It is, perhaps, one of the favorite clichés many politicians like to say when reading a speech: Mexico has a vast cultural tradition. True, yes, but necessary to bring up when it comes to answering the question of how to make the country better and, if possible, move forward.
The first session of the Symposium “The Strategic Configuration of Cultural Policies in Mexico” kept this idea in mind, under the title "Cultural policy as an instrument of development" and in the framework of the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, gave some insights on how the state should address the issue.
The first speaker was Raúl Padilla López, President of the FIL. Padilla was emphatic in stating that, from his point of view, "culture is the best instrument for social and economic development of the country. It is a key to understanding the development in human terms”
Then by showing some slides he said that currently the cultural sector contributes 0.11% of gross domestic product, and compared it with that of Paraguay (0.04%), Colombia (0.10%), Brazil (0.23%) and Argentina (0.24%). Then he said that to increase the contribution of the cultural sector in GDP, an essential first step is the creation of a government department, which permits "to balance budgets and plans."
This, he added, would create ‘systemic’ strategies that would involve other agencies such as the Ministries of Tourism and Education. Finally, as an example he presented the work by university companies that UdeG collaborate with and the most important of them: the IDF. "They are self-sustaining businesses that generate profits which then go to other projects operated by the university," Padilla explained.
The next speaker was anthropologist Lourdes Arizpe, who, in order to "break the format" of a presentation, began to read what she said were its conclusions. She stated that "the purpose of cultural policy is to create future and to end the fear that has spread in the last two twelve years." In that regard, she said because of this the country has "lost sense, and without it you cannot advance.”
“What is required is a transversal and coherent cultural policy ". She also stressed the idea that it is essential to understand the term "culture" beyond art, and it is something that "has to do with democracy, economics, entrepreneurship, policy."
The next speaker was Lucina Jiménez, OAS consultant and member of the Unesco experts on culture, adding that "at this point you need to think cultural policy, with all its diversity, as an element of well-being that contributes to the construction of a culture of peace ".
She then made a quick historical overview to give an idea of how cultural policy was managed after the revolution until the eighties, and then noted that "in the last 30 years the civil society and universities grew in a way that now does not fit into the institutional arrangements ", so she said, now more than ever it is necessary to" reconfigure the state to understand culture as a factor of development, not only as a subtopic within education.”
The Brazilian Albino Rubim, specialist in the field, was the last speaker. He began by saying that while the world is going through a unique moment for the recurrent economic crises; it is precisely in times of crisis when it is necessary to search for alternatives. Then invited those present to think about development beyond economic issues, since it includes many other dimensions such as social, political, environmental issues.
In this regard, he noted that it is essential to ensure "access of citizens to the creation and it should not be restricted to the creators. Everyone should have access, but will not become artists, because it is in the culture where it develops citizenship. "
He also said that the culture of development should help to strengthen the individual's subjectivity, creativity and function in plurality.
http://eleconomista.com.mx/entretenimiento/2012/12/01/politica-cultural-que-potencie-desarrollo