At 10:30 today, in the Montt Varas lounge of the Palacio de la Moneda, President Sebastián Piñera with the Minister of Culture, Luciano Cruz-Coke, signed the law creating the new cultural authority.
This Monday an important step was taken in the creation of the new Ministry of Culture with the signature of President Sebastián Piñera. The new law will create the new institution that will combine the National Council of Culture and the Arts with the Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums and the National Monuments Council, a union that will permit a budgetary autonomy of a ministry.
In addition, this act will end the dispersion and duplication of functions that occurs in areas such as copyright and reader development, among others, creating the scenario for public policies aimed at the development of culture in our country more efficiently.
"We are excited to see how this project is progressing steadily towards its implementation. Since taking on the Council of Culture and the Arts (CNCA) we decided to move forward with the project of the Ministry of Culture in order to give the country an institution that can provide Chilean cultural development in a more efficient way, "said the Minister of Culture, Luciano Cruz-Coke.
This project was created with the firm conviction of the need to involve all stakeholders. Because of this, we first generated an intersectoral working table in January 2011, consisting of teams of CNCA, DIBAM and SEGPRES, and the participation of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, National Monuments, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Architecture of the MOP.
Then, we conducted a socialization process and project consultations with stakeholders in the cultural sector, civil society and parliamentarians, in order to respond to their concerns and their opinions on the project. Finally, in August of the same year we organized a consultation of cultural stakeholders across the country, where more than 500 people were invited. People such as Weinstein, Claudio Di Girolamo, Clara Budnick, Agustín Squella, Juan Gabriel Valdés and Pablo Dittborn, among others, were consulted by the Council in order to gather their views.
Central elements
The new institution will nest, integrate and order responsibilities, establishing a Ministry of Culture with its Departments, and two directorates with directors elected by the government: the Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Cultural Industries and the Directorate of Cultural heritage (combining the current DIBAM and National Monuments Council). The ministry will also maintain the binding representation of civil society through the maintenance of Regional Councils across the country, and sectoral councils of the book, music, audiovisual and national monuments.
Another focus will be to strengthen the regional presence by creating two services: one for the Promotion of Arts and Industries, and another for Heritage, which will be decentralized in all regions, with Seremi as a local authority. Furthermore, the number of members of the Regional Councils of Culture will be increased, in order to strengthen their links with regional resources
Finally, cultural development will be further promoted through the creation of the new Heritage Fund. It is noteworthy to mention that the funds will be designed for the creation and current cultural industries.
Another highlight of the new institution is to be the first ministry in the country's history with the sole task of protecting and promoting the dissemination and enforcement of copyright and related rights, assuming the task of protecting intellectual property of our authors.
The project, once signed by the President, shall pass to the Lower House to start with the relevant legislative procedures.