29 September 2008
Others
In Spain, Bizkaia ranks third among the Basque provinces with 1,883 associations that are strictly cultural in nature.Guipúzcoa ranks ninth on that same list, with 1,292 associations.However, these data are not at all promising, according to those responsible for this research.The sector is in crisis, institutions must be more actively involved, and according to the study coordinator, Idurre Lazcano, ?It is essential to educate for leisure and raise cultural awareness in society?.
In the Basque Country there is a considerable number of specialised cultural associations compared to the rest of the country.In the three Provinces there are associations devoted to culture in general, and musical ones, where there are choir associations and those related to local music.There are two types of associations that are the largest in number and that can be classified under the ?artistic expression? category. These include those specialised in language, that is, entities working in defence of the Basque language and devoted to oral tradition and choir associations.In the third place, there are those specialised in theatre.
The Basque Country, Galicia and the Canary Islands are three of the communities with the largest number of cultural associations; the three of them have over 2,000. At the top we find Cataluña and Valencia, with 19% and 17%, respectively.In addition, 30% of the cultural associations have a local scope of action; 70% have been created in the last 15 years; 35% were founded since 2001; and only 10% appeared before 1975.
According to Roberto San Salvador, this is a pioneering study with no previous references in research on associations.The aim of this initiative has been ?to create a pathway to support the cultural sector?.Rubén Gutiérrez, on his side, has pointed out that ?the picture we obtain from the array of associations is not as good as it should be, if we compare the situation described above with the rest of the indicators of evolution in the rest of Spain.
