Why KulturLegi?

In 2023, 8.1 per cent of the Swiss population was living below the official poverty line. That is 708,000 people, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office. The proportion of people at risk of poverty, i.e. those affected by poverty or threatened by it, stands at 16.1 per cent of the population. This means that 1.4 million people in Switzerland are affected by or at risk of poverty. Particularly alarming is the fact that one in five children lives in this situation.

Poverty has far-reaching consequences: it often leads to limited participation in social and cultural life and even social isolation.

The KulturLegi counteracts this by making cultural, educational and sporting activities affordable for people on the poverty line, thereby promoting the social integration of those affected by poverty into society. Cheaper museum tickets, half-price cinema tickets or reduced costs for dance classes – these are rays of hope in the often difficult everyday lives of those affected by poverty. One user puts it this way: ‘If I had to cut culture out of my budget altogether, I would wither away. Culture is food for the soul for me.’
 

What Caritas wants to achieve

The KulturLegi has been in its current form for more than ten years. Around 197,000 people in Switzerland currently use the KulturLegi and its 4,200+ offers – there is a great need for participation in social and cultural life. The KulturLegi makes an important contribution to the vision of a Switzerland in which everyone can participate in social, cultural and sporting life.

Sixteen regional Caritas organisations run regional KulturLegi offices, and Caritas Switzerland runs a national office.