This third volume edited by the Cultural Observatory of the University of Valencia addresses urgent and significant issues for the cultural and creative sectors. From the perspective of experts with recognized experience, we reflect on the intersections between culture and politics, with special emphasis on the contemporary exercise of cultural rights and the risks of the political instrumentalization of culture. The experience of projects that have made the leap to internationalization is also shared, revealing the strategies with which those responsible have overcome the complex challenges that entails. Finally, voice is given to local initiatives, highlighting the historical significance of alternative spaces that, supported by autonomous management models, have collaborated in the survival of local ecosystems and the construction of community identities.