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III Forum of Ministers of Culture and Officials in Charge of Cultural Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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| Final Declaration |
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Gathered in Mexico City on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of September, 1990, the Ministers of Culture and the Officials Responsible for the Cultural Policies of Latin America and the Caribbean, within the framework of their III meeting, decided to formulate the following
LETTER FROM MEXICO ON THE CULTURAL UNITY AND INTEGRATION OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
I
1. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean conform a multiethnic and multicultural region which shows the variety of our origins and the peculiarities of each history and society. Nevertheless, we share equal related problems, principles and ideals and, above all, the will to jointly construct a common future of peace, democracy, wellbeing and greater social equity.
2. The unity of Latin America and the Caribbean is, above all, an act of joint will which is fomented by multiple similarities, but which is defined, by our decision to recognize and affirm ourselves as an interlinked plurality which can only reach the goal of our people with integration.
3. With the purpose of consolidating sovereignty, reducing our vulnerability and successfully facing the challenges of development, our people have sought for decades the way to integrate. Now, in a world that is each time more dynamic and competitive, and that aims at the formation of large continental blocks of a supranational nature, isolation and non-communication would cause more poverty, and marginalization in the countries of the area. The extent of the economical, political and technical challenges that we face, demand for the regionalization of interests and sum of efforts; in short, joint projects that link national efforts and make it impossible for dispersion to return.
4. The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, united by their population and resources, vigor of its culture, history, firm democratic vocation and potential, can have a specific role in the configuration of the worldwide scheme of the next century. In this way we will also reach the common objective: of incorporating ourselves in modernity, keeping the profile and the creativity that distinguishes us, and offering to all individuals and social groups the conditions of an existence with dignity, in accordance with the essential rights of the persons and the vast range of options that are discovered daily, with the vertiginous advances in science and technology.
5. Culture is, without a doubt, a fertile land for integration. We stress the analogy of; our ways of living, feeling, creating, and the coincidence in our common interests. We therefore have the responsibility to undertake coordinated actions which encourage the creative and original capacity of our people and which widen the ways of diffusion, and which strengthen our spiritual values, our values of democratic coexistence and social equity. We are, at the same time obliged to show the viability of integration and to open the path for other joint projects in the political, economical and social fields.
6. The effective advance in the cultural integration of Latin America and the Caribbean requires, in the first place, general strategies that constitute the cultural policies of our countries. In this sense, we affirm that the challenges that Latin America should overcome are, in short, purely cultural. It is about defining the sense of our coexistence, the type of modernization we procure and the profile of our insertion in the world.
7. It is clear to us that the wellbeing of the men and women of Latin America and the Caribbean, the self-determination, the solidarity and the peaceful and democratic coexistence in the region do not only result from the harmonic mobilization of the plural wills of individuals and groups. The key to such consensus is found in a cultural project that integrates and gives meaning to the diverse social activities.
8. The development of each society has a cultural dimension. Even more so in a transition era such as ours, that ends a century and announces a new millennium. Today we end a century that had a long process of decolonization, but which was also the two greatest wars in history and the appearing of dictatorships that were marked by their total contempt for human rights. At the same time, we live in an era in which the value of freedom has vigorously reemerged, and the function of civil society gets more relevance, a clear tendency to universalize things is expressed and the historical roots and traditions of nations are affirmed. Therefore, in our times, culture gets a leading role. Culture is a full expression of freedom and the most complete sign of the capacity of transformation of each society.
9. Cultural policies are crucial and are to develop their own characteristics for the promoting action of the State. The state is not a ruling body for creation. All cultural policies are originated from the absolute respect for freedom of speech and expression of individuals and groups. But in our countries, as it is in the rest of the developing world, the State can undertake a decisive function in the promotion of cultural institutions and in the establishment of services aim at the widest sectors of the population. We therefore suggest that our governments increase, or at least maintain the current level of expenses for cultural promotion.
10. In any case, nowadays, cultural tasks are a shared responsibility between the government and civil society. The first has to stimulate individual and community initiatives, as well as the self-managing of decentralized projects which reflect social and regional plurality, without forgetting the need to establish administrative mechanisms that guide the participation of creators, cultural promoters and the varied social sector in the design of cultural policies. Civil society has to contribute with all types of resources in order to reach national goals, pursued by its own political organization within the cultural field.
