Noticias del Portal de la Cultura de América Latina y el Caribe

Training of cultural managers comes to a close in Costa Rica



© UNESCO SJO. Closing ceremony of the capacity-building workshops for cultural managers in Costa Rica.

3 July 2015/ UNESCO Office in San José

Cultural managers from 14 Costa Rican municipalities have been trained for six months during a workshop on Local Cultural Management conducted by the cultural sector of the UNESCO Cluster Office to Central America in coordination with the Inter-municipal Culture Network (RECIM) in Costa Rica.

On 30 June, at the end of this successful training process, a closing ceremony was held at the UNESCO Office in San José, where participants received their certificate. Also present were the Minister of Culture and Youth, mayors from the municipalities, representatives from Sickultura and the media.

In her speech, Ms Sylvie Durán Salvatierra, Minister of Culture, stressed the need to professionalise cultural management, position its agents, and consolidate a space for coordinating actions in favour of culture.

Another speaker, Ms Pilar Álvarez Laso, director of the UNESCO Cluster Office to Central America, recalled the efforts made by the Organisation to place culture as an engine for the social and economic development of nations and communities, and as a key cross-cutting factor for achieving advances in education, health and governability. In addition, she thanked all those present for their interest and took this opportunity to offer a space for reflection and exchange in order to find new mechanisms of cooperation that will make it possible to integrate culture and cultural diversity on the agenda of local development in Costa Rica.

Lastly, Mr Gilberto Monge Pizarro, Mayor of Mara and Ms Marianela Mesén, RECIM coordinator, stated that these capacity-building workshops provide cultural managers with tools for elaborating local cultural policies, local cultural communication strategies, and the use of public resources.

Once the diplomas were awarded, the ceremony came to an end with a cello concert by Mr Segio Núñez González, director of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, followed by a cocktail party.