18App, publishers ask for the cancellation proposal to be withdrawn
The whole Italian book world united – authors, publishers, booksellers, stationers, librarians – asks the parliament and the government to withdraw the proposal to cancel the 18App, the bonus for new adults that it assigns to all girls and boys who have turned 18 500 euros to spend on cultural purchases. The request comes from all the sector associations: AIE – Italian Publishers Association, ADEI – Association of Independent Publishers, ALI – Italian Booksellers Association, SIL – Italian Booksellers Syndicate, Federcartolai Confcommercio, AIB – Italian Libraries Association, SIAE – Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, SLC-Cgil National Section of Writers.
Mollicone (FdI): “App 18 funds remain in the supply chain”
The deputy of the Brothers of Italy Mollicone assured that the funds of App 18 are “always intended for the supply chain”. «The amendment that I presented – continued Mollicone – is a structural amendment and concerns all the categories that in fact today are beneficiaries of the App 18: the editorial, musical, concert and live entertainment chain. That money, around 230 million euros, would be moved to the new Fus, which will no longer be called that, but the National Entertainment Fund». According to the president of the Culture Commission of the Chamber there will be “more funds for the Tax Credit of the cinema, for cinemas and also for the book chain with the establishment of the Book Fund, which, among other things, was a proposal also of the previous majority, with also funds for small publishers and local bookstores. The national funds for historical re-enactment would also be strengthened, which are public tenders in which the cities participate and are never sufficient”.
Historical carnivals are also involved
Again according to the deputy’s indications, for example, “historical carnivals would also be involved, which together with the re-enactments bring about the relaunch of the villages and cities of art, generating tourism and therefore the economy. If you go to see the results of the tenders – Mollicone said – they are all on a waiting list because the resources are not enough. The most important and onerous fund would then be the discontinuity fund, which we from the opposition have in any case supported in favor of the entire artistic chain and all workers in the entertainment industry, including those in music, theatre, cinema and dance”. so badly affected during the Covid period.
Pd, majority wants to put an end to 18 apps
The opposition attacks. «The papers speak for themselves and the attempt to deny Minister Sangiuliano’s evidence is so clumsy and clumsy as to leave us incredulous – the democratic members of the Chamber of Deputies Culture Commission highlight -. The amendment signed by all the majority group leaders puts the cancellation of the 18 app in black and white. This is how we want to put an end to a tool that has proved invaluable to our girls and boys over the years. A measure that looks to the future and not to make money on the weakest as the government is doing with the budget law on this issue as on many others”.
“On 18app the government tries to shuffle the cards but the patch is worse than the hole: in reality they have downloaded young people and culture”, says Marco Grimaldi, group leader in the budget commission of the Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, replying to the statements of the president of the commission Culture. We’ll see how they try to get out of this bad shape. In Italy, cultural consumption is falling alarmingly and inequalities are increasing proportionally to the school dropout rate, problems that are too serious for a government that considers culture a privilege», concludes Grimaldi.