EUNIC is the network of the EU National Institutes for Culture. It promotes cultural cooperation in more than 100 countries worldwide and, as a strategic partner, plays an active part in shaping the EU’s international cultural relations. All the EU Member States are represented in the network, as well as Ukraine and the United Kingdom as Associate Members. As a long-standing member, ifa has supported numerous initiatives within the network since 2009, including research projects and events. EUNIC’s member organisations can join clusters worldwide to develop and implement joint activities. Since 2022, ifa has also been involved in the EUNIC Cluster Fund, a funding instrument to enhance European cultural cooperation within and outside the EU. Under Gitte Zschoch’s leadership, ifa also became an active member of the EUNIC cluster in Romania in 2024, where it is involved in projects for the cultural revitalisation of the former industrial city of Reșița.
"As well as performing their important mandate at national level, European cultural institutes must also think across borders. In times of competition, conflict and war, it is vital to build shared European visions. Plural, open societies, freedom in art, science and the media, democracy – Europe has so many strengths. These must now be underlined even more emphatically, also with a view to shaping Europe’s global position. I would like to thank the members of EUNIC for their confidence in electing me as President and look forward to our future cooperation in the network", said Gitte Zschoch.
As honorary President of EUNIC, Gitte Zschoch intends to set three key priorities during her one-year term: Europe's international cultural relations are to be strengthened. Building on the findings of the latest ifa studies, cooperation between cultural institutes is to be deepened and common values such as democracy, freedom and human rights – including cultural rights – defended. In addition, in view of the increasing focus on security issues, the importance of international cultural work for understanding, resilience and multilateral cohesion is to be emphasised more strongly. Another focus is on the strategic expansion of platforms for knowledge exchange within the network in order to effectively address global challenges with combined European expertise.
The next EUNIC General Assembly will take place from 11 to 12 June 2026 at ifa in Stuttgart.
Gitte Zschoch, has been Secretary General of ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen since October 2021. From 2018 to 2021, she was Director of EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture in Brussels. She previously worked for the Goethe-Institut in Seoul, Tokyo and Johannesburg in a number of different roles, as Deputy Head of Communication at its Munich headquarters, and most recently as founding Director of the Goethe-Institut in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gitte Zschoch studied Comparative Literature at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and Modern Korean Literature at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea. She chairs the Advisory Board of the Akademie Schloss Solitude Stuttgart and is an Expert Member of the Committee for Culture and Media of the City of Stuttgart’s municipal council. She has been a Member of the EUNIC Board of Directors since June 2025 and has been honorary President of EUNIC since December 2025. She will hold this office for the regular period of one year.
With its work in the field of art and civil society, ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen builds understanding and trust between people around the world. It promotes democratic civil societies and advocates freedom in art, science and the media. ifa enriches debates, extends perspectives and contributes its international knowledge and its networks in the fields of art and culture, politics and society. ifa is funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the state of Baden-Württemberg and its capital Stuttgart.
ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
presse(at)ifa.de
Theresa Brüheim: +49 162 1001121
Miriam Kahrmann +49 151 26455509
