The 2008 Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, as well as the laws in force, recognize cultural rights and interculturality in the field of arts, culture and heritage. Since the creation of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage in 2007, the main challenge has been to strengthen the body's institutionality and implement public policies through plans, programs and projects. In the national context, other laws have been enacted to strengthen acknowledgement and to guarantee cultural rights, such as the Organic Law of Intercultural Education (2015) and the Organic Law of Higher Education (2010, 2018 reform). On the other hand, the 2017-2021 "Toda una Vida" (A Lifetime) National Development Plan, is the instrument for linking and implementing public policies within which Objective 2 seeks to assert interculturality and plurinationality, revaluing diverse identities. The specific goals to be met require “Increasing the percentage of people aged 15 and older who engage in cultural activities from 3.9 per cent to 5 per cent by 2021” and “Increasing the contribution of cultural activities to gross domestic product from 2.4% to 3.5% by 2021”. The issuance of the Organic Law of Culture in 2016 and its General Regulations in 2017 establishes the Ministry of Culture and Heritage as the governing body of cultural public policies. The Ministry carries out the management and promotion of culture through the National Culture System, which consists of all cultural institutions receiving public funds in accordance with articles 377 and 378 of the Constitution. Article 8 of the Organic Law of Culture defines cultural policies as the actions of organizations, bodies, and institutions of the National Culture System that promote creation, artistic and cultural activity, popular culture expressions, training, research, promotion and strengthening of cultural expressions, recognition, maintenance, conservation and dissemination of cultural heritage and social memory, and the production and development of cultural and creative industries. One of the most pressing challenges is to carry out the Survey on Reading Habits, Practices and Cultural Consumption, nationwide, in urban and rural areas of Ecuador, to obtain up-to-date quantitative information to generate public policies. The Survey has been validated by the National Council for Statistics and Census and is part of the country's statistical operations calendar. At present, there are no studies or research to determine the country's culture and heritage situation of the Ecuadorian households. In this sense, this survey is a fundamental tool in the generation and consolidation of statistical information. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage is obliged to implement the Comprehensive Regime for Education and Training in Arts Culture and Heritage (RIEFACP, in Spanish) for formal and non-formal education. To this end, the Vigesimal Plan, which will state the actions of institutions, organizations and individuals involved in formal and non-formal education in arts, culture and heritage from early childhood and throughout life will be published. In the context of the reform of the Organic Law of Intercultural Education (LOEI, in Spanish), the Ministry of Education will have to monitor and evaluate the Cultural and Artistic Education Curriculum (ECA, in Spanish). It is noted that only 4.69% of the total number of teachers in the National Education System have degrees directly related to the arts. Therefore, there is a need to increase teacher training. To that end, the strategic cooperation of UNESCO and other international funds for that purpose will continue. Among the main challenges for the professionalization of the cultural sector is the consolidation of the following processes: ascription and definitive articulation of Conservatories to Universities; validation of trajectories for the provision of third and fourth level education degrees, and certification of artistic skills. As part of the activities in arts education and training, there is a need to introduce and strengthen an Audience Training National Programme for the exercise of cultural rights and the strengthening of cultural and creative industries. The approval of the Methodological Planning Guide for pedagogical visits to cultural facilities and activities, the agenda of educational and pedagogical activities of national actors in education institutions of the national education system, and the issuance of the agreement for permits and recognitions of student artists is foreseen. Partnerships with civil society face the great challenge of consolidating the Comprehensive Culture Information System (SIIC, in Spanish), and, specifically, the Cultural Observatories. The creation of Cultural Space Networks such as: the Stage Space Network, Audiovisual Space Network and Community Cultural Management Network, and the use of cultural infrastructure for cultural activities that activate the social fabric, creativity and the local economy represents also a strong demand. The digital environment, as a policy that facilitates access to cultural expressions, has the challenge of updating the Record of Cultural Organizations through the Unique Organizations Information System (SUIOS, in Spanish). The Ibero-American Cultural Space Programmes and Initiatives presents actions as challenges in each of the programs subscribed by the country. In this regard, the implementation of the Ibero-American Dance Platform project, a technical cooperation initiative, attached to Iberescena, is planned. Another outstanding challenge is the full implementation of a unified policy that strengthens the mobility of artists and cultural actors to festivals, international markets and international cultural representations, and technical support to cultural actors for full performance through an Ecuadorian Arts and Culture International Presence Plan. The acknowledgement of the processes of artistic creation and cultural and heritage production and management as professional activities generating added value is also a challenge for the next few years. Other policies that create favorable conditions for the development of artistic creation, production and circulation of cultural and creative goods and services are linked to the promotion of rights for democratic access to cultural artistic goods and services such as the Book Fair, or the implementation of Promotion Lines addressing Arts and Disability issues, as well as Peoples and Nationalities. Among the policies and measures that promote and protect the social and economic rights of artists and culture professionals, the Ecuadorian State implemented Article 21 of the Organic Law of Culture, which states the inclusion of the culture sector in the labor and social security regime, particularly, the retirement of artists and cultural managers. Flexible contribution and collection mechanisms have been put in place, enabling access to and enjoyment of social security benefits. Based on this, an affiliation scheme has been drawn up, which is detailed in Resolution No. C.D. 554 of August 4, 2017 of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute. This resolution states the requirements, coverage, contribution base and deadlines for the payment of contributions. For first timers, in addition to the general requirements, it is mandatory to be validated in the Unique Record of Artists and Cultural Managers (RUAC, in Spanish). The contribution can either be monthly or four-monthly, on the income declared by the subject, having as a minimum reference the Unified Basic Salary. However, this measure has not been able to fully respond to the needs of the sector, the informality of which is still high. Therefore, legal reforms are required at various levels: Laws and their respective regulations, and internal institutional regulations and inter-agency coordination. As a result of these efforts, the implementation of social security for artists and cultural workers must be seen as a first step in the process of improving their working conditions in the medium and long term. As part of the promotion and boosting of cultural and creative enterprises and industries, several economic incentives have been generated that, although in force, still present challenges regarding their adequate implementation and continuous evaluation. Thus, mechanisms to enable permanent monitoring in order to promote their optimal, sustainable and effective application, in the medium and long term should be incorporated and institutionalized. Finally, within this scope, the digital transformation of cultural and creative industries in the country poses one of the greatest challenges. In the current context of the pandemic and confinement, the cultural contents produced and/or transmitted in the digital environment have shown the ability of the artistic-cultural field to live up to these transformations and have generated networks that go beyond national borders. Therefore, designing specific cultural policies for the digital sphere has become a necessity to be able to achieve broader productive chains.