Laying the foundations for the expansion of digital offerings to fulfil the statutory tasks

Since the comprehensive renovation, the Francke Foundations have developed into a living organism with international appeal. More than 4,000 people visit the facilities on the foundation grounds every day, and additional 120,000 visitors from all over the world visit the Francke Foundations every year (including tourist visitors to the historic school town and the grounds).

The Corona pandemic brought about a break in the successful educational work of the Francke Foundations. The museum areas had to close for long periods of time, and at the beginning of the closures it was impossible to predict how long they would last. This resulted in the urgent need to expand the digital possibilities and to shift the everyday as well as special offers into the digital world. Offerings in the digital space quickly became established, such as online exhibitions or lifestreams of cultural events on the internet. In this way, the Francke Foundations were able to continue to successfully fulfil their educational mission even under the difficult conditions of the corona pandemic and even increase their reach - for example, the digital offerings are also perceived by people who would otherwise not travel to events. The offers are to be maintained permanently and also expanded.

Thanks to the funding in the cultural investment programme Digitisation REACT-EU, the technical framework conditions can be adapted and upgraded, as the existing technology is no longer powerful enough due to its age and, above all, the existing storage capacity is no longer sufficient for an expansion of the digital offerings. In this way, the project is primarily intended to lay the foundation for ensuring that the digital cultural and mediation offerings that have already been introduced can continue to be available and that, in addition, a gradual expansion of the digital offerings can take place. In this way, it can be ensured that the public can participate in the diverse cultural life of the Francke Foundations even in times of limited visiting opportunities.