• The Ministry of Culture and Sport has launched the "Territory Culture Ecosystem" web portal with the aim of highlighting cultural projects in rural areas.
• The projects implemented are beneficiaries of the "Aid Plan to expand and diversify the cultural offering in non-urban areas," part of the "Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan."

"Culture must have a positive impact on all territories." This statement by Miquel Iceta, Minister of Culture and Sport, inaugurated the 5th "Culture and Ruralities" Forum (Navia, Asturias, June 1-3, 2022), organized annually by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. to reflect the importance of cultural expressions and activities as the identity of peoples and rural areas.

Under the umbrella of the "Culture and Ruralities" Program , the Ministry of Culture and Sport has inaugurated the Ecosistema Cultura Territorio web portal to register all cultural initiatives in rural areas that are being carried out through the "Aid Plan to expand and diversify the cultural offering in non-urban areas" , which is part of the "Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan" .

Mapping

The "Territory Culture Ecosystem" portal includes a map of the projects benefiting from these grants, which will be expanded as the various calls for proposals from the autonomous communities are resolved in the coming months. This mapping makes it possible to navigate across Spain to gain an in-depth understanding of the cultural initiatives being developed, their promoters, and the area where their activities are located.

Cultural projects include artistic events, festivals, exhibitions, and artistic activities within the fields of visual arts, performing arts, and more. They all share a common denominator: the union of culture and traditional knowledge, proposals that connect intangible heritage with contemporary practices, and educational and artistic mediation activities, among others.

In addition to these projects, the website has the following sections :

• Resources: digital publications of cultural projects related to the rural environment.
• Calls for applications: all open and pending grants, by autonomous community.
• Training: to strengthen the training and professionalization of cultural and creative agents.

Aids

The call period for applications for the "Aid Plan to Expand and Diversify Cultural Offerings in Non-Urban Areas" It opened on January 1, 2022, and will run until November 30, 2023. During this period, each of theautonomous communities will announce the availability of aid in their respective territories.

As a requirement for access, priority will be given to projects hosted in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants . The Plan has a budget of €20 million for implementation during the 2022-2023 period, intended to promote more than 400 cultural projects distributed throughout the country.

The main objective of this plan is to consolidate a diverse creative ecosystem in rural areas that strengthens the cultural sector and generates employment opportunities.