Por María Izquierdo 
- With a total of 5,630 spots, 1,104 more than in the previous edition, it is estimated that camps, courses, and volunteer programs will create over 600 jobs, especially in leisure and free time monitor positions
- The vice president of the regional government and Minister of Family and Equal Opportunities visits the multi-adventure camp taking place in the town of Navarredonda de Gredos in Ávila, where 50 young people are participating
July 15, 2025
Castilla y León |
Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities
As of today, 58 camps, courses, and volunteer programs organized by the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities through the Youth Institute of Castilla y León are being held simultaneously, with over 2,000 children and young people participating. These activities are part of the summer campaign of the Regional Government, the largest to date, in which, precisely due to the increase in spots, more jobs will be generated.
One of these activities is the camp taking place in Navarredonda de Gredos, Ávila, where the Vice President of the Regional Government and Minister of Family and Equal Opportunities, Isabel Blanco, has traveled to see firsthand how 50 young people between 15 and 17 years old are enjoying one of the most popular themes: outdoor multi-adventures in nature. This particular camp is located in the heart of the Gredos Natural Park, on the banks of the Tormes river and very close to Pico Almanzor, Laguna Grande, and the Circo de las Cinco Lagunas. Isabel Blanco has stated that this activity is a great example of what the Regional Government’s summer campaign represents: broader, more varied, healthier, and combining fun, sports, training, and education in values.
With ten days of activities such as paintball, zip-lining, archery, orienteering, workshops, sports games, horseback riding, mountain biking, kayaking, paddle surfing, and excursions like to the ropes course in Hoyos del Espino, hiking to the Pozas de Valdeascas, or a cultural visit to Salamanca, make this camp in Navarredonda de Gredos in particular, and multi-adventure camps in general, one of the most sought-after activities offered by the Regional Government.
The broader and more numerous nature of the campaign is evident in the number of participants, as if last year 4,526 spots were allocated for all activities, this year the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities has increased them to 5,630, which is a 24% increase. This increase is visible in the nearly 300 additional camps in ‘Red Activa’—4,006 this year—and in the thematic camps, which have doubled their potential participants, going from 615 to 1,360 in 20 activities.
It is also more varied because its leisure and free time offer for children and young people aged 9 to 30 is more diverse and includes several novelties. It also focuses the development of its activities mainly in small rural municipalities, where this year over 600 direct jobs will be created, approximately a hundred more than in 2024, due to the increase in allocated spots, which also helps to boost local economies. On one hand, direct and young employment is created, especially in leisure and free time monitoring roles; on the other hand, indirect job opportunities related to activity logistics are also generated.
The increase in the number of spots is determined by the significant growth in demand—this year over 50,000 applications were received, almost 10% more than last year—, which invites new companies to join the already established ones, indicating the good health of the leisure sector, which becomes an economic alternative for work and entrepreneurship.
‘Red Activa’
The most demanded program of the campaign is ‘Red Activa’, whose number of camps for minors aged 9 to 17 grows this year, as they have increased from 88 to 92, of which 48 are held in Castilla y León, 41 in other regions, and three outside of Spain—the usual ones in Portugal and the Black Forest. As mentioned before, the key to the success of these camps is the wide range of multi-adventure activities, such as hiking, climbing, spelunking, or nautical activities, although new and highly demanded themes have also been introduced, such as robotics, drones, animals, or diving. This year, the Regional Government introduces, as a novelty, in some activities, workshops on artificial intelligence from an educational perspective.
Some of the new ‘Red Activa’ camps take place in impressive natural or heritage sites of Castilla y León, such as the surroundings of the Duratón river in Segovia—where young people will enjoy its canyons and meanders—, Alija del Infantado, in León, where sports are practiced, escape rooms are done, and remote-controlled cars are handled, and Santibáñez de Vidriales, in Zamora, a town located near Lake Sanabria and the Sierra de la Culebra, environments that minors have the opportunity to visit. Of the other two that are added to the offer, one is held in Navamorcuende—Toledo—and is related to fauna, and the second, in Jaca, with white-water rafting activities.
