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Meeting of Ministers of Culture Convened by the OAS Concludes in Haiti

The VI Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities, focused on “Cultural Interdependence in the Context of Globalization,” concluded today in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in a ceremony that featured the participation of the Minister of Culture of Haiti, Monique Rocourt, and the Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), Sherry Tross.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the participants adopted the Declaration of Port au Prince on Cultural Interdependence in the Context of Globalization, which describes culture as “an essential component of development that favors social inclusion, the fight against poverty, cooperation, exchange and local development through enhancement, protection and promotion of the traditions, values, and identity of the peoples of the Americas.”

In the Declaration, the cultural authorities committed to working with partner ministries, the OAS and other concerned institutions to establish the Citadelle Cultural Cooperation Program, which will “offer training opportunities and cultural exchanges for young entrepreneurs working in the area of development of cultural products and services.”

The also committed to “exchange experiences and support public policies that encourage cultural entrepreneurship, the development of systems related to improving the capture of data and measurement of the contribution of culture to the economy, and the design of cultural programs that contribute to the development of local communities with social inclusion and innovation.”

In her closing statement, the Haitian Minister of Culture said that "at this meeting, we discussed several topics that are of concern to us all, which enables us to design a roadmap for permanent exchanges in the future. We are certain that the ideas expressed during this meeting will serve as the foundation for numerous cultural projects and cooperation agreements among the different nations of the Americas represented here."

For her part, Executive Secretary Tross said that "The Declaration of Port-au-Prince which the Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities have approved reflects the importance that countries in the Hemisphere attach to preserving and promoting intercultural dialogue, respect for diversity of cultural expressions, and culture's role in supporting sustainable development in our communities." She also noted that "culture is also a big contributor to local development, to economic growth and to social inclusion."

Ministers and senior officials with responsibility for Culture from 23 OAS member countries took part in the two-day meeting, as well as representatives of the private sector, academia, civil society and high-level experts, who emphasized the intrinsic value of culture as a distinctive, unique and inseparable feature of communities and its role as a common denominator for the integral development of the peoples of the Americas.

Attendees discussed various issues such as cultural entrepreneurship as a tool for innovation and social inclusion, how culture impacts local development, and culture and its intersectoral linkages, particularly, the linkages between the culture and tourism sectors.

The meeting saw the election of the new Inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC) authorities. Haiti was elected to serve as Chair with Guyana, Paraguay, Argentina and Barbados as Vice Chairs.

At the meeting Barbados offered to host the Seventh Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities in 2016 and Paraguay the Eighth Meeting in 2018.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-338/14