The vote, by the government majority, of an amendment repealing the system put in place since 2016, which allowed young people celebrating their 18th birthday to benefit from a sum of 500 euros, arouses an outcry.
Book professionals in Italy denounced on Saturday the removal by the right-wing and far-right government majority of a culture check of 500 euros offered since 2016 to young people celebrating their 18th birthday.
“Authors, publishers, booksellers, stationers, librarians ask Parliament and the government to withdraw the proposal to abolish the bonus of 500 euros offered to young people aged 18 to make cultural purchases“Write the associations of the sector in a press release. This checkallowed thousands of young people to explore and get closer to the world of books, freely choosing what they wanted to read“. He also has “economically supported the book and allowed a country that traditionally reads little to make enormous progressin the matter, they point out.
According to the Italian Institute of Statistics, quoted by professionals, this check boosted reading among 18-21 year olds, an age category in which readers rose from 46.8% to 54% between 2016 and 2018. The right/extreme right majority from the September legislative elections voted on Friday for an amendment removing the device. She explained that she wanted to reallocate the 230 million euros that it costs the state each year to other forms of support for the cultural world, and argued that many young people divert the money for other purposes.
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Faced with the outcry caused by this announcement, Forza Italia, the party of Silvio Berlusconi at the origin of the reform, indicated on Saturday that it intended to maintain reading assistance for young adults. “Forza Italia shares the majority’s concerns about the misappropriation of this culture check for 18-year-olds: the money has sometimes been diverted for expenses unrelated to education and instruction, for the purchase, for example , mobile phones, video games and household appliances“says a statement from the party. “No one, however, questions the validity of the measure and that is why we consider it absolutely necessary that resources continue to be earmarked for the benefit of young people and their cultural training.“, we add from the same source, without specifying how the allowance could be made permanent.
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