Writer-in-residence scholarship

The aim behind the writer-in-residence scholarship of the German Culture Forum for Central and Eastern Europe, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, is to raise public awareness of the common cultural heritage of Germans and their neighbors in those regions of Central and Eastern Europe where Germans have lived and still live. Conceived as a traveling fellowship, it is set up annually in outstanding locations in Eastern Europe, often in the European Capitals of Culture, and is intended to promote intercultural dialogue there.
 
For five months, the writers keep an illustrated internet diary in which they report on encounters, experiences and sights against the backdrop of the multiethnic and multilingual history of the respective city. They also participate in local cultural life, and act as contacts for the German-speaking and local press. In these ways, they serve an important role as border crossers and ambassadors for both sides.
 
The writers in residence are expected to write in German, get involved in the cultural life of the city, regularly keep a blog that is translated into the national language at the same time, and pursue their own project. Local partners of the German Culture Forum for Central and Eastern Europe are the Capital of Culture offices, the city administrations or cultural and minority representatives. They provide accommodation and act as contacts as well as language mediators for the fellows, who do not have to speak the national language.
 
The City Writers' Scholarship has been awarded since 2009 and is becoming increasingly popular; the scholarship holders are often the local contact persons for German-language media. In most cases, a documentary about the residency is produced in cooperation with the Babelsberg Filmgymnasium, and presented in the respective city, as well as in Germany.
 
Previous scholarship locations and scholarship holders: