Canadian Culture Minister Line Beauchamp has delivered a speech to the Second Inter-American Meeting of the Cultural Officials on the topic: culture as an instrument of social cohesion and the battle against poverty. The meeting was organised by the Organisation of the American States (OAS) and hosted by the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA) at the National Arts Center in Mexico City. Ms Beauchamp discussed the Quebecois experience in shaping cultural policy and recalled the essential role of the creator in cultural dynamics. The Minister underlined the innovative approach of Quebec regarding statute laws for artists and the social security network. ‘It is essential to place our artists at the heart of our cultural policies, because the artist is the origin of the process of cultural production. It is thus necessary - at the same time - to do him justice and to ensure him conditions, which guarantee the renewal of creation’, she said. ‘Nations interested in equipping themselves with cultural policies will find an interest in being mobilised in the fight against piracy’, she added. For further information in French, CLICK HERE.