Costa Rica strengthens its music ecosystem through virtual forum
Around 30 representatives from various sectors of the Costa Rican music ecosystem met virtually in a forum organized by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture and Youth in the framework of the project Musica Fast Forward (FFWD).
The Forum, which took place between October 29 and November 8, 2021, consisted of a series of workspaces in which a limited group of participants developed strategic themes for the sector.
The participants in this Forum are representatives of the public sector, the private sector, professional associations, academia and various roles within the value chain of the music ecosystem. The working spaces have been moderated by international specialists Martín Giraldo (Colombia), Ángel Mestres (Spain) and Noela Salas (Chile), who have extensive knowledge of current trends in the music industry and broad experience in associative and networking processes at the international level.
In particular, these working spaces have made it possible to address the current state of cultural policies related to the music sector in Costa Rica, strategies to promote the consumption of local music, and the circulation of local artists throughout the country, with a view to the full reactivation of the sector. In general terms, the whole process has been aimed at promoting the contributions of the music industry to sustainable development.
The Forum has included presentations by international specialists, working spaces divided by themes, as well as spaces for discussion and reflection on the conclusions. During this process, a series of best practices, objectives and specific proposals have been identified for each of the areas addressed, in addition to the recommendations made by the international experts.
The Forum is the last phase of meetings with the sector within the framework of the Musica FFWD project. In previous phases, throughout 2021, 4 virtual training modules have been carried out aimed at strengthening the capacities and knowledge of the music sector in key issues for its professionalization, as well as a process of mentoring to specific music-related projects conducted by international specialists to outline their objectives, constraints and medium-long term planning.
The project Musica FFWD is implemented by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture as part of the UNESCO-European Union cooperation program for the strengthening of cultural and creative industries and South-South cooperation. Costa Rica is one of the 12 countries selected worldwide in 2020 to benefit from this cooperation program, which seeks to position the cultural and creative industries as important sectors to promote the fulfillment of the objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.