This was done in several ways: in cultural conferences that took place in four districts, in the form of surveys of pupils (in schools) and students (at the Ostfalia) as well as experts from culture, associations and event management. There was also an online survey on the city of Salzgitter's website. In this way, all those interested in culture were able to participate. The online questionnaire was available in German, Arabic, English, Polish, Russian and Turkish in order to reach foreign citizens as well.

Around 1,600 Salzgitter residents contributed their wishes for the cultural scene, provided concrete examples, pointed out weaknesses and made valuable suggestions. The process was coordinated by the "just be" agency together with the City of Salzgitter's cultural department.

"We have established," said Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, summing up the participation, "that the people in our city are generally satisfied with the cultural offerings, but of course there is still room for improvement." He was pleased that everyone who took part in the participation process had contributed so many good ideas and suggestions. With these impulses, the already well-established offer could be further improved so that a modern and sustainable cultural offer for all age groups could be created in Salzgitter in the coming years.

According to the Lord Mayor, the city of Salzgitter differs from many other cities in that it is unusually spread out, but also in that cultural events are not offered by large organizers, but by small cultural associations and the City of Salzgitter's cultural department. "The interpersonal aspect is still crucial here". People know the organizers and therefore have a personal connection to the cultural offerings. The variety of events was seen as good by those surveyed and the networking of cultural professionals as important.

"It was important to us," says city councillor Eric Neiseke, who was in charge of this process, "that the Kulturentwicklungsplan was not decided at the green table, but that citizens and cultural professionals were invited to participate and contribute their own ideas."

One of the many results of this participation is the proposal to set up a cultural office. The idea: the office should enable better networking between cultural professionals, increase the impact of cultural activities, strengthen citizens' identification with the city and strengthen civic engagement.

It also became clear that there are only a few cultural offerings for young people in Salzgitter. For example, respondents put forward the idea of a metal festival. Frank Klingebiel emphasized that what was special here was that this wish did not only come from the younger generation.

Councillor Neiseke emphasized that the Kulturentwicklungsplan is a recommendation for action for the next ten years, which will be regularly reviewed and updated. The idea was to set up an advisory board for this purpose, which would meet once a year and advise the administration. The proposed members are cultural policy spokespersons from the parliamentary groups, the Equal Opportunities Officer, the Disability Advisory Council, a member of the Youth Parliament, an integration pilot, institutional cultural organizations, volunteers and other stakeholders.