At the Public Dialog in Berlin, Michael Diekmann announced that the Cultural and Environmental Foundations were to receive donations totaling EUR 12.5m. There will also be a special campaign, ‘KulturAllianzen’. What's involved in this?
Thoss: The KulturAllianzen program has been around since 2002. Collaboration with Allianz agents has worked very well. What's new is the way the campaign is set up. We want to support projects which help disadvantaged young people with up to EUR 2,250 to integrate them into society. Focusing on socially deprived young people, for example, or those who are at risk of political or religious radicalization - whether or not they come from a migrant background.
And how will this new KulturAllianzen campaign work?
To date, KulturAllianzen have only been organized by regional cultural representatives and agents. This special campaign hopes to get all employees involved. This means: any employee with a particular charitable project can receive two-thirds of the necessary sum from the Allianz Cultural Foundation - they have to raise the funds for the last third themselves, by finding sponsorship or other forms of support. This could include private individuals or public organizations affected by the project: libraries, choirs, churches, museums etc.
Each project doesn't have to request the maximum sum of EUR 2,250. But it'll always be the case that one third must be funded from other sources.
Could you give us an example?
For example, if a Munich-based football club wants to do its bit to promote the integration of minority groups and decides to invite the Czechoslovakian football club Roma Junior from Decin, that would be a great cultural alliance. Cross-national projects within Europe fit especially well with the Allianz Cultural Foundation's approach.
