With the recovery of the democracy in the country, in 1990, starts a process in which the civil society and diverse chilean government organisms have dialogued over the need to create a public cultural Institutionality of the highest level, capable of response to the current and future challenges. The above, understanding that: "It is an essential part of building a truly democratic society, the public policy development that encourages, promotes, respects and recognizes the diversity of stories, its tangible and intangible manifestations, the various processes of memory, language and diversity of cultural heritage that has shaped our country; and also that those policies promote multiculturalism and unity in diversity, and the real and reciprocal dialogue between the state and society, respectful of their stories, knowledge, trades and cultural expressions”[1].
Nowadays, Chile is living a key moment of structural transformation that will allow address the cultural policy with a proper Institutionality. It is that so, during the reporting period, the Chilean Government has committed to enter a bill in the National Congress that creates the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, which is currently in phase process in Congress. Such legislative measures materialized following an extensive public participation process - led by the current cultural institutions, the CNCA - and involved its corporate organizations and the cultural community as a whole.
Parallel to this institutional transformation, the country is also in a renewal period of its main strategic instruments in cultural policy matter: its National Cultural Policy, its 15 regional cultural policies, its sectorial policies and the respective policies of its artistic areas. During the course of this year, corresponds an evaluation process of current policies and the design of new instruments for the 2017-2022 term.
In the case of sectorial guidelines, in 2015 the Second National Policy of the Book and Lecture was designed and build, wich highlighted for its citizen participation high level and to take into account the principles and objectives of the 2005 Convention.
At the same time, policies promoting films, audiovisual, and chilean music are finishing their participatory processes to collect the positions of the different players in the sector, as well as a diagnosis for the construction of a new structure which orient the management of each sector.
By the other hand, since 2011, 4 new artistic areas have been incorporated into the organic structure of the CNCA (Circus arts, architecture, new media and design), and each of their respective policies will be elaborated from this very year. These instruments will settle new processes of citizen participation and territorial approach, being a strategic opportunity to incorporate the principles and objectives of the 2005 Convention.
In summary, the new chilean cultural Institutionality must promote and contribute to cultural public governance based in the respect for the human rights, the cultural diversity, the citizen participation, the recognition and respect for the gender diversity and sexual identity, the intercultural dialogue and the practice of the criticism and the creative thought.
[1] Message from the Executive that accompanies the entrance to the National Congress of legislative initiative establishing the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage (December 17, 2015), available at