The Forum for Ecological Sustainability at the Theatertreffen is a place of further education and networking for theater makers on the subject of sustainable cultural production.
As an EMAS-certified institution, sustainability is an important issue for Berliner Festspiele and the Theatertreffen. Since 2021, the Theatertreffen’s “Forum Ecological Sustainability in Theater” has been a place of further education and networking for theater makers on topics of sustainable cultural production, in cooperation with the Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit in Kultur und Medien (Action Network Sustainability in Culture and Media). Representatives of the theaters and production houses invited as part of the 10 most remarkable productions take part as Green Ambassadors in networking meetings and workshops in which they discuss approaches and challenges of sustainable theater work and jointly develop strategies and projects for ecologically sustainable cultural production.
Since the program was founded, sustainability groups have been formed at many theaters. The previous years of the Forum for Ecological Sustainability in Theatre have proven to be very strong in terms of implementation: Many theaters now have transformation managers and/or corresponding working groups, and some theaters have even achieved EMAS certification. Actors and institutions are coming together in various initiatives to develop strategies for sustainable cultural production.
Since the program was founded, sustainability groups have been formed at many theaters. The previous years of the Forum for Ecological Sustainability in Theatre have proven to be very strong in terms of implementation: Many theaters now have transformation managers and/or corresponding working groups, and some theaters have even achieved EMAS certification. Actors and institutions are coming together in various initiatives to develop strategies for sustainable cultural production.
An extended approach has been pursued since 2024 in order to further develop the Forum for the future: For those theaters that have already participated in the Green Ambassadors program or already have the relevant expertise in their institution (for example through a transformation manager), there is the option of nominating another institution of their choice (a sponsor theater), where this is not yet the case, for the program. This will create an increasingly broad basis for networking knowledge among theater makers in German-speaking countries – because networking is one of the most important building blocks for achieving the common goal.
