Despite the fact that the budget for federal cultural funding in Germany is set to remain stable and even grow, massive cuts have been announced for the upcoming budget negotiations for 2025 in autumn. The funds of the five central funding foundations German Literature Fund – German Translators’ Fund – Performing Arts Fund-
Socioculture Fund – Music Fund – Art Fund Foundation – are to be halved.
The Federal Humanitarian Admission Programme for Afghanistan, which came into force in 2022 and is intended to enable Afghan nationals who have been particularly exposed through their commitment to women’s and human rights or through their activities in the fields of justice, politics, media, education, culture, sport, or science and are therefore individually at risk to be able to leave for Germany, is also to be massively cut. The programme was designed for 44,000 people to be admitted to Germany, 26,000 of whom had already arrived in October 2022. Two years later, only 533 people have been accepted into the programme. Artists make up around 20% of this. In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, independent artistic creation is not possible. Artists are persecuted, especially women.
The government draft envisages massive cuts to the programme, making it almost impossible to continue it in a meaningful way.
The Federal Cultural Funds have published a joint statement, while the German Cultural Council, the umbrella organisation of German cultural organisations, has appealed in its statement to Germany’s responsibility for artists in Afghanistan and called for action in the budget negotiations.
Sources : Joint statement of the Federal Culture Funds,
Press release German Cultural Council
