On July 9, 2025, the event “Universal Accessibility: An Ally for Retaining Population in Rural Spain” was held at the headquarters of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), in collaboration with the Royal Board on Disability and ACS Foundation. The aim was to help local governments, especially those in rural areas, implement universal accessibility in their policies.

This initiative seeks to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities can move around their towns with ease and continue living in these areas, serving as a strategy to address the demographic challenge in rural Spain.

The seminar featured contributions from experts, representatives of disability advocacy groups, and organizations linked to accessibility and personal autonomy. Representatives from villages that have successfully implemented universal accessibility initiatives also participated, including: Pescueza (Cáceres), Belmonte de Miranda (Asturias) and Ribadeo (Lugo).

The Spanish Federation of Neuromuscular Diseases (Federación ASEM), in collaboration with ACS Foundation and other institutions, has organized a new edition of ASEM Summer Camps, an inclusive summer camp for children and young people with and without neuromuscular diseases.

The event takes place from July 6 to 13 at the La Cinglera camp facility in Vilanova de Sau (Barcelona), a fully adapted natural setting designed to ensure the safety, comfort, and enjoyment of all participants. Over the course of a week, 31 children and teens aged 8 to 18—27 of whom have neuromuscular diseases—will share experiences, games, emotions, and learning in a barrier-free environment, fostering independence and social integration.

ASEM Summer Camps is the only camp in Spain that brings together children and young people with neuromuscular diseases every year, offering them a unique experience on equal terms. Its personalized care model provides one monitor for each child with a neuromuscular disease, supported by a multidisciplinary team of 28 professionals, including coordinators, monitors, healthcare staff, and personal assistants.

This year’s theme revolves around robots, the future, and superheroes, a narrative that will guide the week’s activities and, as in every edition, reinforce key values such as respect, coexistence, cooperation, and inclusion.

The Ávila City Council, in collaboration with ACS Foundation, has completed the accessibility works in the Church of Santa María de la Cabeza, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in the city of Ávila.

This church is one of the finest examples of Mudejar Romanesque architecture south of the Duero River. Its exterior features a simple design with two portals and a whitewashed bell gable, while the interior is characterized by the use of baked clay. Artistically, it stands out for its Renaissance and Baroque altarpieces, as well as important sculptural pieces such as the relief Lamentation over the Dead Christ by Pedro de Salamanca, one of the leading sculptors of the 16th-century Ávila school.

In the 19th century, the church served as the chapel of Ávila’s first municipal cemetery. By the early 20th century, it had become a point of attraction for Romantic and traditionalist artists, including Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, his painter brother Valeriano Domínguez Bécquer, the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, and the Granada-born José María López Mezquita, who painted scenes inside the temple and set up his studio in a large house adjacent to the church’s apse.

The accessibility works in the church’s surroundings involved creating an accessible pathway connecting the sidewalk of Paseo de Santa María de la Cabeza with the south and west doors of the church. The west door has now been adapted as an entrance for all visitors through the installation of a portable ramp inside the temple. During the works, all granite slabs in the access corridor were repositioned, and the width of the pathway along the south and west facades was widened. Additionally, the pedestrian walkways in the garden area near the west door—formerly the site of the first municipal cemetery—were reinforced.

This accessibility upgrade aims to ensure that everyone can explore and enjoy one of the city’s lesser-known monumental areas.

From July 1 to 3 the Prado Museum will host the summer course “The Journey of Art,” organized by the Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado in collaboration with Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and with the support of ACS Foundation. This academic and cultural program celebrates its twentieth edition, reaffirming its prominence among UCM’s Summer Courses.

Available both in-person and online, the course explores the theme of travel as a driving force behind artistic transformation, examining how artworks, styles, and artists themselves have crossed continents and eras for commercial, political, or personal reasons. From forced displacements due to wars and looting to educational and exploratory journeys, each movement has shaped the evolution of art and given rise to new creative trends.

The program features renowned specialists, including: José Manuel Matilla, Head of the Drawings, Prints, and Photographs Collection at the Prado Museum; writer María Belmonte; Lucía Villarreal, Head of the Temporary Exhibitions Department at the Museum; and philosopher and historian Krzysztof Pomian, among others.

Full program available here.

© Photography: Fundación Amigos del Museo del Prado

Foundation, offers a variety of summer workshops and activities for children, focusing on art and experimentation. These activities allow children to explore painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, games, and artistic installations, drawing inspiration from the works of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Farah Atassi, and Óscar Domínguez.

There are two main programs designed for children to experiment with shapes, patterns, and materials while engaging in contemporary art in a dynamic and participatory setting: "We Are Mythological: Creation, Storytelling, and Play" and "Celebrating Summer!".