Spain’s Cultural Rights Plan (2025–2027) is the country’s most comprehensive effort to place cultural rights at the core of public action. Developed by the Ministry of Culture through an extensive participatory process—working groups, public consultations, regional input, and interministerial collaboration—the Plan reframes culture as a fundamental right and a shared good closely linked to well-being, democratic life, and social cohesion.
The Plan opens with a national assessment that identifies persistent barriers: socioeconomic inequality, geographic imbalance, gender gap, limited recognition of ethnic and linguistic diversity, and widespread accessibility challenges. It also points to the precarious conditions faced by cultural workers and the historic underestimation of culture’s social and civic contributions.In response, the document outlines five strategic priorities:
- Guaranteeing cultural democracy and equitable access;
- Addressing contemporary challenges such as the climate emergency, demographic shifts, cultural plurality, gender equity, and digital governance;
- Promoting the sustainability and artistic autonomy of the cultural ecosystem;
- Consolidating cultural rights as a structural framework for public policy; and
- Transforming public administration to better support cultural processes.
These priorities translate into more than 140 measures, including accessibility and mediation strategies, territorial-equity initiatives, reforms to Spain’s Artist’s Statute, digital-sovereignty tools, anti-censorship mechanisms, and gender-violence protocols in cultural spaces. The Plan also lays the groundwork for a future Cultural Rights Act. With an initial budget of €79.3 million, it establishes new governance structures for continuous monitoring, evaluation, and citizen participation.
As a policy instrument, the Cultural Rights Plan departs from industry-centered models by emphasizing rights, equity, and participation over market-driven approaches. It offers a transferable framework for governments seeking to strengthen cultural democracy, widen public engagement, and design long-term strategies that position culture as essential to a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable society.
TRANSFERABLE LESSONS
1. Make cultural policy rights-based, not market-based.
A shift toward cultural rights reframes culture as a public good linked to equity, democracy, education, and well-being (e.g., embedding rights in legislation, evaluation, and cross-agency work).
2. Build multisectoral governance and long-term infrastructure.
Spain’s model—inter-agency coordination, regional input, and participatory governance—shows how cultural policy gains power when aligned with health, education, environment, digital policy, and social rights.
3. Prioritize structural equity: accessibility, data, territorial justice, and fair work.
The Plan demonstrates how systematic data collection, accessibility standards, rural-urban equity programs, and protections for cultural workers create more resilient and inclusive cultural ecosystems.