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CULTURE

EXPLAINED: What to know about Germany’s youth culture pass

As of June 14th, anyone turning 18 this year can sign up for €200 worth of free books, music, theatre and cinema tickets under Germany's 'Kulturpass' scheme. Here's why and how they can use it.

Published: 25 May 2023 15:59 CEST
Updated: 16 June 2023 10:24 CEST
Young people look at the view from Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie.
Young people look at the view from Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marcus Brandt

What’s Germany’s culture pass?

The KulturPass – or culture pass – is a bit like a voucher that young people in Germany can use to buy tickets to cultural events, or even products like books or sheet music.

Anyone turning 18 in 2023 – estimated to be about 750,000 people – can get their hands on the pass. They will have €200 credit that they can spend on a special culture pass platform over two years for event tickets and other cultural offers. 

It’s worth noting that the digital pass is available to all young people living in Germany, even if they don’t hold German citizenship.

How is it given out?

The pass won’t be handed out automatically – those who are eligible have to sign up and prove their identity and age. To do so, simply head to the Kulturpass website (you can change the language from German to English by clicking on ‘Profil’) or download the Kulturpass app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Cultural venues can also sign up to sell their tickets or entrance cards via the Kulturpass app and website, so they can get a boost to their sales by promoting it on this central platform.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in June 2023 in Germany

Why is Germany doing this?

The move follows similar youth culture projects by other countries, including France, Italy and Spain. 

The German government initiative has two major aims: the first is to give young people an opportunity to get out and experience live culture in a way they weren’t able to during the pandemic.

Culture Minister Claudia Roth said last year that she hoped the KulturPass would get “young people go out and experience culture, see how diverse and inspiring it is”.

This, the government hopes, will create the next generation of culture vultures. 

The second aim is to help give a boost to cultural institutions like theatres, galleries, live music venues and similar businesses. 

The culture industry was one of the hardest hit in the pandemic, due to the Covid shutdowns put in place by the German government to combat the spread of the virus. 

Venues have struggled to encourage people to break out of their pandemic habits and get out to live events again. 

What kind of events can young people go to?

The emphasis is on live events to get people away from their home and to give the arts scene a boost. Theatres and concert venues will likely be a popular choice, but also independent bookshops, art galleries, and small business cinemas.

Amazon, Spotify, big chain cinemas – those kinds of vendors are excluded. Instead, the emphasis will be on local, independent venues and higher culture like opera, theatre, and concerts, as well as books and music.

Are there plans to roll it out to other age groups?

At the moment, this is a pilot project for people turning 18 this year. Depending on how it goes, the government may be looking at plans to roll such a pass out for 16 and 17 year-olds as well.

To hear more on this story, tune into our Germany in Focus podcast episode released on Friday, March 26th. 

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SCHOOLS

What is Germany’s digital pact for schools and how does it affect pupils?

A key programme for digitalision in German schools expires on May 16th. Has the initiave been successful - and what comes next?

Published: 16 May 2024 16:57 CEST
What is Germany's digital pact for schools and how does it affect pupils?

When it comes to digitalisation, Germany is a country very much under construction – and nowhere has that been more apparent than in schools. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic years, pupils suffered major setbacks as schools struggled to set up the infrastructure for remote and digital learning. 

This failure to set up digital learning quickly enough is seen as a key reason for Germany’s dismal performance in recent rankings of schools around the world.

Perhaps the most shocking of these came from a 2018 PISA study that ranked Germany 66th out of 78 countries in the availability of digital learning tools and 76th out 78 in the digital skills of teaching staff.

Desperate to turn things around, the federal and state governments launched their ‘Digital Pact for Schools’ back in 2019, earmarking a total of €6.5 billion for improving things like Wifi, the availability of digital equipment and administrative support.

Five years later – as the scheme expires – there are signs that the project has been a success. 

READ ALSO: German school pupils plummet to ‘lowest score ever’ in international rankings

How has the Digital Pact changed schools in Germany?

