Moldovan government facilitates access to Cultural Voucher Programme

The government has amended the regulations concerning the National Programme,  Cultural Voucher, in order to facilitate young people's access to cultural products and expand the categories of eligible platforms for the use of vouchers.

The project's main goal is to diversify and improve the process of using cultural vouchers, facilitating young people's access to virtual vouchers, and using them online, including by expanding the range of legal entities that can mediate the  process of sale of cultural products as private platforms.

Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan said that the proposed changes would facilitate young people's access to cultural products through providers of private payment services and will allow private sector’s participating in the programme's implementation at no additional cost to the state budget.

"The government ensures access to culture for all citizens, to quality cultural products, based on the needs and age-specific differences. In this regard, we have developed more programmes and mechanisms to ensure this access. For young people who have turned 18, there is the National Program Cultural Voucher. The Ministry of Culture proposes to amend the programme's regulations, in order to expand the categories of eligible private platforms, including entities that are not cultural organizations, and to actively involve the Ministry of Education in promoting the programme among young people," said Culture Minister Sergiu Prodan at the cabinet meeting.

At the same time, the official noted that the initiative would contribute to enhancing young people's access to cultural products through modern means, allowing the voucher's access to extend to those people under 18, facilitating the physical payment or by digital card at museums, theaters, bookstores and other cultural providers, and will stimulate private sector’s involvement in the programme's infrastructure.

The National Program "Cultural Voucher" was launched in November 2022, following the example of other European countries. The voucher represents a "non-reimbursable digital ticket" worth 1,000 lei, which can be used by holders to attend concerts, theater performances, or movies, and to buy books until the amount is exhausted, within a year.

The voucher can only be used online, in bookstores, and on specialized platforms. Young people who have turned 18 and hold a digital signature, required for authentication, can benefit from the cultural voucher.

According to statistical data, over 10,000 young people have benefited from the Cultural Voucher, purchasing 53,000 cultural products worth over 9 million lei.

Prime Minister Dorin Recean today said that, in recent years, culture had been prioritized by the government and had benefited from significant investments. Thus, the budget allocated for culture has increased from 470 million lei in 2021 to 743 million lei in 2025.