Leading cultural associations are campaigning for a continuation of the culture pass for young people. “The culture pass is a valuable instrument for strengthening the cultural participation of young people, especially if they have not previously been given access to culture,” says a statement from the German Book Trade Association, the German Theater Association, the German Museum Association, the Music Industry Forum and the cinema association HDF Kino.
“The culture pass not only provides a low-threshold entry and a wide range of offerings, but also supports social interaction and thus social cohesion,” explained the cultural associations. “Cultural participation plays an important role in actively committing to our pluralistic society and its democratic values.”
Around 210,000 activations so far
Around 750,000 people who will turn 18 this year can use the culture pass, which comes with 200 euros, by the end of the year. The credit should remain valid for two years. The funding of 100 million euros is initially sufficient for around 60 percent of 18-year-olds.
According to the latest figures from the responsible Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth (Greens), 211,570 young people have so far been activated for the culture pass. With their credit, they made almost half a million reservations worth a good 8.6 million euros. Books account for 4.1 million euros, ahead of concerts and stages (2.8 million), cinema (1.4 million), musical instruments (220,000), recordings (34,000) and museums and parks (26,000).
“We are firmly convinced of the potential of the culture pass,” write the associations. It would be a “devastating signal” for young people, cultural workers and cultural venues not to give the pilot project any opportunity to develop further after its promising start. That is why the pilot project should be continued “at an undiminished level”.
