The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonespresented this Thursday at the Razzmatazz hall in Barcelona, within the framework of a concert and surrounded by 2,000 young people, the National Youth Plan of Catalonia (PNJC)a document that contains the axes of the policies for young people that will be deployed from now until 2030 and whose challenge is to guarantee the emancipation youth, the quality of life of young people, their participation in society and equity. The plan will be executed in two stages. The first, from 2024 to 2026, will include 417 performances and will have a global budget of 531 million euros.
The Government will reserve 25% of new officially protected apartments for young people and will give discounts on transport and commerce to those who are climate conscious
The living place, one of the problems that most hinders the emancipation of young people, is one of the highlighted elements of the plan. According to data from the Department of Social Rights, in 2022, only 19.2% of Catalans between 16 and 29 years old lived outside their family nucleus. As a novelty in this area, the Government will force 25% of new officially protected housing (HPO) to be reserved for young people. The plan foresees an increase in this type of housing, especially in rural areas and in medium-sized cities. “Beyond rental aid, we want to guarantee that 25% of new constructions are for protected housing for young people,” the document highlights.
At the same time, the Agència de l’Habitatge de Catalunya will launch a new call for up to 29 million euros in rental aid for those under 35 years of age. This measure is already underway and complements the state bonus, but the Government is studying expanding this amount of 29 million, according to Aragonès.
The Scene 25 program to promote the consumption of culture is extended from 18 to 30 years of age and will be active all year round
Another novelty is linked to the climate crisis. To promote awareness, the Generalitat will reward the involvement of young people in activities in defense of the planet. It’s the program ‘Jove Climatic Pack’ which will be launched from the Conselleria d’Acció Climàtgica. Those who participate in “climate awareness” activities will receive discounts in TMB and Bike public transport, as well as in agroecological shops and restaurants, in universities and educational centers and in the shelter network. What are those activities that give ‘award’? Well, according to the PNJC, campaigns to clean up waste from rivers, beaches or mountains, or initiatives such as donating clothing or consumption in second-hand stores, youth urban gardens or environmental volunteering.
At a cultural level, the Scene 25 campaign will be expanded, created a decade ago to promote the consumption of live art (theater and concerts) among young people between 18 and 25 years old and which had been held in autumn and on the 25th and 26th of each month. Now, the Government is expanding the age group to 30 years old, maintaining the campaign all year round and will include more artistic manifestations.
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In the field of employment, the Catalan Youth Agency will promote a new program to support youth employment that will be launched in 2024. The idea of this program is to promote and maintain the training continuity of young people between 16 and 29 years, emphasizing, with a “very substantial improvement”, in the orientation, support and mentoring processes, which will include individualized support for students at risk of dropping out of school or those who have already dropped out.
These are some of the new features. But among the 400 measures, there is the shock plan against school dropouts, the implementation of a guidance protocol in the field of Vocational Training, aid for associations, programs to involve young people in public policies, initiatives to preserve the emotional well-being of young people, at a time when this group is one of those who suffer the most from the mental health pandemic, and measures to support victims of sexist or homophobic violence.