An article posted on February 6, 2023, by https://web.gencat.cat/ca/inici and brought to our attention by ACCAC: Associació de Cases de Colònies i Albergs de Catalunya
View the article here in Spanish, Catalan or French: https://dretssocials.gencat.cat/ca/detalls/Noticia/record-historic-lleure-educatiu-2022#googtrans(ca|es)
Historical record for educational leisure during 2022, with 485,931 children and young people and more than 9,300 activities
More than 1,500 of these activities have been camps, 17% of the total
The General Directorate of Youth (DGJ) has recorded this year 2022 a total of 9,322 educational leisure activities, which have been communicated by the organizing entities of the activities: leisure education entities, youth educational associations, parents’ associations and mothers, companies and institutions. These are activities regulated by the leisure regulations, which include all those that have a duration of at least two nights or four consecutive days, and therefore do not include the ordinary activity carried out by scouting groups and leisure centers during the course.
A total of 485,931 people participated in these activities last year, including leaders (58,571), support people (5,968) and registered young people (421,392), who -mostly- went to holiday camps (60%). The rest of the activities were divided between the colonies (17%), camping (14%), routes (7%) and work camps (2%).
These are data that the DGJ has published on the Jove.cat portal and which represent a growth in participation of 4.8% compared to the previous year 2021. That edition was marked by the return to normality after the pandemic, and in which the figure of 463,507 participants and 9,244 activities was reached.
Also, the figures for this 2022 also exceed by 0.4% the historical record achieved in Catalonia in terms of educational leisure, a milestone that had been registered in 2019 with 483,944 participants and 9,252 activities.
Of all the activities in 2022, 90.7% were concentrated in the summer months (440,841 participants and 7,857 activities). This period includes children and young people who sign up for an activity on a one-off basis (the majority) and also those who participate in leisure centers or scouting groups throughout the year and who complete their educational tasks with an activity in the summer.
Regarding the spring time – between March 1 and May 31 – 6.6% of the total activity in 2022 was recorded, with a total of 31,927 boys and girls in 1,051 activities that mainly they were made for Easter (April 10 to 17). In this period, the most numerous activities stand out as the camping done on the grounds suitable for this activity distributed throughout the territory. The DGJ registered in 2022 up to 10,017 young people in a total of 357 camping trips made during this time of the year.
Apart from the summer and spring, the rest of the year 2022 accumulated 414 activities with 13,163 children and young people (2.7% of the year’s total) who mainly organized the playgrounds and dens everywhere of Catalonia, as well as the organizers of activities and camps during the Christmas holidays.
Educational associations, the majority
Of the total of 9,322 educational leisure activities during 2022, almost 5,000 were organized by educational leisure entities and associations registered in the DGJ’s Census of Youth Entities. This number represents 54% of the total reported activities, more than half.
Of this volume, 3,531 activities were specifically organized by leisure centers and Scout groups from all over Catalonia, which represents 38% of the total number of activities.
As for the rest of the activities, they were carried out by different companies in the sector, institutions (such as town councils) or other associations (such as, for example, Student Families’ Associations).
Territorial distribution
In terms of territorial distribution, the demarcation of Barcelona is the one that concentrated the highest number of participants throughout 2022, with a total of 288,074 children and young people in 4,614 activities. It is followed by the Girona counties, which according to the register were the second in number of participants with a total of 78,691 children and young people distributed in 2,079 activities.
In the demarcation of Lleida, 1,556 activities were reported with 48,217 participants. According to the same register, the Camp de Tarragona hosted 779 educational leisure activities in which up to 31,682 children and young people participated. Finally, in Terres de l’Ebre, 294 activities were registered for 11,914 boys and girls.
