[문화정책/이슈] 녹색당, 문화정책 핵심은 환경과 다양성
The Green Party: Environmentalism and Diversity at the Core of Cultural Policy 1
[Date Registered] 2025-04-25 2**[Views]** 1626 3
The German federal election concluded on February 23, 20254. The results showed the center-conservative Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) receiving 28.52% of the votes and securing 208 seats, the party assessed as far-right, Alternative for Germany (AfD), receiving 20.8% and 152 seats, the progressive Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) receiving 16.41% and 120 seats, The Greens (Die Grünen) receiving 11.61% and 85 seats, and The Left (Die Linke) receiving 8.77% and 64 seats5. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht party (BSW) failed to enter the Bundestag6.
The German Cultural Council (Deutscher Kulturrat) is an umbrella organization of cultural associations in Germany7. It cooperates with the federal government, state governments, and EU institutions to advise on the establishment and implementation of cultural policy8. Following the general election, the organization sent an official letter to the parties asking for their positions on cultural policy9. The CDU/CSU, SPD, The Greens, FDP, and The Left responded, while the AfD and the BSW did not state their positions10. We have decided to analyze the cultural policy positions of each party in the order of their share of the vote11.
< Official Logo of the Green Party - Source: Green Party Facebook account (@Die Grünen) > 12
The Green Party has influenced governing parties in the decision-making process for various environmental policies13. In 1974, about 150 residents occupied the site of a nuclear power plant in the Wyhl region near Freiburg14. The state authorities arrested them, and the anti-nuclear movement expanded nationwide following this incident15. Around 30,000 people from across the country re-occupied the power plant site16. A month later, the state government revoked the nuclear power plant license17. Starting in 1977, the anti-nuclear movement led to an electoral alliance18. This alliance formed the basis for the founding of the Green Party in January 198019. In the federal election of March 1983, the Green Party entered the parliament, breaking the three-party system for the first time in German political history20. Anti-nuclear policy and bold climate policy can be seen as the core policy direction of the Green Party21.
The Green Party announced it will support the cultural industry's transition to sustainable operations through the 'Green Culture Anlaufstelle' (Green Culture Support Center)22. This center officially receives support from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media23. It aims to help German cultural institutions achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 by providing support in various ways, including expert knowledge, data, and consultation24. It offers advice to ensure cultural projects, such as museum and exhibition operations, are conducted in a sustainable manner25. According to the official website's description, the center focuses on Energy Efficiency (Energieeffizienz), Carbon Emission Analysis (Klimabilanzierung), Circular Economy (Kreislaufwirtschaft), and Sustainability Reporting and Management systems (Reporting und Management systeme)26.
Regarding the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the party emphasized the expansion of the Green Culture Support Center to help cultural facilities achieve climate neutrality, and stable financial support for cultural institutions and projects27. They also revealed plans to promote gender equality through minimum wage standards and strengthen the social insurance for artists28. The Green Party specifically proposed methods to provide financial support and necessary information to enable the cultural industry to operate sustainably, a direction that essentially aligns with environmental policy29.
Regarding artificial intelligence, the Green Party announced its plan to introduce a licensing model to ensure that copyright holders receive appropriate compensation when AI systems use copyrighted data for training30. They stated that the EU's AI legislation has already strengthened the rights of authors and that they plan to establish an automated licensing system to protect copyright in the future31. This stance is identical to the SPD's cultural policy on AI, emphasizing more active protection for original creators32. Recently, copyright controversies arose after the spread of utilizing ChatGPT to convert real photos into Ghibli animation style on social media33. As seen in this incident, the issue of AI data learning and copyright will require ongoing discussion in the future34.
The Culture of Remembrance (Erinnerungskultur), which carries the meaning of reflecting on past wrongs and ensuring they are not repeated, is a unique policy found only in German society35. The Green Party is concretizing this policy direction by actively supporting visits to these sites36. Regarding the Culture of Remembrance, they plan to promote financial support to enable all students to visit a Nazi Memorial Site (NS-Gedenkstätte) at least once, and they will also expand the research and educational programs at memorial sites37.
The Green Party specifically emphasized that diversity must be reflected in policy38. They plan to strengthen support for civil society activities and political education aimed at combating collective hostility, such as anti-Semitism and racism39. To reflect the diversity of German society in cultural policy, the Green Party stated it would mandate 'increasing diversity' in various funding programs40. Furthermore, reflecting the reality of Germany's immigrant society, they proposed measures to strengthen the remembrance of colonialism, human rights abuses under the East German (DDR) dictatorship, and far-right violence41. They also announced plans to increase federal cultural subsidies to compensate for gradually increasing necessary budgets and strengthen institutional support42.
The Green Party expressed a stronger position than the SPD, who argued that "culture and art should be stipulated as a national goal in the constitution"43. The Green Party presented the policy direction that cultural diversity should be explicitly stated in the constitution44. They also promised to institutionally strengthen federal-level cultural policy and ensure stable and independent financial support for Germany's foreign cultural and educational policy institutions, including the Goethe-Institut and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)45.