Periodic Report Andorra

The Principality of Andorra, a welcoming land located at a cultural crossroad, has protected its identity in respect for the various cultures present on its territory for more than seven centuries of peaceful history. At the end of 2012, Andorra had a population of 76,246, of which 34,417 were of Andorran nationality. This represents 45.10% of the total population which includes more than 100 different nationalities.

Andorra’s educational structure is based on plurality; schools depend on the French education system, Spanish education system or Andorran education system, managed by the Andorran Ministry of Education. Andorran schools provide a multilingual education where subjects are taught to students in Catalan, French and Spanish.

Catalan and Andorran history are compulsory subjects in all three educational systems. Since there is a large Portuguese community in the Principality, optional Portuguese classes are also offered.

The Ministry of Culture defines and establishes cultural policies nationally. Nevertheless, institutionally and territorially, the Principality of Andorra is composed of seven parishes (territorial units administered by the Comuns, or town halls) and each Comú allocates part of its budget to culture. Furthermore, the Andorran National Commission for UNESCO (ANCU) and civil society – through numerous associations – also promote cultural activities that fall within the scope of the 2005 Convention. In this first report we shall mention the most pertinent examples that illustrate the implementation of the Convention.

The Ministry of Culture plans national, regional and international activities (such as the “Meeting of Cultures” organized for international cultural diversity day and with the participation of cultural communities and associations present in Andorra, the Ramon Llull Prize, Art Camp, and events arising from bilateral cooperation with accredited countries in the Principality of Andorra).

The Department of Cultural Promotion and Linguistic Policy ensures the programming, implementation and development of cultural infrastructure; coordinates the management of public cultural services and public libraries; develops cooperation programmes with cultural institutions as well as programmes for cultural promotion and for the dissemination of publishing production and artistic creation. The Department is also responsible for implementing the language policy in order to guarantee and improve the use of Andorra’s official language, Catalan, and to foster actions to protect, promote and disseminate the Catalan language.

Andorra, which has never known war and has preserved its identity while defending the values of peace and democracy, has hosted the Art Camp project since 2008. This bi-annual meeting of artists from five continents and from countries in conflict situations is a laboratory for cultural creativity and promotes intercultural understanding, peace and dialogue. Through this project, Andorra encourages dialogue between cultures to ensure more balanced cultural exchanges and to promote intercultural respect and the culture of peace.

The main challenge of the Principality of Andorra is to raise awareness of the objectives of the 2005 Convention among the general public.

Since ratifying the Convention, Andorra has contributed annually to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity. To date, the country’s total contribution amounts to $77,711.40.