Panama and Chile learn from each other in the field of the creative economy
On May 24 and 25, 2021, Panama and Chile held a series of meetings entitled "Creative Economies of the South: instruments of social inclusion in Panama and Chile" with the purpose of exchanging experiences and best practices on cultural policies aimed at strengthening the role of the creative economy in sustainable development, as well as to promote the 2030 Agenda and cultural rights. This initiative is part of the UNESCO/European Union cooperation program for the strengthening of cultural governance and South-South cooperation in developing countries. It was also part of the celebrations of the International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.
Following a bilateral technical cooperation roundtable between the ministries of both countries, a public discussion took place with high-level participation.
"South-South cooperation is a valuable resource for countries that, despite the particularities of each context, share a series of challenges in multiple areas of development. We know that culture has an important role to play in addressing these common challenges" - Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture
"Sharing our experience alongside countries that inspire us reinforces Panama's commitment to create a cultural institutionality committed to social, environmental and economic transformations in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." -Carlos Aguilar, Panama's Minister of Culture
"Since we began to face the COVID-19 pandemic, those of us who work in the field of cultures, arts and heritage have been clear that the only secure way out of this crisis is cooperation from different sectors, institutions and countries." - Consuelo Valdés, Chile's Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage
"There is no doubt about the enormous potential that exists for cultural cooperation and new initiatives for the promotion of the creative economy around the world and particularly in the very creative and vibrant continent of Latin America." - Chris Hoornaert, Ambassador of the European Union in Panama.
This exchange provided insight into how both Panama and Chile have built or adapted their cultural policy frameworks to leverage the benefits of the creative economy for sustainable development. The Chilean representation focused on the experience of implementing the National Plan for the Promotion of the Creative Economy. Panama, for its part, presented the process of building the national creative economy strategy known as CREA in Panama, 2030, which has been designed within the framework of the UNESCO/European Union cooperation program. For its part, UNESCO gave a presentation on the main aspects of the cooperation program and its achievements in Panama.
The UNESCO/European Union cooperation program for the strengthening of cultural governance and South-South cooperationwas created in line with the objectives of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This Convention establishes that the frameworks governing the cultural and creative industries must contribute to creating an enabling environment for the cultural sector that guarantees artistic freedom, creativity and innovation, diversity of content and cultural expressions, intellectual property rights, mobility of artists and access to national and international markets.