La campaña de verano de la Junta genera más de 600 empleos directos de jóvenes en el medio rural

July 15, 2025

Castilla y León | Council for Family and Equal Opportunities

Today, a total of 58 camps, courses, and volunteer programs organized by the Council for Family and Equal Opportunities through the Youth Institute of Castilla y León are taking place simultaneously, with over 2,000 children and young people participating. These activities are part of the Junta’s summer campaign, the largest to date, and due to the increase in spots, more jobs are expected to be generated.

One of these activities is the camp in Navarredonda de Gredos, Ávila, where the vice president of the Junta and councilor for Family and Equal Opportunities, Isabel Blanco, has visited to witness firsthand how 50 young people between 15 and 17 years old are enjoying one of the most demanded themes: outdoor multi-adventure in nature. This specific camp is located in the heart of the Gredos Natural Park, next to the Tormes River and near 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 Junta’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, orientation, workshops, sports games, horseback riding, mountain biking, kayaking, paddle surfing, and excursions to places like the ropes park in Hoyos del Espino, hiking to Pozas de Valdeascas, or a cultural visit to Salamanca, this camp in Navarredonda de Gredos, and multi-adventure camps in general, are among the most demanded activities offered by the Junta.

The broader and more numerous nature of the campaign is evident in the number of participants. Last year, 4,526 spots were offered for all activities, whereas this year the Council for Family and Equal Opportunities has increased it to 5,630 spots, a 24% increase. This growth is reflected in the almost 300 more camps of ‘Red Activa’—4,006 this year—and in the thematic camps, which have doubled their potential participants from 615 to 1,360 in 20 activities.

The campaign is also more varied, with its leisure and free time offerings for children and young people aged 9 to 30 being more diverse and with several novelties. It primarily focuses on 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 available spots, which also helps boost local economies. On one hand, direct and youthful employment is created, especially as leisure and free time monitors; on the other hand, indirect job opportunities related to the logistics of activities are also generated.

The increase in spots is driven by the significant growth in demand—this year, over 50,000 applications were received, nearly 10% more than last year—inviting new companies to join the already established ones, indicating the good health of the leisure sector as an economic alternative for work and entrepreneurship.

‘Red Activa’

The most popular program of the campaign is ‘Red Activa’, with the number of camps for minors aged 9 to 17 increasing this year from 88 to 92, of which 48 are held in Castilla y León, 41 in other regions, and three outside 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 water activities, while also introducing new, highly demanded themes like robotics, drones, animals, or scuba diving. This year, the Junta 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 in Castilla y León, such as the surroundings of the Duratón River in Segovia—where young people can enjoy its canyons and meanders—Alija del Infantado, in León, where sports are practiced, ‘scape rooms’ are done, and remote-controlled cars are driven, 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 camps 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, eight other camps are taking place: three more in Navarredonda de Gredos, three in the youth residence ‘Arturo Duperier,’ and two in Fuente Alberche. In total, 291 children will participate in activities held in the Ávila territory.

Another major novelty that ‘Red Activa 2025’ brings is the deepening of its healthy leisure character. In line with the Junta’s ‘Pause and Reconnect’ program, the Council for Family and Equal Opportunities promotes digital disconnection in camps, limiting the use of mobile devices to two hours every other day so that minors can communicate with their families. This is in addition to promoting positive practices, such as fostering good habits in terms of nutrition, environmental protection, or promoting equality.

Furthermore, in camps held in the Community, both in ‘Red Activa’ and in thematic ones, activities have been scheduled for participants to learn more details about various aspects of Castilla y León, such as historical, cultural, natural, or gastronomic heritage, aimed at both Castilian and Leonese children and young people as well as those from other regions.

There is also an emphasis on collaboration with other regions 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 for Castilian and Leonese minors to participate in activities in the Basque Country, Galicia, La Rioja, Extremadura, Cantabria, or Aragon.

It is worth noting that one of the hallmarks of Junta’s camps is their inclusive nature, as they have specialized monitors for young people with other needs, with 18 spots reserved for people with disabilities. These are distributed across the youth facilities of the Council for Family and Equal Opportunities, such as the youth hostel ‘Arturo Duperier’ in Ávila, the youth hostel ‘Emperador Teodosio’ in Segovia, and the youth hostel ‘Castilla’ in Palencia. Additionally, 58 spots are reserved for children and young people under the guardianship of the Junta. And once again, the inclusive camp ‘Adventure for All’ takes place in Palencia.

Thematic Camps

This year, as a novelty, the artistic and language training courses have been refocused and renamed ‘thematic camps’, doubling the spots and significantly expanding the disciplines around which the activities revolve. In addition to their educational nature, more leisure-oriented alternatives are included.

To 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 among young people, aged 16 to 30, also has leisure options during the summer. In this case, it is responsible and solidarity-based leisure that is articulated through youth volunteer programs, taking place in various locations across the Castilian and Leonese geography. 264 spots have been announced for 12 activities—145 for young people from the Community and 119 for those from other regions—this year’s offer 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 programs 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 engage in volunteer activities such as environmental, restoration, and rehabilitation of public architectural elements or socio-cultural animation. The afternoons are reserved for leisure activities such as excursions, hiking, climbing, archery, mountain biking, canoeing, etc. The cost of the 15-day program, at 110 euros, includes accommodation, meals, and all scheduled activities.

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, Navarra, the Basque Country, and the Valencian Community. Adults can also register for international volunteer programs, with the same solidarity-based approach but outside Spanish borders.