The Spanish Government, led by President Pedro Sánchez, has announced a series of Strategic measures to strengthen the international projection of the cultural sector of the country. During the closing of the report "The cultural and creative sectors in Spain. Analysis of their economic value", Sánchez emphasized that culture is not an expense, but "an investment for the future" and an "essential economic engine".
Key announcements include the Update of the agreement governing the Foreign Cultural Action Plan (PACE), the Activation of the Foreign Cultural Action Council and creation of an advisory body which will have the active participation of the sector. In addition, the presentation was anticipated, after the summer, of the National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad 2025-2028.
The event, held at Costume Museum in Madrid, was attended by prominent government figures, including the second vice president, Yolanda Diaz; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares; the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and other ministers.
Pedro Sánchez highlighted the fundamental role of culture in the building bridges between societies and defending democratic values, the quality of public services, the fight against sexism, environmental commitment, and the denunciation of conflicts such as those in Ukraine and Palestine. In this regard, the president stressed the need to maintain a "Constant and consistent" commitment to international law and human rights, defending the application of a same standard for all nations.
The president also highlighted the Spain's economic dynamism, citing recent improvements in growth forecasts by the European Commission and the IMF. According to the Cotec Foundation report, the cultural and creative sectors contribute the 2,3% of gross added value and generated employment for a record number of 770.000 people in 2024. Sánchez refuted the narrative of culture as a subsidized sector, demonstrating that Every euro invested in these sectors generates an economic return of up to 1,75 euros., surpassing the multiplier effect of construction and tourism.
Boosting Employment and Cultural Tourism
Since 2019, the cultural and creative sectors have created jobs at a rate of 17 %, more than double the average for the economy. Furthermore, one in four foreign visitors to Spain are motivated by culture, with average daily spending 17% higher. The Government seeks to boost the cultural tourism to particularly benefit the areas of "depopulated Spain." The number of companies in these sectors has grown by 12% since before the pandemic, reaching 274.000.
Likewise, the Executive has designed a second phase of the "Spain Audiovisual Hub", with a public investment of more than 1.700 billion euros from 'Next Generation' funds, to consolidate the audiovisual industry as a strategic sector.
Strategies for International Projection
Although Spain is the world's fourth largest cultural power according to the Global Soft Power Index, Sánchez admitted that the country "has not yet fully deployed its potential in terms of cultural internationalization." To reverse this, the PACE agreement, strengthening coordination and resources between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture. Council for Foreign Cultural Action will meet annually with the participation of all the organizations involved (Instituto Cervantes, ICEX, AECID, RTVE). The creation of a advisory body with the cultural sector will ensure its voice in the internationalization strategy.
El National Plan for Cultural Action Abroad 2025-2028, which will be presented after the summer, will focus on promoting cultural and creative industries with international projection, such as audiovisual, books, music, dance, and video games. It will also seek to use culture as a tool for diplomacy and cooperation, and enhance the brand of Spanish culture internationally.
Finally, we will continue to strengthen the Spanish Language as a global asset, through the network of embassies, Cervantes Institutes, international schools and chambers of commerce, as well as the Spanish-language artificial intelligence tool, ALIA. Sánchez concluded by stating that culture "It's not an ornament: it's the soul of who we are. Culture is not a luxury. It's a necessity, a global public good. It's not an expense: it's an investment in the future."
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