Target areas
The Danish Embassy in Berlin already supports a great many activities in all arts and cultural genres. The BERLINAUT project is to be seen as part and parcel of the embassy’s other activities. This means that the BERLINAUT project will focus on areas that have development potential and concrete needs that may not necessarily be met with support from elsewhere.  Resources will be primarily devoted to professional artists in the visual arts, the stage arts and music.  Other genres may be included based upon a concrete assessment.

Method
BERLINAUT takes its starting point in the network method through which BERLINAUT will be able to plant the seeds for long-term endeavours. With project support, artists can create lasting and viable relationships in their field through specific artistic collaborations.  The projects under the aegis of BERLINAUT will be anchored in relevant German institutions, and thus the projects and artists will become a part of networks that are already in existence.  The projects will be developed in close dialogue between, for example, the artists, the embassy and the Danish Arts Agency.

Procedure
The BERLINAUT project will follow these 9 general principles for international cultural collaboration:

• Quality: Artistic quality must be the starting point for the choice of art and artists to be presented by BERLINAUT. The selection of the artists and works to be included in the project activities will be made by the competent professional organs.  A steering committee has been formed, consisting of two representatives from the Danish Arts Agency and two representatives from the embassy in Berlin. The decision-making authority with respect to the program, the organization and the budget lies with the steering committee.
• Outside interest: It is a prerequisite that an appropriate interest and demand be shown by local partners in Germany/Berlin and that they contribute resources for the implementation of the projects – for example, by making available infrastructure and expertise, marketing and PR, and accumulated wisdom and experience.  Co-financing is also an obvious possibility.  Contributions from German partners will depend on the nature of the project and are to be in place before the project begins.
• Focus: It is necessary to concentrate efforts on selected geographical areas because of existing resources and professional artistic relevance.  The program cannot be aimed at the whole of Germany.  Therefore, BERLINAUT will focus primarily on Berlin and, in isolated instances, other limited areas of Germany.  The focus will be on the visual arts, the stage arts and music, but other art forms may also be included depending on a specific, concrete assessment.
• Mutuality: Mutuality in cultural collaboration is important, if Danish art is to get out into the world in the right places. It can also help promote Danish cultural life.  The goal is to create meeting places and platforms for dialogue between Danish and German/Berlin-based artists.  BERLINAUT will also make an effort to establish exchange programs with German institutions in Denmark.
• Network organization: In Denmark, most of the resources and expertise for cultural collaboration abroad may be found in various cultural institutions and support organs.  Making use of the network already in place between these highly professional and competent cultural institutions and their international contacts is a good starting point for strengthening an international professional network for art and culture.  To provide BERLINAUT with an optimal foothold in the German cultural scene, the projects will be anchored in German institutions and the relevant Danish partners will be brought into the process.
• Flexibility: It must be possible to accommodate new projects on a running basis over the course of the two years BERLINAUT will last.  Therefore, a specific sum will be set aside for such flexible purposes.
• Simplicity: Information about all the projects will be placed on the Berlinaut internet portal at www.berlinaut.dk in German and Danish, respectively.  The progress of the project may also be followed on the homepage of the Danish Arts Agency at www.kunst.dk
• Marketing: In addition to general marketing through, for example, the bilingual Berlinaut internet portal, each individual project will also have the benefit of its own marketing campaign.  A combination of several initiatives will ensure that the projects will be visible to the German and Danish public and reach out to the relevant fora.
• Follow-up: It is important to follow up on the cultural projects that take place in Germany/Berlin.  This means, among other things, maintaining contacts already established and accommodating new interests that may arise, as well as better and more systematic evaluations of lessons learned from the various cultural projects.  As a condition for support, projects under BERLINAUT will be required to file reports on their activities and experiences.  The BERLINAUT project will conclude with two evaluation conferences – one in Berlin and one in Copenhagen.  Artists and collaborative partners will be invited to discuss the way the project unfolded, their experiences with the project, and broader perspectives.  In addition, the embassy in Berlin will undertake an evaluation and appraisal of the activities on the internet portal at www.berlinaut.dk  and assess future perspectives with respect to the platform.

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