A workshop on Mercosur Cultural was held this week at the National Archives. During the meeting, led by the Minister of Culture, Mabel Causarano, directors of focal points (designated representatives) of the National Secretariat of Culture (SNC) reported on the current situation of the various working committees.
"We want to prepare for the role which we as a country will have from July, the pro-tempore presidency pro tempore of the Mercosur Cultural. The National Plan of Culture includes an objective of incorporating Paraguay into the world. The opportunity to chair such an important orgnisazation deserves a strategic vision, "said the Minister of Culture, Mabel Causarano, while thanking the support of the Foreign Ministry in this preparatory process.
Paraguay will serve as the pro tempore President of Mercosur Cultural in the second half of this year. The meeting was held to conduct a review of Paraguay’s commitments to this platform. In addition, the meeting had as one of its objectives to visualize the relationship of actions implemented under Mercosur Cultural with the programmatic agenda of the National Secretariat of Culture (SNC).
The meeting was chaired by the Director General of SNC, Vladimir Velázquez, and was also attended by the Director of Economic Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Alicia Pérez. Also present at the meeting were Fernando Olmedo, Cinthia Romero and Ignacio Benítez from the Directorate of Regional Forums.
The committees that presented their progress reports were the committees of Cultural Diversity, Arts Commission, Commission on Creative Economy and Cultural Industries, RECAM (audiovisual), Committee on Cultural Heritage and Cultural Information System of Mercosur.
Mercosur Cultural is in charge of cultural issues of Mercosur and was created in 1998. Its objectives are to foster greater cultural cooperation in Mercosur, strengthen the dissemination and implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005) and promote the development of cultural itineraries.