To give boost to Iber Programs that aim to combine the participation of 19 countries in Latin America and three in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra), was one of the main points discussed in the meeting between the President of the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA), Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, and the Head of the Secretariat General for Ibero-America (SEGIB), Rebeca Grynspan.
The head of the Directorate General of International Affairs Conaculta, Jos Luis Martinez, said that at the meeting it was suggested that the International Cervantino Festival in 2016 should be dedicated to Spain and Miguel de Cervantes. This is why the relationship with the Secretariat General for Ibero-America (SEGIB), and the Ibermúsica Latin American programs, is so important in order to strengthen the participation.
He also stressed the importance of creating a network of Latin American theaters not only to introduce the big institutions, such as Teatro Colombia, Teatro Buenos Aires; the Palace of Fine Arts, or the National Theater of Havana, but also develop a digital way to present these theatres and their programming.
"We discussed the possibility of presenting theatre plays and music concerts digitally in order to have a communication network and shared spaces," said Director General of International Affairs. José Luis Martinez. He added that another issue discussed during the meeting with Rebeca Grynspan was the creation of a book about important Ibero-American people that have lived in Madrid.
Segib is a permanent support institution to the Ibero-American Conference and the Summit of Heads of State and Governments, formed by 22 Ibero-American countries that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and cohesion of the Ibero- American community and to promote the Ibero-American space internationally.
Within Segib, the Ibero-American Cultural Space (ECI) is the coordinator of the 14 existing programs and initiatives of the Cultural Cooperation Program. It also collaborates with relevant regional organizations and partners in the field to the implementation and monitoring of the Ibero-American Conference of Ministers of Culture and the Ibero-American Cultural Congresses. It also encourages the design and implementation of regional public policies, actions arising from the strategic axes: Culturals SMEs, Cultural Diplomacy and Culture and Social Cohesion.
Some of the Iber programs are: Iberarchivos (archives), Iberartesanías (craft), Iberbibliotecas (libraries), Ibermemoria Sonora and Audiovisual (sonic and audiovisual memory), Ibermuseos (museums), Ibermúsicas and Youth Iberorquestas, Development Program to Support the Construction of Iberoamerican Scenic Spaces (Iberescena) Program to Support Creation of an Iberoamerican Audiovisual (SpaceIbermedia) and IberoAmerican Program for the Promotion of Community Based Cultural Policy (Ibercultura Viva).