School

31/10/2008Culture Card for Dutch pupils

How do you attract secondary school students to the theatre, the museum, the concert hall? The Dutch government hopes a discount card will do the trick.

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This week almost a million pupils will receive the new Culture Card, with 15 euros of credit to explore the arts.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think I'll be likely to go. It's not my interest."

A secondary school student answers the question whether he'll soon be going to the opera. The boy next to him also has his doubts.

"I'd rather go to an interesting museum with things to do. Not just sitting still and watching. And no paintings thanks, no, no paintings."

Money and discount

The first secondary school students received the Culture Card from Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk in person. Now another 940,000 children are to get their cards - all secondary schools in the country have applied for cards for their pupils.

"The idea behind the culture card is that you get both money and a discount. And these two things combined lower the threshold to going to performances or trying things out," says Walter Groenen, responsible for distributing the Culture Card.

Participation

At secondary school, pupils receive a one-year course in arts and culture. Up to now they have only received tokens to pay for a cultural activity during that time. But from now on the pupils will be given a discount card valid throughout their time at school to stimulate their interest in the arts. And each year they will receive 15 euros of credit on the card. There has been interest in the new system from many countries.

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