Below you will find some excerpts of Cultural Diplomacy in Ibero-America: Outlining an Agenda’s introduction. This document, presented by SEGIB at the end of October 2012 is the result of two Ibero-American meetings, one of cultural affairs directors of ministries of foreign affairs, that took place in March 2011, and a second one of international relations directors of ministries of culture, carried out in may 2012.

During recent times, there has not been such a consistent and continued effort to reflect on cultural diplomacy in Ibero-America as the one made by SEGIB (General Ibero-American Secretariat, supported by OEI, AECID and institutions like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, UNESCO, CONACULTA –Mexico– and the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture of the region.

Cultural diplomacy is something that is done, more than something people reflect on. There are, indeed, important research initiatives on cultural diplomacy, eventhough they are few and isolated. Anyhow, intense changes that cultural thought and practice are experiencing are redefining the sense of cultural diplomacy worldwide. This redefinition shows itself more profound when the new roles and challenges that culture assumes and faces are analized, as this document intends to do. In such a context, culture plays a leading role.

It is not possible to talk about globalization without dealing with culture’s place in it, or about economy without facing the progress made by cultural industries, or about citizenship or human rights without addressing cultural rights. Some of the world’s major issues have their roots in cultural phenomena. Diasporas of impoverished people towards wealthier societies give birth to a significant cultural flow.

Cultural diplomacy, traditionally centered on the action of the State, has seen the emergence of new agents that take care of cultural relations among countries, blocs and even continents, like creators and researchers networks, cultural markets, corporations that produe cultural goods, foundations, universities, think tanks and civil society’s organizations. This has created unrest in cultural diplomacy. It now faces new challenges and, at the same time, possibilities.

SEGIB has taken on the task of creating spaces to reflect on what is happening around cultural diplomacy in Ibero-America and, above all, considers fundamental to start creating an agenda of challenges and commitments that can be faced by various institutions of the region of an alliance created between them. The Iber-American organizations dedicated to culture find her an interesting field for action.

http://segib.org/cooperacion/2012/10/conclusiones-del-encuentro-de-diplomacia-cultura/