"Long live the bonus!" The Minister of Culture, Miquel Iceta, thus concluded his announcement on Thursday of the date on which young people who turn 18 in 2022 will finally be able to request the 400 euros of the new youth cultural bonus: it will be from today, almost ten months after Pedro Sánchez announced the measure, and they will be able to do so on the website www.bonoculturajoven.gob.es. Of course, to do so they must have a digital certificate or use the Cl@ve authentication system, which will be enabled in a few days. They will be able to request adhesion to the bonus until October 15.
"Today is an important, happy day," Iceta started surrounded by the different general managers of his department. “Today we can set a date for a long-awaited commitment: on Monday the registration for the youth cultural voucher opens for all young people born in 2004. Last Monday we opened registration for companies and there are already more than 525 who have requested their adherence to the program, so that when young people sign up they will enjoy a wide cultural offer”, he assured.
And he explained that "the bonus will work fundamentally through the mobile, it will be a wallet card, but for those young people who prefer a physical card, they can have it too". In fact, the youth cultural bonus will work with a prepaid card that will be issued by Correos and that can be had virtually on the mobile or physically, and can be picked up at any post office.
The distribution of the 400 euros in cultural spending in one year from the activation of the card will have limits: up to 200 euros for live culture, from dance, theater and opera to museums; another hundred euros can be used for physical products, such as books, newspapers or records; and one hundred euros more can be used in digital products: digital press, podcasts, online video games or subscriptions to platforms, with a maximum of four months, although Iceta pointed out that they encourage all companies that join to complement the bonus with their own Offers: "Nobody forbids a platform to add two or three more months for free to the four of the bonus".
The agencies of the ministry itself are already doing it: the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (Inaem) will offer discounts of between 50% and 60% to users of the voucher for the purchase of tickets and subscriptions in its theaters.
The objective of the bonus, Iceta stressed, is to promote cultural habits and encourage young people to experiment, but also to boost the cultural sectors and industries themselves “which have suffered a lot in the pandemic and it is time to lend them a hand and reciprocate. your efforts". Some 500,000 young people will benefit from this measure, which will mean 210 million euros for the public coffers. The bonus will only work in establishments and companies that are part of the program.
