Culture budget for MBO students

MBO schools with a MBO culture card receive a culture budget from the central government. With this, their students can, for instance, go to museums, visit theatrical performances or go to a concert. This was announced by Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (Education) and State Secretary Gunay Uslu (Culture) during a tour of the Rijksmuseum with mbo students. A total of 5 million euros is available for the mbo culture budget.

There will be 10.25 euros on each mbo culture card. Many mbo colleges and some municipalities have indicated to double that amount. The aim is for students to undertake as many classroom cultural activities as possible, for example as part of citizenship education.

The money is spendable at cultural institutions in the Netherlands. In total, more than 1,200 cultural institutions are affiliated to the Culture Card. Many of these institutions have developed specific offers for mbo. This is a pilot for the next two years that will be monitored and evaluated.

State Secretary Uslu: "Arts and culture make you look at things in a different way. It lets you see a different perspective. For example, a play can spark a conversation about complicated or sensitive topics. And a photo or painting can confront you with another time. Thanks to this budget and the already existing discount on the mbo-cultuurkaart, mbo institutions and their students will be able to make easier use of the broad and special cultural offering in our country. Hopefully, this budget on the culture card will help remove barriers that may sometimes exist. And encourages young people to see and experience something new."

Minister Dijkgraaf: "With this credit, MBO students will have easier access to the Netherlands' cultural treasure troves. In this way, we want to stimulate students' curiosity and imagination, and help them develop broadly. Not only are MBO graduates of great importance to the cultural sector, but knowledge gained in performances and exhibitions also contributes to discussions on social issues that are alive in schools. The card is therefore going to help strengthen cultural education in the MBO and cooperation between schools and cultural institutions."

Meanwhile, more than 100,000 mbo students are already using the mbo culture card through their schools to undertake cultural activities. MBO schools interested in participating in the pilot can apply to CJP, the organisation that arranges culture cards for young people on behalf of the government.