Public Supporters

North Rhine-Westphalia, together with Paris and London, constitutes one of the most varied and heavily-populated cultural arenas in Europe. Nowhere else in Germany do you find so many theatres, museums and exhibition halls. In order to take greater advantage of the opportunities offered by this rich cultural provision, the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia has been making culture his special priority since 2005. The Ruhrtriennale is one of the foremost events in the cultural calendar of North Rhine-Westphalia and has attracted international interest to the Ruhr region by turning its former industrial sites into performance spaces. In accordance with the Cultural Capital 2010 theme of “change through culture: culture through change” which, in terms of structural change, emphasises the significance of vision, creativity and the ability to innovate, the Ruhrtriennale and its innovative productions are making an essential contribution to the profile of the future “Metropole Ruhr”.

One of the fundamental aims of the founding of the European Union was to secure member states’ harmonious social and economic development. The Structural Funds were set up to provide financial support for weaker regions, sourced from the collective resources of the Union. The Structural Funds are designed to provide support for regions and branches of industry that are hampered from developing independently. The aim of this support is to bring the economic position and the standard of living of such regions in line with that of all EU member states. The Structural Funds enable the EU to implement its regional policy.