CULTURE
Spain’s youth culture voucher is now open for applications. Here’s what parents and young people in Spain need to know about the Spanish government’s grant, from who can apply to what it can be spent on.
Published: 31 March 2022 11:02 CEST
Updated: 25 July 2022 10:10 CEST
Spain’s youth culture voucher Amit Kumar / Pixabay
The Spanish government has finally announced that young people can apply for the Bono Cultural Jóven or a Youth Culture Voucher from Monday, July 25th.
The plan was first announced in October of last year, when the Spanish government announced that they would launch the special voucher, giving young people a grant of €400 to spend on culture. However, it wasn’t until March 2022 that it was finally approved and it has taken a further four months for it to be put into place.
In total, this aid represents €210 million of Spain’s General State Budget and it’s estimated that almost 500,000 young people throughout Spain may end up benefiting from it.
What is the Youth Culture Voucher?
The voucher is a €400 grant approved by the Spanish government, to be spent on cultural products.
It was conceived as a way to promote and help revitalise the Spanish cultural sector after the difficulties it suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to help young people to benefit from cultural products that they may have missed during this time.
Who can benefit from the culture grant?
Currently, only those who turn 18 years old in 2022 will be able to access the grant. Unfortunately, if you are 18, but you had your birthday in 2021, you will not qualify.
Essentially, it means that it’s currently only open to those who were born in 2004.
The voucher is available to those with Spanish nationality, as well as legal residents and refugees. All you will have to do to show you qualify is to prove your date of birth and residency status, such as a DNI, TIE or green residency document.
The Spanish government hopes to repeat the aid program in 2023, so if you’re not old enough to receive the grant this year, then you may be able to try next year.
How can I apply for it?
You can apply for the voucher from July 25th via the special website that has been launched for this purpose and access it here.
Remember, you must apply for it before the deadline of October 15th, 2022.
In order to apply, you will need to click on the blue button on the left-hand side of the screen, which says “Pincha aquí para solicitarlo” or click here to apply.
You will then need to register your personal details and create a password.
Once you have registered you will need to officially identify yourself online using either your Digital Certificate or [email protected] If you don’t have either of these, you can find out how to apply for the Digital Certificate here and the [email protected] here.
The website is also available for companies to sign up and offer their cultural products and services.
Once approved for the grant, you will receive the money in one lump sum put onto a virtual prepaid card. You may also request a physical card if your phone is not compatible with the virtual one. It will be linked to your name and identity, so you will be the only one able to use it.
Finally, you will have a total of 12 months in which to spend the money from the time you receive it.
What can I spend it on?
Your grant must be distributed and diversified across three different cultural sectors, meaning that you can’t just blow it all at once on one big purchase. In each of these sectors, a limit will be set.
- A limit of €200 can be spent on performing arts, cultural heritage and audiovisual productions. This includes items such as theatre tickets, live music concerts, cinemas, museums, libraries, exhibitions, as well as music and literary festivals.
- A maximum of €100 can be spent on physical cultural products. This will include products such as books, magazines and periodicals, as well as video games, vinyl records or any other physical form of music and movies such as CDs and DVDs.
- A maximum of €100 can be spent on digital or online culture. This includes subscriptions to companies such as Netflix and Spotify, digital music, audio and e-books, as well as podcasts, online video games and digital subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. Keep in mind that any subscriptions will be limited to a maximum of four months.
Items such as computer hard or software, textbooks, musical instruments, gastronomy, sports equipment or tickets and fashion will not be included.
Where can I use it?
The grant can only be used in establishments or institutions which have signed up for the program and which operate within Spain. You will be able to find a full list of places once you have been approved for the voucher.