The 13, 14 and 15 of December, 2006, the Childhood and Youth Unit of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, and the Colombian Association of Arts Faculties (Acofartes), successfully concluded the National Meeting on Arts and Education “Artistic Education: A Common Purpose”. This meeting is part of a chain of efforts made by Colombian public institutions to lead the reflection on public policies for arts and education in Latin America. The conference picks up the declarations made at the regional conferences on arts education developed in Lisbon and Bogotá and finalised at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Arts and Education which took place November 28, 29 and 30, 2005, and was organized by the Colombian ministries of Culture, Education and International Relations and Unesco’s Latin America and Caribbean Regional Bureau for Culture –Orcalc–. Four matters were dealt with on the different panels: public policy actions put together by both ministries, successful Colombian experiences in formal and non-formal (now called technical expertise and human development) artistic education, the role of educative institutions and associations, and foreign (German and Venezuelan) research and good practices on this subject. Among the conclusions stemming from the meeting were the recognition of the need to direct all the efforts of non-formal artistic education towards the professionalization of artists, and those of formal education towards the attainment of quality in curricula and educational processes; the urgency of bringing to completion a new law that regulates the National System on Artistic and Cultural Education –Sinfac–, and the council which will preside it; the fact that, for Berlin’s case study, the results of musical education are best if boys are taught separately from girls. The questions and answers section of the report included some that the speakers were not able to answer during the meeting. These were transcribed and sent to them via e-mail. After having answered them, they mailed them to the personal e-mail accounts of their senders. These, as well as the articles presented, can be found at Encuentro Nacional sobre Educación Artística.

http://www.mincultura.gov.co