18-year-olds in Spain to receive €400 culture vouchers
nme.comYouth Cultural Bonus was officially approved last Wednesday (March 23) by Spain’s council of ministers in hopes of restoring cultural and creative industries that have suffered during the ongoing pandemic.Recipients will have one year to spend the digital voucher, a €200 (£170) spending cap on live events and festivals, a €100 (£85) cap for physical products such as vinyl, and a €100 cap for digital products.
Food, textbooks, and instruments can’t be bought using cultural vouchers.The official Spanish government website states: “Following the example of nearby countries, such as France or Italy, where similar initiatives are already being practised for young people who turn 18, the Youth Cultural Bonus is intended for those people who reach the age of majority in the calendar year in which it is requested.”The statement continued: “The Youth Cultural Voucher project seeks to facilitate universal and diversified access to culture for young people, generate new habits of cultural consumption and strengthen existing ones, create new audiences, stimulate demand and reduce the negative impact caused by the pandemic on various cultural sectors in our country.”They also shared that they hoped the vouchers would “promote loyalty that generates the habit of consuming cultural products in young people so that, as adults, they continue to consume cultural products regularly.”Similar plans to increase cultural spending have taken place in both France (€300) and Italy (€500).
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