Almost 15,000 young people from Castile and Leon withdraw the Young Cultural Bonus in its second edition

• The percentage with the highest number of applications took place in the provinces of Palencia, Burgos and Valladolid • There are 1,843 more young people than in the first edition • In its first two editions, the program promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Sport already adds more than 28,000 beneficiaries in the Community

November 2, 2023.- In its second edition, the Young Cultural Bonus, an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, has been requested by 14,952 young people who reach the age of 18 in 2023, distributed throughout Castilla y León. These are two out of three young people born in 2005, namely 70.35% of the estimated population of that age, 21,254 people.

By province the highest percentage in terms of the number of applications took place in the provinces of Palencia, 75.92% on possible beneficiaries with 990 applications; Burgos, 74.58% with 2,458 applications and Valladolid with 74.43% on possible beneficiaries and 3,706 applications.

In the other provinces of Castilla y León, the percentage on possible beneficiaries and number of registered applications was as follows: Ávila, 63.33% with 950 applications; León, 67.96% with 2,467 applications; Salamanca, 70.28% with 2,072 applications; Segovia, 60.30% with 957 applications; Soria, 68.71% with 549 applications; and Zamora, 66.31% with 803 applications.

SIX MILLION TO INVEST IN CULTURE

The registered applications mean that the young people of Castilla y León will have almost six million euros (5,980,800€) to invest in culture. In 2022, the first year of the Young Cultural Voucher, 13,103 applications were registered, that is, almost 5,250,000 euros. Between the first two editions in Castilla y León more than 28,000 people have applied for this Bonus.

Nationwide, 326,579 young people have applied for the Young Cultural Voucher, 65.58% of the population that turns 18 in 2023. The figure exceeds by 48,985 the total number of beneficiaries of the previous edition, which amounted to 277,594. Between the first two editions, the 600,000 young beneficiaries of the program are already reached, which allows them to enjoy an aid of 400 euros to invest in cultural products.

In this second edition, all registrations have been processed digitally, through the website www.bonoculturajoven.gob.es. External link, opens in a new window, between June 13 and October 31, including the extension of one month with the aim of promoting and facilitating the maximum participation of young people in the program.

After being registered and signed, each of these applications is reviewed and subjected to the process of individualized control of subsidies of the General Administration of the State, so that the final number of beneficiaries could suffer some variation.

The public company Correos, the entity in charge of the banking support of the Young Cultural Bonus, already began on September 14 the sending of virtual and physical cards to the young beneficiaries. From that moment, the cards are being issued progressively until they reach the total of bonuses granted.

Once the Young Cultural Bonus is activated, the beneficiaries have one year to make use of the card from the date of concession. The application and the website of the Young Cultural Voucher shows, in a personalized way, the remaining time that each young person has to enjoy the Voucher, as well as their remaining balance in each of the categories in which it is distributed:

WHAT YOU CAN INVEST IN

The Bonus is divided into three sections to promote access to different cultural expressions:

• 200 euros for live arts, cultural heritage and audiovisual arts. For example, tickets and subscriptions for performing arts, live music, cinema, museums, libraries, exhibitions and scenic, literary, musical or audiovisual festivals and bullfighting shows.
• 100 euros for cultural products on physical support. For example, books, magazines, press, or other periodicals; video games, sheet music, discs, CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray.
• 100 euros for digital or online consumption. For example, subscriptions and rentals to music, reading or listening platforms, or audiovisuals, purchase of audiobooks, purchase of digital books (e-books), subscription to download multimedia files (podcasts), subscriptions to online video games, digital subscriptions.

For its part, more than 3,000 cultural companies already offer their services and products through the program that the Ministry of Culture and Sport launched in 2022. As of September 30, 1,847,779 operations worth 59.4 million euros had been carried out by the beneficiaries of the Young Cultural Bonus of the first edition. The application period for companies and cultural entities remains open.

The objectives of this initiative that the Government of Spain has consolidated in its General State Budgets are, on the one hand, to promote the loyalty of young people as a public and cultural consumer; and, on the other, to offer additional support to the cultural sector in its recovery, which in this second edition would benefit with additional income of 130 million euros.