This practice promotes local youth engagement in reading and book culture, involving young people in literary award juries. These are the Mandarache category, decided by a jury of more than 4 500 young readers aged between 15 and 30, and the Hache Award, whose jury is made up of more than 2 000 teenagers aged between 12 and 14.  

The opinions and voices of young people are central in deciding the prize winners. This approach helps them develop new skills, spark their interest in the world of books, and foster a sense of autonomy. It allows them to manage their own activities, and feel that the project belongs to them. By involving young people in the decision-making process, they gain a sense of authority and responsibility, which empowers them. They become agents of change instead of targets to be changed. This approach has proven to be highly successful: since 2005, 85 000 young people have registered and participated. 

The Mandarache project consists of a literature and reading educational programme for youth, supported by a steering group of 80 people. This group selects the finalist books, based on reading and group discussions.  

Activities include dissemination campaigns, organised registrations involving teachers and educators, book delivery to participants, meetings with authors of selected books, and two major debates with 1 400 participants. The students can interact with the authors, actively taking part in the activities proposed. Once the voting is closed, the winners are announced by students from different educational centres and backgrounds. 

The project includes a series of Libreta Mandarache (Mandarache Notebook) writing and literary creation workshops for young people. These workshops are conducted at the ARQVA Museum’s library throughout the year. The group selected each year is made up of young people aged between 15 to 18 who have previously participated in the Mandarache Awards.  

Mandarache also runs Orillas, a pilot scheme to internationalise the project, inviting young students from other cities named Cartagena, in Chile and Colombia, to read and vote alongside the thousands of readers participating in Cartagena in Spain.  

The project improves reading, school performance and socialisation, which also leads to improved feelings of belonging. Teachers and families report improvements in reading habits and activities. 

After 20 years of existence, Mandarache has become a project that impacts the main challenges of municipal urban development. The massive participation of young people every year (7 000 young people, 50% of the local secondary school student population) from all educational centres has an egalitarian effect on urban cohesion in Cartagena. In a municipality with large territorial dimensions – some schools are set in rural areas 40 km from the city – this helps reduce economic inequalities and promote social inclusion and community connection. 

Furthermore, the project also supports the professional and personal development of young people who participate in tasks such as helping in the application campaign or leading dynamic events and hosting podcasts. Mandarache also spreads knowledge about professional occupations in the field of books and culture, focusing on local companies and institutions to promote innovation and develop the urban cultural economy. 

One possible area for improvement is mitigating the project’s environmental impact. The printing of books has a significant impact due to tree felling. To offset this impact, strategies such as tree planting in the city by student groups can be implemented. This action would not only compensate for the trees felled but also serve as an environmental education and awareness project while improving the urban environment, increasing green areas, and contributing to air quality and biodiversity. 

The project relies on several layers of participation: First, young participants, who are not considered as passive users but active agents of change. Young people talk, debate and share ideas about books. Moreover, they have the responsibility of voting for the books that they like the most, directly deciding the winners of each edition. They make up the world’s biggest literary jury, with more than 7 000 young people voting. Young people also have the chance to participate with their own voice during the meetings interacting with the authors, activities, podcasts, debates and round tables related to books.  

Secondly, the steering group (Grupo Promotor), which is the body that leads the decision-making process. This group, made up of 80 teachers and librarians, oversees the collective reading and selects the finalist books of each edition, as well as giving complementary awards and democratically making all the decisions related to the organisation. 

Lastly, stakeholders play a crucial role in the project. The Mandarache project builds networks between the City Council, high schools and educational centres, libraries, universities, the Teacher’s and Tools Center of the Region of Murcia, and the Intercultural Minor Centers of Social Services, to name a few. 

This project has had a significant impact at local level, contributing to the holistic development of the participants. The students who take part visit libraries and bookstores more often, read a wider variety of literary genres, and show improved school performance. They also experience improved socialisation, developing a feeling of belonging to a reading community, better self-esteem and self-reassurance, as well as an improvement in their personal and political speech.  

The positive impact also reaches teachers, who report a wider diversity and frequency of reading, improving their bond with students throughout discussions. Families, although they were not the main target, have also been positively influenced, taking part in more reading-related activities, for example through book clubs or neighbourhood associations.  

In the 20 years since the project started, over 83 000 readers have participated, which has contributed to improving skills and reading habits, fostering a better democratic life. 

Through the Mandarache project, the City Council promotes an active and engaged society, whose members look for their own happiness. They are encouraged to manage, in a critical and creative way, the abilities that allow a harmonious coexistence and community progress. This information has been extracted from a study on the impact made in 2021 by David Roselló Cerezuela, head of Nexe Cultural SL. 

The Mandarache project is relevant to other European cities as it promotes reading habits, writing education and book culture among the youth, promoting core values for an active and engaged society.  

The basic formula corresponds to a literary prize with a popular jury of young people: a particularly versatile practice. The methodology is well documented and transferable, allowing its implementation in other cities, no matter their size, budget, or number of schools, promoting a positive impact all over Europe. 

In terms of cultural approach, it contributes to main Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) such as SDG4 (Quality Education), and SDG10 (Reduce Inequalities), enhancing social cohesion and the feeling of belonging. The project aligns with the Urban Agenda for the EU – and with the EU’s Territorial Agenda by promoting local development through culture.  

For any city taking on this practice, cooperation of different agents in the community, such as teachers, librarians, associations and collectives is essential, alongside institutional support. The Youth Department plays a key role in managing the budget and coordinating the activities. It is also fundamental to establish alliances with local institutions like universities, schools and libraries. Additionally, the creation of the role of mediators and young volunteers is crucial to expand the scope of the project. 

The Mandarache model has already been transferred to other cities in Latin America as diverse as Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, and Cartagena in Chile.

In Spain, it has provided advice for the design and implementation of four similar projects:

• Criticón Prize: Promoted by the writer David Lozano Garbala in the city of Zaragoza
• Azagal Prize: Promoted by the Cabildo of Tenerife
• Los inmortales Award:  Promoted by the library of the small town of Herencia, in Castilla La Mancha
• Epicentros de Lectura: Promoted by the Public Libraries of Navarra.