Germany/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and civil initiatives  

8.4.2 Cultural houses and community cultural clubs

According to the "Volunteers' Survey" 2009 (a survey conducted every 5 years), about 5.2 percent of citizens volunteer in the field of culture, e.g. in associations and cultural institutions, thus contributing towards the supply of affordable cultural programmes and broadening the opportunities to participate in various cultural activities. Cultural associations are the main providers of amateur arts. In the area of amateur music alone, 4.6 million persons are active.

The socio-cultural centres play a very important role in providing low threshold access to culture. In Germany there are more than 500 socio cultural centres. According to the survey of the association of the socio-cultural centres in 2009, 84 000 events and 14 000 workshops and programmes were offered by the socio cultural centres – that were used 24 million times. The centres' activities reach people of all ages: nearly a quarter is under 20 years old, while more then 10 percent are over 60 years old. The sociocultural centres are also based on the civic commitment of more than 25 000 people. The total income of the centres is 147 million EUR. The amount of public funding from the local authorities is 33%, with 13 provided by the states and 12% from the federal level. The public expenditure per visit is 4.88 EUR (compared to 99.31 EUR in public theatres).

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