The €6.5 billion investment package consisted of €5 billion for boosting digital infrastructure in schools, €500 million for administrative support, €500 million for digital tools for teachers and a €500 emergency package for helping schools get set up for remote learning during the pandemic.

This was divided between the 16 federal states, with larger sums going to the states with the biggest populations and the highest number of schools. 

According to the Ministry of Education, around 90 percent of this sum has been either spent or earmarked since the fund was set up, with schools mostly using the money to purchase equipment like tablets and laptops for their classrooms. 

Out of the some 32,000 schools in Germany, around 29,000 benefited from the investment, the ministry revealed.

In the state of Bavaria alone, the Digital Pact helped fund 280,000 additional tablets in schools, bringing the total number up to 336,000. The number of digital classrooms, meanwhile, rose by 53,000 to 77,000 and the number of classrooms connected to wifi jumped by more than 60,000 to 101,000. 

Summing up the progress made in the last half decade, Stefan Düll, president of the German Teachers’ Association, said: “Most schools now have a good internet connection right up to the edge of the street,” even if no high-speed internet is available in the area. 

READ ALSO: School drop-outs rise across Germany as resources and teachers spread thin

According to the headteacher, there has also been significant steps forward in learning platforms, training for teachers and the availability of devices like tablets in schools. “Teaching can now utilise digital possibilities in many places,” he added. 

Is there still room for improvement?

Despite the investment, progress has been much slower in some regions and there are still many schools that don’t have access to wifi at all.

Düll also pointed out that, for schools to maintain high standards, there needs to be continuous investment for renewing subscriptions and replacing outdated or broken devices. This hasn’t always been forthcoming, he said. 

In addition, teachers often lack the administrative support they need to ensure that a digital lesson actually takes place in the case of technical problems. When it comes to training courses to get set up for digital learning, teachers are often unable to find the time while working more than 40 hours per week and coping with ever-worsening staff shortages.

School pupil in Germany

A school pupil studies history on a laptop at school in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marijan Murat

Finally, Düll sees room for improvement in the government’s attitude towards artificial intelligence (AI) and finding safe and ethical ways to incorporate it in the classroom.

“AI has an incredible amount of potential, an incredible amount of opportunities for our country as a whole, for Germany as a business location,” he said, “and Germany still has the chance to be at the forefront.”

However, since the current Digital Pact only mentions AI in passing, schools currently have to shell out for this themselves – and licensing software with high data protection standards doesn’t come cheap. 

Will there be a Digital Pact 2.0? 

There should be, but currently it’s unclear what form it will take or how it will be financed. 

Though the new pact is due to kick off in 2025, Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) is currently locked in a battle with the state culture ministers over where the money for the next investment programme should come from.

Previously, 90 percent of the funding came from the federal government, while just ten percent was put forward by the states. This time around, however, Stark-Watzinger is demanding a 50/50 split and also wants more say in how the programme should work.

One key sticking point is the amount of funding put into additional training for teachers. “The Digital Pact 2.0 must not become a mere order list for digital devices,” the FDP politician said recently. “Teachers are central to good digital education and need appropriate further training.”

Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) in Berlin

Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christophe Gateau

From the Education Ministry’s perspective, the next Digital Pact should expire in 2030 and function as the last major investment from central government. 

However, the states disagree on almost every front.

Not only would state education ministers like to see the 90/10 funding continue, but they also reject the idea of the federal government interfering on what the money should be used for. That’s largely because, under Germany’s federal system, states are primarily responsible for governing schools and education. 

In addition, the Länder reject the idea of an end date and would like to see the investment continue indefinitely.

READ ALSO: Six surprising facts about Germany’s school system

It’s still unclear when the next Digital Pact may be finalised. Relations between Stark-Watzinger and the state culture ministers have soured to such an extent that the FDP politician refused an invite to the next Culture Ministers’ Conference (CMK) that’s due be held in Saarland this June.

That means the deadlock is likely to continue into the foreseeable future. 

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