‘Window to culture’ opened for Cyprus youth

Launching a new Youth Culture Card on Tuesday, President Nikos Christodoulides described it as a “window to culture”.

The card is available to all young people who turn 18 years old and is credited with a total of €220 they can spend on attending cultural events.

The government assigned a total budget of €2 million for the card and expects around 10,000 people to benefit from it.

The scheme will operate as a pilot in 2024, Christodoulides said, before it is evaluated and evolved.

“This is a prepaid card, similar to the standards which exist in other European Union member states, which we hope will give the stimulus to our youth to seek quality entertainment and attend cultural events such as concerts, theatre productions, film screenings, and dance performances, as well as visiting cultural sites and museums,” he said.

He added, “our goal is to give the youth the opportunity to delve into culture and develop creativity, sensitivity to the arts, while promoting their spirit and critical thinking.

“Their contact with our country’s culture is of vital importance, because it connects us with our country’s identity and history. At the same time, through our initiative, the state is indirectly supporting the cultural sector and artistic creation.”

He said when he was foreign minister, he saw how several countries “managed to acquire a very positive image of their country by utilising culture.”

To this end, he said, he is “confident that the deputy ministry of culture, as an independent, flexible, and autonomous administrative structure, will be able to contribute to the card’s objective.”

He added that the deputy ministry “will bear even more ripe fruit in the near future for our arts and culture, through policies and actions such as the one we are launching today.”

Deputy Minister of Culture Vasiliki Kassianidou said the card “strengthens cultural institutions, indirectly providing support to their work.

“This falls within the broader framework of our strategy to further increase cultural creation,” she added.

Of the €220 available to the card’s holders, €200 is supplied by the government, and €20 by the Bank of Cyprus.

Cardholders will be able to receive the card at any time while they are 18, and the card will then be valid for one year.

People turning 18 years old can apply for the card through the Bank of Cyprus’ mobile app or in person at any branch of the Bank of Cyprus.