15 Years of Close to Culture!

We close the 15-year season of Close to Culture and, taking advantage of this anniversary, we take stock of whether what we have done makes sense, whether we should continue and how we should do it.

At this stage, we have been an important public program that has facilitated the presence of diversity and social inclusion in the country's main facilities. Users have enjoyed more than 375,000 cultural experiences in more than 145 facilities.

During these years, we have also expanded the scope of action, meeting the demands of social centers and programmers. If we look ahead, we have the challenge of being more present throughout Catalonia, and of being of use to all the municipalities with cultural programming, also in areas such as the Pyrenees and the Terres de l'Ebre.

One of the other challenges we face is accessible and inclusive tourism, especially for entities that can travel and that, like anyone else, want to visit the most emblematic spaces.

All this would not have been possible without the support first of the Social area, then of Culture, and in recent years also of Health. During these years we have tried to build bridges between these areas, but if we want to take a step forward, we must also involve the areas of education and mobility. Education, because it is necessary more and more, to think that these situations of exclusion that have often not been worked on from this area, and that administrations and educational departments have policies and programs for people in situations of exclusion.
Mobility to be able to offer specific programs that do not exclude people in a vulnerable situation from access to culture due to lack of transport.

Working in this transversality of areas is exciting and gives meaning to our work. As does public-private collaboration and networking in order to be speakers and transmitters of good practices.
Once again, the most important part is you, the sum of people who, since their involvement, have given their knowledge, time and contacts to grow this program that belongs to everyone.

Thank you and have a great summer!

Sonia Gainza
Directora Apropa Cultura