11. The cultural policies of the State have, among other purposes, the preservation of the cultural heritage of each community, the stimulation of the creation and the universal use of the cultural assets. However, currently the State is to pay special attention to the existing differences related to access to cultural assets and services; the preservation of common identity and its values; the adequate integration of the education system, the scientific and technological system and mass culture: the promotion of the multiple manifestations of popular culture; the demands of the specific social groups, such as women and youth, who claim their own space for creation and expression, and the advance in legislation towards the promotion and diffusion of culture.
12. Latin America and the Caribbean possess a vast historical and artistic heritage which, within its extraordinary wealth, reflects multiple ethnics and cultures. This variety is originated from a tradition many times millenary, having its roots in autochthonous civilizations from America, interlinked and fused with European, African and Oriental elements. This is the origin of the great variety of expressions which grow and survive throughout the American territory.
13. The Latin American and Caribbean cultural heritage is an essential part of our collective being, it is the base of our identity and it is an irreplaceable support of any project of unity and integration. With heritage we identify our origins, the things that distinguish us from other people and those that unite us with other nations in and out of the region.
14. The defense of our heritage includes the conservation and study of historical testimonies, as well as the rescue and diffusion of the expressions that nowadays recreate our vast artistic and intellectual variety. The preservation of the environment is, equally, a constitutive part of a coherent and current cultural policy.
15. The defense of the cultural identity of each nation paradoxically claims for a continuous dialogue with other cultures. The originality of national cultures implies the condition of being universal and its enrolment in the transformations of the modern world. This is why it is our purpose to multiply cultural exchange, mainly with those regions with which we are linked by common history and traditions.
16. We recognize our differences, especially those related with the diverse languages that are spoken amongst us. We therefore commit to point out, among the objectives of our cultural policies, the most extensive diffusion of the different languages which prevail in the area. This is the base for greatest exchange of cultural goods and better mutual knowledge.
17. Likewise, we want to establish links of cooperation with all the peoples of the world, without any exceptions. Latin America and the Caribbean is to be a factor of international understanding and is to contribute to the greatness of universal culture.
18. So as for peace and democracy to prevail in the world, it is indispensable, at an international community level, for collective measures to be added to the recent east-west distension which favors more equitable relations between the countries of the north and south, strengthens their links of cooperation and procures a quick solution to the external debt problem. The development of the non-industrialized nations, the increase in the standard of living of its people and the enrichment of its cultural values, are a challenge for all humanity.
II
PROJECTS OF COLLABORATION AND EXCHANGE IN SPECIFIC AREAS
19. In order to effectively advance in the cultural integration process of Latin America and the Caribbean, we are to undertake immediate actions in the free circulation of cultural goods and services; the establishment of cultural groups and Latin American and Caribbean cultural houses; the joint participation in the social communication and the development of cultural industries at a regional level. We will also initiate specific projects related to cultural heritage protection, the V Centenary, the possibility to create a Latin American and Caribbean Fund for culture and arts and the exchange of experiences in different field of cultural policy.
Free circulation of cultural goods and services.
20. Favoring and facilitating the free circulation of cultural goods and services throughout the region is a necessary condition for the exchange and consolidation of the cultural links between our peoples. Therefore, the integration of a Common Market of Cultural Good and Services, based on the existing agreements, constitutes the corner-stone of cultural integration of Latin America and the Caribbean.
21. The free circulation of books, as a privileged tool for the diffusion and exchange of ideas, deserves special attention. We are aware of the urgent there need is putt into practice the measures agreed by ALADI and the First Meeting of Experts on the Common Market of the Latin American Book, so as to eliminate duties and non-duty barriers in the commerce of books. We also agree that it is convenient to give preferential treatment to authors and to the transport of books in the region. In order to reach the above mentioned goals the signatories of the present Letter commit to submitting to our Governments the necessary modifications to legal provisions of each country.
Cultural groups and Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Houses.
22. We commit to coordinate cultural and artistic promotional programs of our Governments, so as to enable, through systematic communication, the establishment at a regional level, of cultural groups which will allow reducing the costs of exhibitions and presentations of soloists and art groups.
23. Likewise, our governments will support the creation and use in each country of specific spaces for the joint diffusion of artistic and cultural activities of the region, as well as the opening of magisterial lectures which will contribute to the understanding of our common problems.
