Culture and national policy.

• Author: Rocha, Roberto
• Position: OAS - Brief Article

CAPPING OFF THEIR July 12-13 meeting in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, the hemisphere's cultural ministers recommended the creation of an Inter-American Committee on Culture, which would work under the auspices of the OAS to promote and protect cultural diversity.

Colombian minister of culture Araceli Morales Lopez said such a body would "encourage a better understanding of the different perspectives on culture and cultural policy in the member states."

"The Inter-American Committee on Culture should serve as an effective tool for reinforcing culture as a national policy in every American nation," Morales said. Meeting that goal, she added, will help stimulate cultural exchange and promote diversity, which can help foster development.

Secretary General Cesar Gaviria underscored the importance of forging closer cultural ties in an age of globalization. The countries of the hemisphere, he said, face dual challenges: "how to identify those elements that constitute our common culture, where our values and principles converge; and at the same time how to preserve what we consider unique characteristics that define our nations' cultural identity in very diverge cultural and linguistic forms."

In their Declaration of Cartagena de Indias, the ministers affirmed that respect for cultural diversity contributes to "good governance...