The Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), in a strategic alliance with the Embassy of Turkey in Panama, has inaugurated the country's first Mobile Youth Library. This mobile initiative adds to the country's network of ludotecas to ensure safe and educational environments in urban, rural, and hard-to-reach indigenous areas. By aligning with the Comprehensive Care Route for Early Childhood (RAIPI) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, MIDES establishes ludotecas as a specialized public service focused on the exercise of fundamental rights. As part of its growth strategy for the year 2026, the Ministry plans to inaugurate new centers, including the Fixed Ludoteca at Omar Park and the Ludoteca of the City of Arts in the province of Colón. These joint efforts seek to articulate a national system of learning and play that generates knowledge and strengthens the state's presence in the country's most vulnerable communities. This international collaboration reinforces the Panamanian State's commitment to expanding the coverage of recreational services in communities with limited access, including rural and indigenous areas, ensuring that the right to play is a reality for all young people in the national territory. The operation of these ludotecas is based on Law No. 285 and Executive Decree No. 17 of 2024, which recognize play as an essential component for comprehensive human development. This initiative adds to previous successful projects, such as the Children's Traveling Ludoteca—which has impacted more than 7,500 beneficiaries—and the Artistic-Cultural Ludoteca in the City of the Arts. The project was made possible thanks to the technical cooperation of the Government of Turkey, managed by its ambassador Armágán Inci Ersoy. Equipped with recreational and educational materials, the unit seeks to strengthen teamwork, cultural expression, and the emotional development of its participants. The premiere of this mobile unit took place during the Children's and Youth Book Festival, consolidating the institutional leadership in creating safe educational environments. The implementation of the Mobile Youth Library represents a significant advance in public policy for adolescent care. This new itinerant space is specifically designed for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17, with the aim of promoting healthy coexistence and recreation through modern pedagogical tools.
