Germany halves 18-year-old bonus: from 200 to 100 euros

Germany is preparing to reform its Kulturpass, the bonus for 18-year-olds introduced in 2023 by the German government along the lines of our 18app (which provided a bonus to be spent on culture for all 18-year-olds without any distinction, later abolished by the Meloni government, which introduced the Carta Giovani, reserved for 18-year-olds from families with ISEE below 35,000 euros, and the Carta del Merito, for those who come out of high school with 100). The Kulturpass initially included the possibility of spending 200 euros on books, musical instruments, cinema and museum tickets, concerts and theater performances.

The Kulturpass will see a halving. This was announced by Culture Minister Claudia Roth. The bonus will thus be reduced from 200 to 100 euros. On the other hand, Roth pledged that industry players will extend the offer covered by the Kulturpass and offer special offers and discounts to young people so that the nominal value of 100 euros can actually be increased. “Maintaining the culture card for everyone born in 2006,” Roth said, “was a great effort for all involved, given the general budget situation”: hence the decision to reduce the amount.

The initiative aims to encourage young people to participate in cultural offerings, and the minister positively assesses the results so far of the Kulturpass. Since June 2023, when the card was introduced, about 750,000 people were able to access the offer by the end of the year. All young people born in 2005 who turned 18 last year received a 200-euro credit upon registration, and those born in 2005 will be able to use their Kulturpass again this year (until December 31, 2024). The situation will change, however, for those born in 2006, who will be eligible for the 100-euro bonus as of March 1, 2024.

As in Italy, the Kulturpass in Germany is not without its critics from those who consider it a half-hearted measure: Indeed, Christiane Schenderlein of the CDU, spokesperson for her party’s parliamentary group on culture and media, has stated that “this is not substantial cultural funding”, and she considers it exclusionary, since there is nothing similar for families, the elderly or in general for all those who have suffered as a result of Covid (in fact, the German government also justified the introduction of the Kulturpass on the basis of the inactivity to which young people were forced during the pandemic). In short, as in Italy, could the 18-year-old bonus in Germany also have its days numbered?

Germany halves 18-year-old bonus: from 200 to 100 euros

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