Culture Underscored by Authorities as a Cross-Cutting Sector for Development

Haiti, arguably one of the most culturally-rich countries in the region, served as the ideal host of this year’s meeting of OAS Authorities on Culture. During the opening ceremony, President Michel Martelly highlighted his country’s abundant and rich historical, religious, artistic, and literary traditions, noting that "this wealth of heritage constitutes a shared asset of the Haitian nation and it enables us to embrace, with strength and intelligence, the diversity of our artistic expressions and movements. This heritage also represents a common foundation for exchanges and a fertile ground for promoting interculturality, since we are here at a regional cultural event." 

The Sixth Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities from OAS member states was held in Port-au-Prince on August 12 and 13, 2014 under the theme “Cultural Interdependence in the Context of Globalization.” The theme chosen by the host Country is particularly relevant as advances in communication technologies and transport continue to expedite the flow of information, goods, services, and people at unprecedented rates, influencing culture throughout the world. 

The Declaration of Port-au-Prince adopted at the meeting highlights 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 identities of the peoples and local communities of the Americas.” In the Declaration, member states also underscored the linkages between culture and other economic sectors, particularly tourism, and committed to working with partner ministries, the OAS, and other concerned institutions to further programming, inter-agency coordination and cooperation in this area.

Culture’s linkages with the development agenda are recognized in the organization’s core instruments or Charters. The Social Charter of the Americas for example, declares that “In the fight against poverty and in efforts to improve the quality of life of all peoples, member states recognize that supporting and investing in culture contribute to economic and social development, creation of employment, income generation, and construction of cultural identity, especially among young adults.” In this line, in his remarks during the inaugural session of the meeting Albert Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General,  emphasized culture’s cross-cutting nature within the work of the Organization, noting that it “features in several areas of our work through the promotion of creative industries, links with improving competitiveness in SMEs, innovation, and trade, and tourism.”

For her part, Sherry Tross, Executive Secretary for Integral Development (SEDI-OAS) thanked the Haitian government for their hospitality, acknowledging the regional commitment to hemispheric cooperation shown by participating governments and “the willingness to share ideas, exchange experiences and promote partnerships that can strengthen cultural initiatives at the local, national and regional levels.” She also stressed that “the General Secretariat is committed to providing support to member states through initiatives that enhance policy dialogue and advance Inter-American cooperation to ensure that culture’s true contribution to development within the region is both recognized and enhanced.”

Further emphasizing Inter-American cooperation in this area, the Minister of Culture of Haiti, Monique Rocourt, affirmed that the meeting "is certain to further motivate us to pool our resources and talents for the development of cultural industries and thus to create wealth for the region.” In addition, the Minister emphasized that “the conclusions of this meeting, reflected in the Declaration of Port-au-Prince, should as never before allow us to continue to join forces to enrich dialogue and exchange among the peoples of the Americas.”  

With the participation of representatives from government, the private sector and civil society, the two-day Ministerial meeting which culminated in the adoption of the Declaration, also served as a platform for the exchange of experiences and best practices in the area of Culture. Ministries and other Cultural Authorities and relevant institutions such as UNESCO, the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) were among the high level participants gathered in Haiti to discuss how culture may be advanced in the Americas. 

Going forward, the agreements reached in Haiti will become operative through the work of the OAS-SEDI with member states, guided by the Inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC). The new authorities of the CIC were elected at the meeting, including Haiti as Chair and Argentina, Barbados, Guyana and Paraguay as Vice Chairs.

Upcoming High level Meetings on Culture will be held in Barbados and Paraguay in 2016 and 2018.