Principles of Co-operation

The Goethe-Institut Toronto operates on a partnership basis. For individual projects, as for longer-term joint ventures, we connect with stakeholders in the cultural scene – institutions, organizations, companies, people in and from Canada, Germany, and other countries (in particular our European neighbours). Often a project involves several partners working together.

The Goethe-Institut organizes its programs proactively, on a long-term, sustainable basis. It is of special importance to us to jointly develop ideas and create the dialogue between the stakeholder from the outset. Events and projects achieve their best results when they are planned cooperatively, starting with the original idea and proceeding via engaged discussions on the different formats and types of events, on the selection of artists and speakers, to the financing, scheduling, and organization. We can then benefit from shared work loads and implementing projects together. Consequently, we request that all parties interested in working with us contact us as early as possible (about one year in advance) so that mutual interests, content development and internal processes can be taken into account. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make financial contributions to projects which have already been planned without our participation.

Topics that interest us:

We focus on topics in multi-year cycles. For 2011-2014 these are:

• City+Climate
• Culture+Economy
• German Film

In general:

• Current German cultural positions and scenes, contemporary ideas and artistic practices;
• Germany, Canada, and Europe – art, culture, society, knowledge, cultural diversity, and perspectives of international exchange;
• Cultural liaison between Germany and North America;
• Our anniversary celebrations "50 Years Goethe-Institutes in Canada" 2012.

Criteria that guide us:

• The Goethe-Institut actively curates programs and is not a foundation or a funding body such as the Canada Council. Therefore, there is no formal application process.
• The Goethe-Institut is an independent registered association. Our projects and programs are not-for-profit and serve the public good. We want to facilitate projects which would not take place without us.
• Our target groups are Canadians. Consequently, our programs are generally in English. Exception are special events for students and teachers of German.
• The Goethe-Institut is not a sponsor (on the contrary, we welcome sponsors!).
• Every partner, including the Goethe-Institut, should retain its identity vis-à-vis audiences and the public and be able to communicate this identity visibly in an appropriate manner (from its logo to collaborative PR).
• We are based in Toronto, but our mandate covers Ontario (except Ottawa), British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, and we work in all of these provinces.
• In addition to topics, information, and cultural content, we are concentrating on creating sustainable relationships. We bring people together and contribute to the formation of international networks.
• The Goethe-Institut likes to work within the framework of Germany-related series or clusters (for example, “Green Architecture & New Ideas from Germany & Canada”). In this framework, the visibility of German artists or contributions in the Canadian context is central.
• We want to present the best and most exciting aspects of Germany's cultural life today. Our close co-operation with the cultural experts in our Munich head office and with the other Goethe-Institutes in North America ensures that our programs are relevant and of a high quality.
• We do not have an in-house event space, but we are happy to use our classrooms and our library for conferences and receptions.

Would you like to work with us? Do you have a project or an idea which could bring us together?
Please contact us with your suggestions.