Integrating culture into sustainable development policies

Of note, owing to its importance and allocated resources, is the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2008-2010, directed at all those groups susceptible to marginalisation, with special attention to immigrants. For the above period, it allocated 105,000m Euros.

In 2010-2011, the Ministry of Culture carried out a series of exhibitions called Design against Poverty, as a contribution to the European Year 2010 against poverty and social exclusion. This initiative saw the collaboration of NGOs, a design association, institutions and the homeless. The Ministry of Culture also organised various Social Cinema Seasons, with the purpose of demonstrating varying points of view and forms of approaching current topics related to other cultures: 2009 (Cinema and Migrations; Education in Africa); 2010 (A look to the south. Showcase of Peruvian cinema) and 2010-11 (Kerala vs. Bengal. Season of Hindu Cinema).

Further policies have been extensively mentioned in section 2.1 of this report (in particular, in-depth information regarding policies involving gender equality and the presence of women, emigrants).

In the field of education, apart from other measures already mentioned in section 2.1, it is worth noting the MUS-E, programme, which was born of an agreement between the Ministry of Education and the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, the aims of which are: to promote the arts in schools, to encourage the social and cultural integration of disadvantaged children, to prevent violence and racism, and promote harmony and tolerance between different cultures. This has expanded, and in 2010 involved 10 Autonomous Communities (out of 17), and the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla, with a total of 107 public centres, 1,430 teachers, 184 artists and 17,539 students in primary, secondary and special education, and promotes discipline, creativity, tolerance, dialogue and respect for diversity.