The Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities is once again facing a growing demand by increasing the number of places and activities and by launching themed camps, a format that has received nearly 3,700 applications.
April 19, 2025
Castilla y León | Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities
The camps organized by the government are the most sought-after alternative every summer in Castilla y León. So much so that tens of thousands of families submit applications for their minor children to enjoy the diverse range of activities offered by the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities, with the aim of providing Castilian and Leonese children and youths with a leisure alternative that is not only educational but also healthy.
For the 4,006 spots in the 95 camps of ‘Red Activa’ offered by the regional government for the summer of 2025 —compared to 3,930 spots in 88 camps the previous year— the deadline for applications closed with 45,100, 350 more than in 2024. This indicates that both demand and supply continue to grow significantly.
To meet the high demand during the summer campaigns, the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities, through the Youth Institute of Castilla y León, has launched themed camps for this year; the previous artistic and language training courses have been refocused and restructured, and the government has significantly expanded the offer in terms of the types of activities and the number of spots, going from 615 in the previous format to 1,360 with the new one. And, in this new line of camps, 3,649 applications have been received.
This set of summer activities, presented a few weeks ago by the Vice President of the government and Minister of Family and Equal Opportunities, Isabel Blanco, comes with a more diverse range of leisure and free time options, focusing primarily on rural areas, where approximately 600 direct job positions are generated due to the increase in spots available, which also helps to boost local economies.
‘Red Activa’
The most popular program of the campaign is ‘Red Activa,’ whose number of camps for minors aged 9 to 17 is increasing this year, going from 88 to 95, of which 49 are held in Castilla y León, 43 in other regions, and three outside of Spain —the usual ones in Portugal and the Black Forest—. The key to the success of these camps is the wide range of multi-adventure activities, such as hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, paintball, spelunking, mountain biking, or water sports. New themes have also been introduced, highly demanded, such as robotics, drones, animals, or scuba diving. This year, the government introduces, as a novelty, workshops on artificial intelligence from an educational perspective in some activities.
Some of the new ‘Red Activa’ camps will take place in impressive natural or heritage sites in Castilla y León, such as the Duratón River area in Segovia —where young people will enjoy its canyons and meanders—, Alija del Infantado in León, where they will engage in sports, participate in ‘escape rooms,’ drive remote-controlled cars, and Santibáñez de Vidriales in Zamora, a town located near Lake Sanabria and the Sierra de la Culebra, environments that minors will have the opportunity to visit. Of the other two camps added to the offer, one will be held in Navamorcuende —Toledo— and will be related to fauna, and the second in Jaca, with white water rafting activities.
Another great novelty that ‘Red Activa 2025’ brings is a deeper focus on its healthy leisure aspect. In line with the government’s ‘Pause and Reconnect’ program, the Ministry of Family and Equal Opportunities will promote digital disconnection in the 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 promoting good eating habits, environmental protection, or gender equality.
Furthermore, in the camps held in the region, both in ‘Red Activa’ and in themed camps, activities will be scheduled for participants to learn in greater detail about various aspects of Castilla y León, such as historical, cultural, natural, or gastronomic heritage, aimed at both Castilian and Leonese children and youths and those from other regions.
Collaboration with other territories is emphasized to facilitate the mobility of young people, with the number of camps in other regions of Spain increasing from 12 to 14, reaching 352 spots, so that Castilian and Leonese minors can participate in activities in the Basque Country, Galicia, La Rioja, Extremadura, Cantabria, or Aragón.
Themed Camps
This is one of the major novelties of the 2025 summer campaign: the evolution of artistic and language training courses towards ‘themed camps,’ which offer more spots and significantly expand the disciplines around which the activities revolve. More recreational alternatives are added to their educational nature.
In addition to the English courses in the mountains —in Pineda de la Sierra, Burgos— or at 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, sculpture, and other plastic 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— have been added.