In accordance with its statutes and charter, the German ITI Centre promotes mutual understanding of the world's theatre cultures. It is committed to the freedom of artistic expression and the preservation and development of the cultural diversity of theatrical forms of expression and production.
The world organization of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) was founded in 1947 on the initiative of UNESCO. Today over 80 national centres belong to the network worldwide. As the German Centre, we are committed to the Charter of the world organization of the ITI.
We share UNESCO’s aims of mutual understanding and peace and support the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) is the foundation of our international work.
Key Principles
1. Equality
In 1948, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 1 states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” We shall preserve and implement the principle of equality as a basic right.
2. Equity
Equity is the foundation of our work. We are aware that people have different resources, identities, and abilities. Based on this knowledge, we try to recognise different needs and meet them.
3. Anti-Discrimination
Any behaviour that includes any form of discrimination shall be prohibited. We condemn and take deliberate action against unfair or unequal treatment of individuals or groups based on grounds such as gender, gender expression, race, colour, ethnic or social belonging, origin, genetic features, language, religion/faith or belief, political or social opinion, economic class, disability, age or sexual orientation.
4. Freedom of Expression
Following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we shall abide by the basic principles of freedom, such as freedom of expression, freedom of belief, freedom of opinion and freedom of thought.
5. Inclusion
We shall ensure that the principle of inclusion is applied. We shall speak out against all forms of exclusion based on discrimination or on consolidating/extending privilege.
We understand art and culture as essential forces for social cohesion, critical thinking and global understanding. Everything we do is driven by a clear commitment to free and cross-border artistic work.
As the office of the ITI Centre Germany, on an operational level we organise national and international projects, initiate encounters and are in constant dialogue with artists, our project partners, stakeholders and visitors to our events.
Our work is based on the ITI Charter and national legal regulations. The house rules of Kunstquartier Bethanien also apply to events in our premises such as the Mediathek, STUDIO2 and the office itself.
This code applies to all employees of the ITI office, the executive board of the ITI, invited stakeholders and cooperation partners as well as participants and those who use our services. It applies to all the formats we work in together, including face-to-face events and digital meetings.
As a platform and interface between national and international theatre work, we create and shape spaces for collaboration that enable those involved to engage in dialogue and debate. These encounters in physical or digital spaces are influenced by individual experiences, diverse cultural perspectives, different identities and biographies.
We are aware that different and sometimes conflicting positions may sometimes clash with each other. One of our most important concerns is to create a space for discourse and reflection. We see freedom of opinion and artistic freedom as well as constructive criticism as the essential basis of trusting, sustainable and practical communication. An open discourse does not mean anyone should accept discrimination, the abuse of power or exclusion.
In an international context, our work never takes place outside of social, historical and political power structures and discourses. It is our aim to question existing privileges, colonial continuities, social inequalities and structural discrimination, which influence access to resources, visibility and participation, and to contribute to dismantling them. We do not see confronting these issues as a once-off gesture, but as a continuing, active process that influences all our decisions, cooperation and ways of working.
Treating each other in a trusting and appreciative way is the foundation of our work. We reject any form of violence and discrimination based on age, disability, gender identity, background, class, illness, religion, sexual orientation, ideology or ethnicity. We therefore do not tolerate any ableism, personal hostility, antisemitism, harassment, Islamophobia, abuse, racism, sexism, derogatory language, transphobia or queerphobia.
In the event of violations of this code, either identified by us or reported to us, we reserve the right to terminate our cooperation with the persons concerned or to exclude them from events and/or the use of our premises. If you observe or experience discriminatory or inappropriate behaviour in the context of our work, we encourage you to get in touch with us through the contact below. We will treat all incidents reported to us confidentially, will only take further steps with the consent of the person affected and will make a continued effort to ensure that incidents do not reoccur.
We understand this code as a living document that can be constantly questioned, revised and added to – especially with regard to any omissions.
We are therefore happy to receive feedback at any time at the following address: kodex@iti-germany.de (contact persons Malin Nagel, Juliane Zellner)
We meet the requirements of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative of Transparency International Germany in accordance with our voluntary commitment based on ten trasparency informations.
1. Name, office, address, year of foundation
Zentrum Bundesrepublik Deutschland des Internationalen Theaterinstituts e.V.
Office: Berlin
Address: Mariannenplatz 2, D-10997 Berlin
Year odf foundation: 1955 in Bonn (Federal Republic of Germany)
2. Charter and goals #
3. Tax benefit
Recent tax notification of Finanzamt für Körperschaften I, Berlin (Steuernummer 27/647/52498) as of 15.10.2024 (2021 - 2023)
4. Name and function of key decision-makers #
5. Annual report
Annual Report 2024
6. Staff structure
Office team
7. Financial sources
Annual report 2024, p. 44
8. Information on the use of funds
Annual report 2024, p. 44-47
9. Affiliation with third parties
ITI worldwide in co-operation with national centres and partners.
10. Names of legal entities whose annual payments account for more than 10% of the total annual budget
Public funding for the ITI Center Germany exceeds 90% of annual revenues and comes from funds provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Federal States Community / Cultural Foundation of the Federal States and the Federal State of Berlin.