The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, highlighted from the Alita Comics store in Santiago the growth of the Galician comic industry, coinciding with the events framed in the Comic Day, and also highlighted the impact of the Young Cultural Bonus in Galicia, from which more than 15,000 boys and girls benefited. Pedro Blanco visited the establishment accompanied by the subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, at the same time as he was able to talk with the managers of the store about the needs of the sector and the impact of the Young Cultural Bonus.
The Young Cultural Voucher issued by the Ministry of Culture reached in 2023 66% of the Galicians who left as possible recipients, 15,339 people in total of about 23,149 potentials, all born in 2005. In the province of A Coruña, the number of boys and girls who obtained the voucher also rose to 66%, representing 6,474 people out of a total of 8,816 potential consumers. Pedro Blanco stressed in this regard the importance of the bond in Galicia and in particular the double impact it has, both on youth and on cultural industries. This justifies that in the last edition its scope multiplied both in the number of beneficiaries and in the number of entities and businesses adhered.
Among the latter, benefiting from the aid, there are shops such as Alita Cómics, with establishments in Santiago and A Coruña. The government delegate recalled that the entities and businesses that wish to participate in the program must formalize their prior accession to the program. He pointed out that in the second edition there were 283 entities of different types that joined the program in Galicia, 20 more than in the campaign of 2022.
The Young Cultural Bond, in its first edition, injected 1.9 million euros into the Community’s cultural industries and businesses through the 50,000 sales operations that were made under its charge. In total, one in two young Galicians who were entitled to this bonus benefited from it in that year 2022, more than 12,500 people. Just for that reason, the delegate encouraged the 21,392 Galicians and Galicians who turn 18 in this 2024 to get the bonus of this course, which will soon be available.
Industry needs
During his visit to the store of Alita Cómics, Pedro Blanco talked with his management about the positive impact of the Young Cultural Bonus, but also about the demands and needs of the sector, which lives a good time but does not stop working to continue improving. In Galicia 46 comics were published in 2023, the highest figure in the last four years, being 13 more than in 2022. At the state level, the good numbers remain. Of the 46 publications in Galicia, 33 were published in the Galician language, also marking the best data of the last four courses.
The delegate highlighted the Government’s commitment to the Galician comic book publishing industry by referring to the advances linked to the Artist’s Statute, such as the establishment of specific unemployment for them, the possibility of continuing to create after retirement or the creation of a specific self-employed quota.
400 euros available
The Government’s Youth Cultural Bond will be available in the coming months for young people who turn 18 in 2024. The initiative is divided into 3 sections to promote access to various cultural expressions. Specifically, they are:
- 200 euros for living arts, cultural heritage and audiovisuals
- 100 euros for cultural products in physical support such as books, magazines, press, video games, disks, among others
- 100 euros for digital consumptions such as subscriptions to music platforms, audiobooks, digital press, online video games, download of podcasts, among others