And Germany’s birthday present to its youth is not a first. Its launch of the app-based Kulturpass follows the advent of similar “cultural start-up capital” concepts in Italy, France and Spain, all of which aim to increase youth engagement with the arts, culture and media.
to propose such a voucher in advance of Budget 2024, saying it would “undoubtedly have a significant economic impact” and help creative sectors, including bookshops, still recovering from the impact of pandemic lockdowns. In explaining the rationale for its call, the NYCI notes how the cost-of-living crisis has constrained young people’s ability to resume cultural and social activities post-Covid, to the detriment of their mental health.
In Spain, the €400 youth culture voucher is divided in three, with €200 earmarked for live arts, heritage and audiovisual arts, €100 for spending on physical cultural products and €100 for outlays on digital culture, including audiobooks, ebooks and media subscriptions. The pass, which has been credited with a boom in graphic novel sales in France, originated as the flagship culture policy of Emmanuel Macron when he was campaigning to become president in 2017 and has since been extended to 15-17 year-olds, who receive €20 when they turn 15, then €30 aged 16 and 17.In Germany, the maximum value of individual purchases is limited, meaning the €200 voucher can’t be used to buy, say, a single pricey gig ticket.
Culture vouchers shouldn’t be treated as a frivolous “giveaway” that could only ever come at the cost of the provision of essential services. Done right, they could be an effective means to filter revenue to much-pummelled corners of Irish society, including the night-time economy that Martin’s department has been taking baby-steps to revive.