Minister Bonisoli: people's maneuver increases investment in culture

“The people’s maneuver could only pass through increases and investments in culture.” This was stated by the minister of cultural heritage, Alberto Bonisoli, in a post published yesterday on his Facebook page, a few hours after the approval of the 2019 budget bill in the Senate(here in-depth study with list of all measures affecting culture).

“Culture,” Bonisoli says, “makes us grow and makes us free and independent, that is, it makes us think for ourselves. Culture also generates money and investing in this sector becomes strategic for our country because of all the induced activities that revolve around it. We have just started but investment in this sector is bound to grow further in the coming years.” On the work of the first six months of government, the minister specifies, “I could tell you what we have done in the first six months of work, and I will just mention the two-euro tickets for young people from 18 to 25 years old and the increase of free days in museums and archaeological sites, or the start of the process for the museum of fashion and design, but today I want to point out how many other good things we have included in the budget law in favor of culture.” So here are the positive aspects of the maneuver, in the area of culture, according to Bonisoli: “We had emergencies to deal with, bequeathed to us by our predecessors. First of all, hiring. Too many of our employees have retired in recent years without being replaced so, without a specific plan, we would have been forced to close many of our excellencies. And so 1,000 new jobs extra turnover by 2021 and another 100 by sliding an old ranking list. A forthcoming decree, on the other hand, will provide for other hires on a turnover basis, that is, to replace retiring staff. Another priority for me is the securing of sites for which in the maneuver there is the largest investment ever allocated in fire safety measures by this ministry. As many as 109 million.”

Then there are considerations on the problems that the minister considers a priority: “In the first six months of my work in this ministry I studied to understand what were the critical issues to be put in hand. In short, where there was a need for an effort on the part of the state to grow a particular sector or to prevent it from dying. We have put some money on some realities but rest assured that our work does not end here and we will intervene with further investments in the coming years. First of all, I realized that the single performing arts fund was in danger of collapse so we increased it by 8 million euros. Even worse are the lyric symphonic foundations to which we have allocated 12.5 million to begin to pay off debts. But we have also asked them for what is called in the jargon a business plan to get back into the debt situation. Another 4 million will go to the entire audiovisual system.”

As for further investments, “we then allocated,” the minister points out, “two million euros to the city of Matera, which with Plovdiv, in Bulgaria, will be European Capital of Culture in 2019. We confirmed the culture bonus for all those born in 2001. We have earmarked 4 million euros for digitization, an important field in our time, to enable all scholars to admire our works of art in great detail. We have also earmarked 3 million for the promotion of contemporary art abroad, which will be managed directly by Mibac. We have allocated one million to L’Aquila to help it get back on its feet with cultural initiatives as well, and two million to the other regions hit by earthquakes in recent years. Another million has been earmarked for projects that focus on the tradition of choirs and bands in our area. 3.5 million will be allocated for the enhancement and promotion of applied arts, especially for fashion and design.”

Finally, before thanking the parliamentarians of the 5 Star Movement “for the great work they have done,” the minister concludes by saying that “the people’s maneuver could not forget those who often feel less considered. The inhabitants of the suburbs have too often been forgotten. We, on the other hand, wanted to value their experience. My ministry will allocate 2 million to support interventions for the redevelopment and recovery of urban suburbs, including through contemporary art projects.”

In the photo: Alberto Bonisoli

Minister Bonisoli: people's maneuver increases investment in culture

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.