The Secretary of Culture of Argentina, Jorge Coscia, and Secretary General of the OEI, Álvaro Marchesi, led on Monday 27 May the First Governing Council Meeting of the Iberoamerican Cultural Observatory (OIBC), organized in Buenos Aires. The meeting was attended by Monica Guariglio, National Director of Cultural Policy and International Cooperation of Argentina.
The meeting will run until 28 May with representatives from 19 Latin American countries and three international organizations: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Regional Centre for Book Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLALC) and the Convenio Andrés Bello in Colombia (CAB).
At the opening, the Argentinean Secretary of Culture explained the reasons for creating a Cultural Observatory for the region: "In Latin America we are part of the largest cultural community on the planet with a formidable integration in that regard. But along with this integration we also witness the centrifugal force caused by the processes of cultural hegemony that cross the planet. This Observatory is central to overcome this force that largely is caused by lack of information.”
Marchesi, in turn, thanked the secretary Coscia "for the momentum of this important and ambitious project." "The topics discussed today have been addressed by some countries in the region. Many countries have created their own cultural information systems, but in recent times there has been a growing interest, which includes the OEI itself, to find inclusive ways. The rationale for this is that we have realized that we are living a paradox: on the one hand, culture provides much of the economic and social development of our countries, but on the other hand, the support of the public authorities and resources is not at the level of this development. That's why we have sought ways to visualize the strength of culture and improve our statistics, "said Marchesi.
The initiative is an Argentinean proposal approved by the Ministers of Culture of Latin America. Iberoamerican Cultural Observatory is intended to advance the construction of a shared system of measurement and cultural assessment, the development of cultural statistics and indicators, conducting studies and research on different subsectors of culture, and the contribution to the standardization of information on cultural policies.
Furthermore, it will promote the publication of periodic reports on the reality of culture and its various sub-sectors in the countries of the region and on the development of shared action programs involving universities, think tanks and independent researchers.
Participants of the First Meeting included: Rodolfo Hamawi, National Director of Cultural Industries in Argentina; José Luis Castiñeira de Dios, National Director of Arts of Argentina; Juan Manuel Zanabria, Cultural Information System of Mercosur (SICSUR ); Gonzalo Gosálvez, Director of Citizen Participation of Bolivia; Sigrid Álvarez Cariaga, Ministry of Culture of Bolivia; Luiz Antônio Gouveia de Oliveira and Bruno Mello, Ministry of Culture of Brazil; Ángel Moreno, Director of Cultural Entrepreneurship Group in Colombia; Anahí Moyano, Ministry of Culture and Youth of Costa Rica; Matías Zurita, from the Directorate of Citizenship and Culture of Chile; Eugenia Valdez, Ministry of Culture of El Salvador; María Ángeles Pérez Corrales, Sub- Division of Statistics and Studies of Spain; Carlos Rodríguez Olivet, Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala; Tulio Gonzáles García, Secretary of Culture of Honduras; José Cáceres Fox, National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA) Mexico; Emilio César Zambrana and Mónica Calviño Moreno, Secretary of Culture of Panama; Claudia Argaña, Secretary of Culture of Paraguay; Mariela Noriega Alegría, Ministry of Culture of Peru; Ana Almeida, State Secretary of Culture of Portugal; Carlos Santos Durán, Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic and Diego Traverso, National Directorate of Culture of Uruguay.
Also present were observers Ernesto Espíndola from CEPAL; Diana Rey from CAB, and Fernando Zapat from CERLALC.
Representing the OEI were Darío Pulfer, General Director of the OEI Buenos Aires, Jorge Delkader, Director of Institutional Relations, and Carlos Alberdi, AECID fund manager.
http://www.cultura.gob.ar/noticias/se-crea-el-observatorio-iberoamericano-de-cultura/