Inclusive and open cultural participation is one of the priorities of the Government’s coalition programme 2018-2023, that also states clearly that culture must be able to be truly shared by all while ensuring to include people who are a priori more distant from culture.[1] Also KEP is very vocal about the cultural participation and consumption, detailing many objectives in that respect, as well as proposing recommendations 47 to 51.
Many actions target, directly or indirectly, access to culture on many different levels, be it through specific actions for particular groups (children and young people, senior citizens, peoples with different cultural backgrounds, people with disabilities etc.) or in terms of public outreach, using all kinds of digital and non-digital formats. Addressing some of them, one can cite:
Cultural participation of people with modest income is being targeted through the setting up in 2008 of a “Kulturpass”/Culture for All passport, managed by the Cultur’All association that benefits from a support agreement with the ministry of Culture and the ministry of of Family Affairs, Integration and the Greater Region. The Kulturpass is a nominative and personal card that is free of charge and valid for two years. It grants access to partner museums without entry fee, whereas the entry tickets to dance shows, concerts, theatre plays, the film library or a festival can be bought at a reduced price of 1,50 euros.[2]
Cultural diversity being considered as one of Luxembourg’s assets and part of its identity, the State aims to promote intercultural events and programs that contribute to dialogue between participants from different origins, as well as to ensure that public cultural institutions dedicate part of their program and resources to intercultural activities.[3] Some examples of numerous initiatives can be mentioned, such as the work of Centre of Documentation on Human Migrations (Centre de Documentation sur les Migrations Humaines – CDMH), Hariko, The Migrations, Cultures and Citizenship Festival, or the mateneen call by the OEuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte.[4]
Measures for cultural participation of people with disabilities: the ministry of Culture, in collaboration with Info Handicap, offers training on welcoming people with disabilities within a cultural institution. There are also training courses since 2020 for cultural mediation, programming and communication officers in the area of welcoming and communicating towards special needs public.[5] Nevertheless, inclusive accessibility remains a challenge.
For senior citizens, there are rather few specific measures. Noteworthy, Villa Vauban offers specific guided tours for persons who are 65+, with adapted pace of the visit and available stools and wheelchairs, if needed.[6] More generally, GERO – Kompetenzzenter fir den Alter (Gerontological Competence Center) invests in innovative approaches that positively influence the lives of elderly people in Luxembourg, proposing also cultural workshops, conferences and visits (www.gero.lu).
More recently, the ministry of Culture, together with the ministry of Justice and in collaboration with the Prison Administration have launched a call for projects aimed at associative structures to encourage the development of cultural projects offering the inmates the possibility to reconnect with a part of society, to discover or revive new means of expression, while developing their talents or passions.
Strengthening citizen participation is also one of the major aims of the cultural programme of the European Capital of Culture, Esch2022 in order to activate and involve citizens from across the region, but also to anchor citizen participation within institutional and policy thinking. To this end, Esch2022 has also signed an agreement with the Cultur’all association, in charge of promoting the Kulturpass.[7]
[1] Les partis de la coalition DP, LSAP et déi gréng (2018) Accord de coalition 2018-2023, p.84-85.
[2] https://kulturpass.lu; Accessed 22 November 2021.
[3] Les partis de la coalition DP, LSAP et déi gréng (2018) Accord de coalition 2018-2023, p. 88-89.
[4] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 155.
[5] Rapport d’activité du Ministère de la Culture 2020, p. 76. Accessible at: https://data.public.lu/fr/datasets/rapports-dactivite-du-ministere-de-la-culture/#_
[6] https://www.amisdesmusees.lu/activites-des-amis/visites-pour-seniors; Accessed 8 December 2021.
[7] Esch2022 asbl (2021) Third Monitoring Report, p. 17.
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