Year of Culture
News
10/7/2011
Guatemala holds the First International Exchange of Indigenous Artists from the Americas
On Wednesday August 17th 2011, the First International Exchange of Indigenous Artists from the Americas was held in the National Palace of Culture in Guatemala City. In total, 25 national indigenous artists and 14 from outside the country (mainly from Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the United States) attended the event seeking to share cultural and artistic experiences and looking for support from their Governments to promote indigenous art and its intrinsic values.
The First Exchange of Indigenous Artists was launched within the framework of the Inter-American Year of Culture declared by the 34 Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) in March 2011, and in celebration of the International Day of Indigenous People (August 9th) as proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993.
The event was supported by the “Adrián Inés Chávez” Mayan Studies Center as well as the Indigenous Arts Unit of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala. Several important political personalities attended the event, such as: Dr. Hector Leonel Escobedo Aya, Minister of Culture and Ms. Milagro Martinez Torres-Chico, OAS representative in Guatemala.
The objective of the meeting was to promote indigenous art and artists throughout Latin America and to establish an agenda that promotes basic indigenous arts among the countries attending the event.
During three days, participants attended conferences, round tables and recitals, on the themes of “Art and Human Rights”, “Indigenous Artists and the National Economy” and “Support from the State and Indigenous Artists”. Many artists also presented their art in various categories: painting, music, literature, dance and theater.
The event concluded with the adoption of the declaration of the First International Exchange of Indigenous Artists from the Americas, in which the artists agreed to promote indigenous art and its values in their respective countries as well as internationally.10/7/2011
Observatory of Cultural Diversity of Brazil holds VI Seminar on Cultural Diversity in the framework of the Inter-American Year of Culture
On May 19th and 20th, the Observatory of Cultural Diversity of Brazil held, for the sixth year in a row, a Seminar on Cultural Diversity, at the Museum Inimá Paula, en Belo Horizonte, Brazil. During the two days of the event, more than 400 representatives of governments, directors and members of cultural institutions, professors and students participated in discussions, round tables, workshops and much more.The event sought to give opportunities for networking among participants for the expansion and deepening of reflections regarding the protection and promotion of cultural diversity.
| Speakers Vincent Carelli (Video nas Aldeias -Brasil); Eduardo de Jesus (PUC Minas); José Oliveira Junior (ODC) e Marcus Bastos (PUC SP), during Seminar / Photos: Priscila Campelo |
In total, 4 round tables took place during the Seminar. Among the issues discussed were “Public policies for the protection and promotion of cultural diversity”; “Communication and cultural content: creativity or media fast-food?”; “Education and schools as social spaces for overcoming intolerance and prejudice” and “Creative economy through cultural diversity”.
Two workshops were also paired to the Seminar. The first one, entitled “If you want to come” (Se ocê quisé vem) was given by the professional dancer and choreographer Rui Moreira, while the second one “Intercultural diversity and education: a theorico-practical perspective for teachers”, (Diversidade, intercultural e educação: uma perspective teórico-práctica para o trabalho do docente) was given by Professor Gil Esper of Universidade Federal da Grande Dourado.
Finally but nonetheless, the Seminar also became the scene of the release of the book “Diversity and Inequality: Participation, Commerce and Communication” (Diversidade Cultural e desigualdade de trocas: participação, comércio e comunicação), by José Márcio Barros and Giuliana Kauark. “Our goal [with this book] is to discuss cultural diversity in different ways, produce meetings and reverberations. We are delighted to be part of this event, launch our publication, and see how people are very committed to the issue of diversity”, stated the director of the book and Coordinator of the Observatory of Cultural Diversity, José Márcio Barros, during the book release.
The VI Seminar on Cultural Diversity was realized by the Observatory of Cultural Diversity, in partnership with the UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture of Brazil (MinC), Itaú Cultural Observatory and The Clovis Salgado Foundation.