The German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, led by the controversial minister Karin Prien (CDU), justified the funding cut to Lambda in response to a written question from Left Party member Maik Brückner. “In light of the necessary budget consolidation, the federal government is obligated to concentrate the available funds and streamline its grant activities, so that long-standing funding must also be reviewed on the basis of framework agreements,” states a reply from State Minister Mareike Wulf (CDU).
“However, this does not represent a withdrawal from supporting youth work for and with lesbian, gay, transgender and intersex, as well as non-binary youths and their specific concerns and needs,” the statement continues. “Today, the concerns surrounding gender and sexual diversity among young people are embedded across the broad spectrum of youth organizations. This ensures targeted support for young people.” Lambda is invited to continue advocating for these topics and services and to apply for funding from the Children and Youth Plan.
Brückner: “The federal government can’t manage money”
The questioner Brückner, the queer politics spokesperson for the Left faction, was visibly irritated by this response: “The federal government can’t manage money, and queer youth work is paying the price,” criticized the Lower Saxony MP. “The federal government clearly couldn’t care less about queer communities, and that’s why a project like Lambda is at the top of the chopping block.”
Brückner specifically criticized: “The suggestion that Lambda can continue to pursue its goals and that the concerns of queer youths are already broadly embedded in the federation’s work is cynical, malicious, and devoid of any real expertise. Many youth organizations have since expressed solidarity with Lambda, because Lambda’s work is more important now than ever!”
Lambda e.V. is the only nationwide, nonprofit youth association in Germany that focuses specifically on queer adolescents and young adults. It was founded in 1990 in the former East Berlin. Since 2018, funding has been governed by a framework agreement with the Ministry of Family Affairs, which forms the financial backbone of nationwide youth association work.
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The Lambda youth network noted, after the funding cut became public, that it had recently received more advisory requests from queer youths in acute crises. The cut would disproportionately affect rural and structurally disadvantaged regions where there are no lasting on-site services.
In recent years, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) repeatedly called for eliminating Lambda’s funding. The extremist party accused the association of, among other things, confronting young people with topics such as “fetish.”
