Main trends in young people’s creativity and cultural participation

In Portugal, creativity and cultural participation among young people are generally framed as integral dimensions of education, citizenship and social cohesion. Young people engage with culture both as audiences and as active participants, through attendance at cultural events, involvement in artistic practices, participation in community‑based cultural initiatives and, increasingly, through digital cultural environments.

In recent years, patterns of cultural participation have been shaped by two major structural factors: the expansion of digital cultural practices and the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic. While attendance at cultural venues such as theatres, cinemas, museums and concert halls declined during the pandemic period, younger age groups maintained relatively high levels of engagement with cultural content through digital platforms. In the post‑pandemic period, cultural participation showed signs of recovery, with renewed interest in live cultural experiences combined with sustained digital consumption and hybrid forms of participation.

Participation remains socially and territorially differentiated. Young people living in urban centres tend to have greater access to cultural infrastructure and organised cultural activities, while proximity‑based cultural provision by municipalities and schools plays a decisive role in mitigating territorial disparities. Educational institutions are particularly important in creating first contact with culture, mediating access to cultural institutions and fostering sustained engagement through repeated exposure rather than one‑off events.

At national level, cultural participation has also been supported through universal access measures aimed at young people. ÉS.CULTURA’18, which grants free access to a wide network of public cultural venues to all young people in the year they turn 18, reflects a policy approach centred on removing economic barriers at a key life transition. The programme seeks not only to increase short‑term participation rates but also to encourage the formation of longer‑term cultural habits.

Overall, young people’s cultural participation in Portugal is characterised by a combination of institutional mediation (notably through schools and municipalities), increasing digital engagement and policy efforts to reduce access barriers, rather than by spontaneous or market‑driven participation alone.

Main concepts

In Portuguese public policy, culture is defined in a broad and inclusive manner, encompassing artistic creation, cultural heritage (both tangible and intangible), creative practices and forms of cultural expression embedded in everyday social life. Culture is not confined to professional artistic production, but includes community practices, local traditions and contemporary cultural forms.

Creativity is understood as a transversal competence linked to experimentation, expression, critical thinking and innovation. Rather than being restricted to artistic or cultural professions, creativity is framed as a capacity that can be developed across educational pathways and policy fields, contributing to personal development, employability and civic engagement.

Cultural participation refers both to access to cultural goods and services and to active involvement in cultural creation, mediation and collective cultural activities. Participation is thus not limited to consumption, but includes co‑creation, collaboration and engagement with cultural processes. For young people, cultural participation is closely associated with learning, social interaction and the development of a sense of belonging.

These concepts are grounded in the constitutional framework of Portugal. The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic guarantees freedom of artistic and cultural creation and assigns the State responsibility for promoting access to culture, safeguarding cultural heritage and integrating cultural development into education and public life. As a result, creativity and cultural participation are treated as public policy concerns rather than exclusively private or market‑driven activities.