18-year-olds in Spain to receive €400 culture vouchers

Spain has just approved plans for 18-year-olds to receive €400 culture vouchers to spend on the arts and cultures — vouchers that can be spent on festivals, events, vinyl, books and digital music products.

The Youth Cultural Bonus was approved by Spain's council of ministers this week in hopes to restore the cultural and creative industries that have recently suffered as a result of the pandemic.

The recipients of the voucher have one year to spend the money - which will be loaded onto a virtual card and can be spent via a smartphone device. There is a €200 spending cap on live events and festivals, a €100 cap for physical products such as vinyl and books (excluding textbooks), and a €100 cap for digital products, including mp3 items.

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Products such as food, textbooks and instruments cannot be bought using the cultural voucher.

The scheme was proposed in October- and promised that it would allow young people to have a helping hand to access culture, and will give the arts sector a boost.

As reported by RA, the cultural sector in Spain saw a 15.8% decline in spending during the year 2020, and employment in the culture sector saw a 5.1% decrease in 2020-2021.

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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 eighteen, 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 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.

"[The scheme will] promote loyalty that generates the habit of consuming cultural products in young people so that, as adults, they continue to consume cultural products regularly."

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As reported by Catalan News, back when the scheme was initially proposed in October, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez said the plan "helps not only young people but also a very important industry, culture, that has suffered so much during the pandemic."

Similar cultural spending schemes have already been set up in both France (€300) and Italy (€500).

Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter