Lanzarote is a global benchmark. An example of symbiosis between art and nature, a magnet for millions of tourists seeking a unique experience. However, while our island projects an image of avant-garde design and cultural wealth to the outside world, the young people who live here 365 days a year feel a very different reality: a void. An increasingly greater cultural abandonment.
It's a frustrating contradiction. We live surrounded by beauty and world-famous tourist centers, but when we look for something to do, we run headfirst into nothing. The cultural policy of our institutions seems to be stuck in a single model: that of the mega-event. Yes, big concerts and festivals are fine, but what happens the rest of the year? Culture can't just be something that happens a couple of weekends in the summer.
What real alternative does a musician have who is looking for a simple rehearsal space? Or a theater group that only needs a small stage? Where is the cinema that isn't purely commercial? Where are the venues that support local bands? The answer is as short as it is depressing: almost nowhere. And this is not just a complaint; it has consequences. It turns us into a disconnected youth, pushes our artists to pack their bags, and condemns us to repetitive and monotonous leisure.
From New Generations, we refuse to accept it. This isn't about complaining for the sake of complaining, but about bringing a real problem to the table and, above all, solutions. The Cabildo and the town councils have a responsibility to act. And let no one say it's for lack of money, because this is a matter of priorities.
One of our central proposals is the creation of an "Island Youth Cultural Voucher," but it is crucial to differentiate it from the national model to understand its true potential. The Spanish Government's voucher is a gesture that falls short, limited to those who turn 18. Does culture stop mattering at 19? Our vision for Lanzarote is much more ambitious and useful: a voucher that covers a wider age range, from 16 to 25 years old, and that can only be used here, in Lanzarote. Thus, we not only help young people, but we strengthen our fragile cultural fabric: directly in our bookstores, in our small venues, and with our artists.
And this has to be part of a larger plan. We need to raise the shutters of empty public buildings and turn them into a Network of Youth Spaces for rehearsing and creating. We need to launch a circuit, the "Lanzarote Creates Youth", that moves our artists around the island, with a fixed schedule. These are not isolated ideas, it is a coherent project to restore cultural life to the island.
We, the young people of Lanzarote, are not extras in a backdrop for tourists. We are the present and the future of this island. We deserve for institutions to move past the photos and kind words and take action. To listen to us and invest in a youth eager to create and participate.
We demand a change of course. We want a Lanzarote that takes care of us, that gives us opportunities, and that offers us reasons to stay. An island we can be proud of, not only for its landscape but for its cultural pulse.