24. The Governments of Latin America and the Caribbean will promote the organization of regional gatherings of creators, artists and cultural promoters, as well the celebration of Latin American and Caribbean festivals of music, theater, dance, fine arts, film, video and, in general, of the different art disciplines, as well of joint projects related to the education and teaching of arts.
Social communication and cultural industries
25. Modern communication technologies have revolutionized the ways of producing, preserving and diffusing culture. It is therefore indispensable to adequately contemplate, within the framework of cultural policies, the role of mass communication media and of industries that produce cultural goods, and take advantage of the new opportunities offered for the diffusion of the historical and artistic heritage in our region.
26. As for the media, we are aware of the fact that the techniques and equipment which are barely purchased by our countries become obsolete very quickly due to fast scientific advances. In this respect, it is absolutely necessary to enable permanent communication between the experts of the region in order to avoid the increasing gaps in progress.
27. Global economic flows tend to impose greater dependence on the cultural industries of the region and they occasionally threaten the feasibility of national enterprises operating in this sector. Regional demand would enable the development of feasible joint industrial projects which should be explored by the governments herein represented.
28. Particularly, film, radio, television and video industries constitute areas that are object to intense intraregional technical cooperation. Naturally, co-productions and exchange of cultural and artistic material are of a special importance for our cultural integration.
29. The first steps have been taken in the field of film making, with the signing of the Film Integration Agreement, the Film Coproduction Agreement and the Agreement for the Creation of the Common Market for Films, signed at the Film Integration Forum held in Caracas in August 1989, as well as with the resolutions set by the Meeting of Latin American Cinematographic Authorities which took place in this same city in September this year.
The signatories of this Letter will promote the effectiveness and broadest reach of such tools and decisions.
30. Due to the extent of its reach, television is nowadays the most powerful means of transmission of information, values and behavioral patterns. We propose to increase amongst us the exchange of materials of a cultural nature, as well to examine the possibilities of undertaking co-productions and joint projects with a regional link. We have the purpose of offering the television audience an alternative of education and excellence, opposed to programs lacking in quality, which in occasions constitute an alienating element.
31. Due to its technical characteristics, video production and distribution is an option that is especially attractive in Latin American and Caribbean countries, since high quality audiovisual materials can be made available even at the most remote places, and the most diverse expressions of our creativity can be gathered in such materials at a low cost. The technical cooperation in this field and the exchange of recordings constitute, for our Governments, an immediate option.
Cultural Heritage
32. Based on the existing international tools, agreements and resolutions, Latin American and Caribbean countries are to reach a more efficient protection of our cultural goods. We should particularly undertake intense joint actions so as to eliminate the illicit traffic of our artistic treasures and should recover those that were unjustly taken.
33. The registration and cataloguing of Latin American and Caribbean cultural good is an urgent need. The establishment of an inventory would allow foreseeing the most urgent needs for conservation and restoring, and would contribute to avoiding illegal trafficking and disappearing of works that are irreplaceable parts of our historic and artistic variety. We also intend to help in the realization of joint projects relating to investigations on the history, arts and traditions of the region.
Joint projects related to the V Centenary.
34. The commemoration of the V Centenary represents an ideal occasion to examine the consequences of the encounter and confrontation of peoples and cultures: their reciprocal influences, their mutual contributions and the deep transformations that resulting from the same for the general evolution of the region and humanity.
35. We therefore commit to jointly reflect on the diverse meanings of such event, and to take the opportunity to develop coordinated projects which put into practice, in and out of the region, the purposes of cultural integration and unity of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Creation of a Latin American and Caribbean fund for Culture and Arts.
36. We will examine the possibility of establishing a Latin American and Caribbean fund for culture and arts which, with resources from governments, international and private organizations, helps to finance the activities that encourage artistic and intellectual creation and the protection of our values and cultural heritage.
Exchange of experiences in the field of cultural policies.
37. Finally, we are aware of the need to promote exchange of experts and specific programs on technical assistance and training of human resources. Such training would be in the fields of organization and operation of cultural institutions, biblioteconomy and all disciplines that aim at safeguarding and diffusing the cultural heritage of each nation, especially archiving, archeology, anthropology, museography and restoration and conservation of monuments and art works. |
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