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1. Synergies between public policies and programmes

2. Partnerships between the culture and creative sectors, youth organisations and youth workers

Synergies between public policies and programmes

Public-policy synergies that link youth, culture, creativity and territorial cohesion are increasingly prominent in Spain.

For example, the Valencian Youth Institute (Institut Valencià de la Juventut) published a Guide to encourage youth participation in rural areas through art and culture (Guia para fomentar la participación juvenil en zonas rurales a través del arte y la cultura) which supports the wider rural-development agenda under the Plan of Measures to Address the Demographic Challenge (Plan de Medidas para hacer frente al Reto Demográfico), embedded in the National Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliancia, PRTR). The Guide emphasises networked projects linking young people with local artists, associations and businesses in less-urbanised areas, thereby confronting rural cultural-participation deficit

In the sustainability sphere, the Spanish Network for Sustainable Development (Red Española del Pacto Mundial) launched two sectoral tools for the cultural field: 

• Practical Guide to Integrate the 2030 Agenda in the Cultural Sector (Guía práctica para integrar la Agenda 2030 en el sector cultural)
• Methodological Guide to Make Visible the Impact that Culture Has on the Fulfilment of the SDGs (La Presencía de la Cultura en los Informws de Progreso sobre el Cumplimiento de los ODS. Guía metodologíca). 

Although the SDGs do not explicitly reference culture, these tools reflect how culture is understood as a contributor to sustainable development, and they demonstrate institutional cooperation between culture, youth, education and sustainable-development policy.

Another national-scale synergy is the 2024-2025 bilateral Joint Declaration on Youth Rights (Declaración Conjunta sobre los Derechos de las Juventudes) between Spain and Brazil signed by the Spanish Ministry of Youth and Children and the Brazilian federal youth authority, which commits both governments to collaborate on youth access to culture among other dimensions.

Partnerships between the culture and creative sectors, youth organisations and youth workers

Public authorities facilitate partnerships which enable young people to engage in creative-cultural processes, connect youth organisations and creative actors, and address cultural equality through collaborative practice. For instance,

For instance, INJUVE´s International Work Camps Programme (Programa de Campos de Voluntariado Internacionales), via the Alliance of European Voluntary Organizations, allows young Spaniards (18-30 yrs) to participate in volunteer projects in cultural-heritage and arts contexts, promoting intercultural learning and youth creative-heritage participation.

Residency, mobility and youth-creator networking schemes also exemplify partnerships: for example, regional residencies link young creators with cultural institutions, public authorities and youth networks (see Chapters 8.5 & 8.6) and often involve youth workers and youth associations in programme delivery.

Large-scale cultural events such as Mulafest (the Madrid Urban Culture and Trends Festival) — with participation of INJUVE and cross-border cooperation (e.g., Mexico’s Tourism Ministry) — illustrate how national institutions can partner with commercial, municipal and international actors to provide young people with creative-participation opportunities in a cultural-entrepreneurial environment.

Several Erasmus+ Youth projects - such as Rural Culture Through Popular Games and Traditions (2023) and Green Art (2023) - exemplify collaboration between cultural, youth and environmental organisations. These initiatives promote cultural participation in rural areas, gender equality and sustainable artistic practices—fully aligned with Spain’s territorial-cohesion and sustainability priorities under the PRTR.