Regarding the province of Ávila, in addition to the one visited today by the vice president, there are eight other camps: three more in Navarredonda de Gredos, three in the ‘Arturo Duperier’ youth residence, and two in Fuente Alberche. In total, 291 children will participate in activities taking place in the Ávila region.
Another great novelty brought by ‘Red Activa 2025’ is the deepening of its healthy leisure character. In line with the Regional Government’s ‘Pause and Reconnect’ program, the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities promotes digital disconnection in camps, limiting the use of mobile devices to two hours on alternate days so that minors can contact their families. This is added to the promotion of positive practices, such as fostering good habits in terms of food, environmental protection, or the promotion of equality.
Furthermore, in the camps held in the Region, both in ‘Red Activa’ and in the thematic ones, activities have been scheduled for participants to get to know various aspects of Castilla y León in more detail, such as historical, cultural, natural, or gastronomic heritage, aimed at both Castilian and Leonese children and young people and those from other regions.
Collaboration with other territories is emphasized to facilitate the mobility of young people, as the number of camps in the rest of Spain has increased from 12 to 14, reaching 352 spots, so that young people from Castilla y León can participate in activities in the Basque Country, Galicia, La Rioja, Extremadura, Cantabria, or Aragón.
It is worth mentioning that one of the hallmarks of the Regional Government’s camps is their inclusive nature, as they have specialized monitors for young people with other needs, and therefore, 18 spots are reserved for people with disabilities. These are distributed across the youth facilities of the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities, such as the ‘Arturo Duperier’ youth hostel in Ávila, the ‘Emperador Teodosio’ youth hostel in Segovia, and the ‘Castilla’ youth hostel in Palencia. Additionally, 58 spots are reserved for children and young people under the guardianship of the Regional Government. And once again, the inclusive camp ‘Adventure for All’ takes place, held in Palencia.
Thematic Camps
This year, as a novelty, the artistic and language training courses have been refocused and renamed as ‘thematic camps’, doubling the number of spots and significantly expanding the disciplines around which the activities revolve. In addition to their formative nature, more recreational alternatives are added.
Alongside the English courses in the mountains—in Pineda de la Sierra, Burgos—or on the beach—in Loredo, Cantabria—and the successful ‘Cinema in Zamora’, other camps focused on modern dance and urban dances in Palencia, two artistic camps in Zamora and Palencia that will include photography, drawing, engraving, and sculpture, and other visual arts, two rock and music camps in Soria and Murcia, a ‘Jurassic Adventure’ in Soria, ‘Adventure and Mining in El Bierzo’—León—or ‘Sendaventura’ in Vigo de Sanabria—Zamora—are added.
Volunteer Programs
The older age group of young people, aged 16 to 30, is not without leisure alternatives during the summer. In this case, it is responsible and solidarity-based leisure that is articulated through youth volunteer programs, which take place in various locations in the Castilian and Leonese geography. 264 spots have been called for 12 activities—145 for young people from the Region and 119 for those from other regions—, an offer that this year includes new municipalities such as Encinas de Esgueva and Aldeamayor de San Martín in Valladolid, Santa Marta de Tormes in Salamanca, Valle de Manzanedo in Burgos, Benavente in Zamora, and Saldaña in Palencia. One of these camps is held in the province of Ávila, specifically in the town of Gotarrendura, with the aim of creating an interactive astronomy park.
In the mornings, young people carry out volunteer actions such as environmental, restoration, and rehabilitation of public architectural elements or socio-cultural animation. The afternoons are reserved for recreational activities such as excursions, hiking, climbing, archery, mountain biking, canoeing, etc. The €110 cost of the activity includes accommodation, meals, and all scheduled activities during the 15-day stay.
However, young people from Castilla y León can also participate in volunteer programs offered by other autonomous communities such as Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla–La Mancha, Catalonia, Ceuta, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Navarre, the Basque Country, and the Valencian Community. Adults can also enroll in international volunteer programs, whose solidarity vocation is the same, but outside Spanish borders.