Promoting Germany

One of the main vehicles for promoting Germany's culture and language around the world, the Goethe Institute has been forced to watch its budget drop by 16 million euros ($21 million) over the last 10 years and had recently been embroiled in a controversial debate about its future operations.

Politicians in Germany's grand coalition of Christian and Social Democrats, however, said Friday that a turnaround is at hand, adding that they planned to increase the institute's finances by 13.5 million euros to a total of about 120 million euros.

The added money is planned to enable the organization to expand its network of 144 institutes in 80 countries, members of the Committee for Foreign Culture and Education said.

There are two tasks that need to be completed for the Goethe Institute to have positive future, according to Social Democrat and committee member Monika Griefahn.

Expansion can't come at European expense

"The Goethe Institute has to show that it is capable of structural change," she said. "And we have to bear the new challenges facing us in new regions like Eastern Europe, Asia and the Arabic world."

After months of discussion in the committee, several politicians said Friday that the institute's expansion in Asian and Islamic countries was of particular importance.

"The number one task is spreading and fostering of the German language in foreign countries," said Christian Democrat Peter Gauweiler, who co-authored a report with Griefahn planning the institute's future.

Expansion around the globe cannot come at the expense of activities closer to home, as there is still work to do in Europe, Gauweiler added. He said Goethe officials needed to work more closely with other German institutions abroad, including the German Academic Exchange Service and the Humboldt Foundation.

Modernizing administrative practices

In addition to teaming up with other German organizations, the foreign cultural policy committee has told the institute it needs to modernize its administrative practices, Social Democrat Lothar Mark said

"The Goethe Institute has not made any structural adjustments over the past few years," he said. "This naturally created a structural deficit."

Mark added that the organization needed to set realistic goals based on its budget and consider lowering its costs by moving out of particularly expensive locations in favor of cheaper real estate.

Germany's foreign culture flagship

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, however, said he was "very satisfied" with the Goethe Institute's work.

Steinmeier, who said he has a plan of the direction he'd like the organization to take, has made it a point to visit the institutes in his many trips abroad, registering more Goethe visits in his one year in office as Germany's top diplomat than his predecessor, Joschka Fischer, did during six years in office.

"More ambition in foreign schools and more ambition in scientific exchanges, that is what we should deal with over the next years," said Steinmeier, whose ministry is responsible for keeping up foreign political as well as cultural ties. "I say that although I am very satisfied with what our foreign culture and education policy flagship has achieved."