 the International Forum was run by Uwe Gössel, from 2015 to 2017 by Daniel Richter and from 2018 to 2022 by Necati Öziri. In 2023 the International Forum became part of the “10 Treffen”. In 2024, Aljoscha Begrich and Sima Djabar Zadegan took over as its directors.

Since 1965, more than 2500 theatre-makers from 90 countries have been awarded scholarships to participate in the IF.

Documentation40 Years of International Forum

Documentations of the years

2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2024

Documentation 60 Years of International Forum 2025

The International Forum takes place in cooperation with Goethe-Institut, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia,  the Austrian Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport and the Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg. It is supported by the German Stage Association. Further funding institutions of 2026 are the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion Berlin, the Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Arts and Culture, the Cultural Department of the State Capital Munich and the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony.