The Cultural Development Program finances innovative projects in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote community cultural development through technical training, recovering traditions, conservation of cultural heritage, and youth education. The program was founded in 1994.
The IDB's Country Offices in borrowing member countries promote the program and preselect top proposals for final evaluation by the Selection Committee of the Bank's Cultural Center. Emphasizing the diversity of the arts and disciplines, projects are evaluated according to their viability, need, educational and formative scope, care in the use of resources, ability to mobilize additional sources of financing, and long-term impact on a broad segment of the community. Of the 353 applications received in 2002, 148 were examined and 48 projects from a total of 24 countries were selected.
The IDB Cultural Center and the Country Offices work together to supervise, monitor, and advise the institutions responsible for the projects, to ensure they are implemented in the best possible manner. The institutions and projects sponsored by the program in 2002 are:
Argentina
1. Ship of Dreams. Itinerant Show of Short Hispanic-American Films-"Sueños Cortos 4": Creation of a national and Latin American circuit of short films, with regional offices set up in La Plata, Córdoba, Mendoza, and San Luis to promote such productions.
2. Cultural Activities Association-"Our Institution Is Dedicated to the Service of and Commitment to the Individual." Third Inter-Province Festival of Puppet Theater for Children and Adults: Creating training workshops for communities in the interior, with casts chosen by competition.
Belize
1. Community of Artists for Cultural and Historical Endeavors. Equip a gallery in the House of Culture in Benque Viejo del Carmen so that the Cayo district community will have a space in which to show its talents.
2. Belize Government House-Archaeological Reserve. Procurement of equipment for the art gallery at the Banquitas House of Culture in Orange WalkTown.
3. Image Factory Art Foundation. Urban SmARTS: Summer course to help young people creatively channel their emotions and thoughts through art.
Bolivia
1. Artewasi: Encouraging microenterprise in the arts.
2. Office of Cultural Heritage-Vice Ministry of Culture. Preparation of a manual and educational materials on conservation, to benefit populations living near archaeological sites in La Paz, Oruro, Potosí, Chuquisaca, and Santa Cruz.
3. Volunteers in Action. School furniture and drawing materials for schools in the highlands.
Brazil
Public Library in Fortaleza-Secretariat of Culture, Government of the State of Ceará. Preserving Knowledge: Technical training for deaf persons to form a specialized staff to assist other hearing?impaired users in using library resources effectively.
Chile
Lo Barnechea Cultural Corporation. Training of a Youth Symphony Orchestra in Lo Barnechea: Procurement of musical instruments and training workshops to start a concert series.
Colombia
1. National Museum of Colombia. Forum of Directors of National Museums in Latin America: Meeting of the directors of the major national museums in Latin America to design joint projects and form strategic alliances on the issue of museum management.
2. Latin Corner Theater. "Health, Peace, and Environment" Popular Theater Encounter: Promoting youth and community group processes in Valle del Cauca and the North of Cauca to consider the genre of theater as a basic development strategy to combat sociocultural marginality of youth and children from vulnerable sectors of the population.
3. El Refugio Foundation. Comprehensive Training Workshops: Program to provide technical training to young persons in the jewelry trade and other areas.
Costa Rica
Action Plan in Indigenous Reserves-Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports: Artistic and cultural development for indigenous groups in literature, music, design, and drawing through use of local materials (natural dyes, clay, etc.) to improve craft production.
Dominican Republic
1. Latin American and Caribbean Association of Cultural Management Agents. Piano for the New Millennium: Training course for students and teachers of piano to achieve high levels of excellence in piano interpretation by promoting effective performance, quality teachers and professional pianists.
2. Secretariat of State for Culture. Documentary Video and Voice Archive on Liborio Mateo and Popular Religiosity in the South East: Research to preserve oral memory in rural areas of San Juan de Maguana with regard to Taino/Spanish/Black influence on the history of Liborio, and preparation of a documentary, to be launched through workshops and academic debates.
Ecuador
1. Christian Youth Association. Recovering the Oral Tradition of the Province of Manabí: Field research in the coastal region.
2. Oro Province-Department of Education-Ministry of Education and Culture. First Ecuador-Peru Binational Cultural Integration Encounter: To benefit 180 students, with the participation of 20 teachers, in various areas deriving from traditions and customs shared by the two countries.
El Salvador
1. El Salvador Poets Foundation. First International Poetry Festival: Simultaneous readings in different spaces to promote broad community participation in this unique experience, in which national and international poets will take part.
2. Film Club at the Student Center of the Universidad Centroamericana. Preservation and Dissemination of Latin American Cinema: Procurement of equipment for the video library where film series will be screened and theoretical workshops and issue forums will be held.
Guatemala
1. Music and Youth Foundation. Corodemia 2002: Training of children's and youth choral groups, including students, music teachers, and chorus directors, and preparation of teaching materials on choral theory, CD and technical video.
2. The Ixchel Museum of Textiles and Mayan Weaving. Revitalization of the Maya Textile Tradition in Five Communities: Support for the museum's education program on the theory and practice of Mayan weaving directed toward rural schools in Las Lomas, San Martín Jilotepeque, Chimaltenango; San Pedro Cutzán, Chicacao, Suchitepéquez; Patín, Escuintía; Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá; and San Miguel Chicaj, Baja Verapaz.
Guyana
1. Harmony Project: A Cultural Plan for the Community: Regional workshops on drama, poetry, musical composition, song, and dance to train a select teacher corps.
2. Guyana Women Artists Association. Creative Hands in Unity- Color and Design as a Creative Foundation: Encouraging young women in Essequibo, Berbice, and Demerara to develop their artistic talents.
Haiti
Pyepoudre Cultural Center. "Arts de scène au pluriel" : Support for six training workshops to accompany the presentation of a theatrical work in celebration of the bicentennial of Haitian independence.
Honduras
1. Secretariat of Culture, Arts, and Sports. Photography Workshops for Young Ecologists: Workshops for children at four Houses of Culture, emphasizing environmental protection of the El Paraíso, Danlí, Yuscarán, and La Paz areas.
2. Honduras Theater Laboratory-TeLaH. Research Project and Creation of a Drama on Human Migration and Mobility: Research and theatrical production on issues of migration and mobility to be implemented in three stages. Support is being provided for the second stage, for popular theater workshops in six communities.
Jamaica
1. National Library of Jamaica: Creation of the conservation unit in the library's Audiovisual Department to protect cultural materials that are part of the national heritage.
2. Mighty Gully Youth Project. Cultural Awareness: Woodcarving courses for ten youths and exchange of techniques with specialists to develop this trade through British markets.
3. Jamaica Archive and Records Department-Office of the Prime Minister. Multimedia Development Project: Procurement of microfilm to improve the multimedia program's historic records registry.
Mexico
1. Popular Culture Unit-State of Campeche. Use of scrap wood for handicraft activities in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve: Training inhabitants of communities in this archaeological area to use wood resources efficiently.
2. Tabasco Itinerant School of Craft Design-Tabasco Institute for Handicraft Development. Saving the Tradition of Wicker Handicrafts: Supporting production of raw materials while fostering the creation of wicker handicrafts for marketing.
Nicaragua
1. Concepción City Hall-Department of Masaya. Ezequiel H. Alvarez Artistic Instruction Center: Course to foster the creativity and academic training of children and youth from low-income families.
2. Universidad de las Regiones Autónomas de la Costa Caribe Nicaragüense. Community Museum of Anthropology and History, Municipality of Nueva Guinea: Recovery of pre?Columbian cultural heritage through research and construction of the museum.
3. Nicaraguan Institute of Culture-Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports. Course in archaeology, anthropology, and history of art for exhibition guides at the museums of Nicaragua.
Panama
1. Manuel María Aguilera House of Culture Foundation. Training in Historic and Cultural Asset Management: Training cultural promoters to identify cultural assets and disseminate the historic legacy of the Antón district, Province of Coclé.
2. Panama City Hall. Creation of a Child and Youth Community Center for Musical Studies.
Paraguay
1. Cabildo Foundation: Modernization of the Library of the Teacher Training Institute at Yatytay, Itapúa: Procurement of equipment and books to train teachers and education students.
2. Cultural Heritage Conservation Center and the International Council of Museums in Paraguay. Virtual directory of the museums of Paraguay.
Peru
1. Pacasmayo House of Culture. Relaunch the Music and Chamber Orchestra School: Procurement of musical instruments and maintenance of equipment to facilitate orchestra rehearsals and offer music training courses for children and young people.
2. Instituto Superior Tecnológico "Jorge Basadre." Amazon Festival in Madre de Dios: Support for a literary competition to be held in commemoration of the centennial of Puerto Maldonado, the free trade zone bordering Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia.
Suriname
1. Tooka Foundation. Training Choirs and Choirleaders: Training courses for community choruses of the Saramacan ethnic group in the Upper Suriname Region.
2. CARICOM Youth Ambassador Program-Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Education. Drawing competition to highlight the theme of cultural diversity.
Trinidad & Tobago
1. Key Academy of Music. Teach the successful Venezuelan method of musical expression to young people.
Uruguay
1. Museum of American Art Foundation. Upgrade Lighting and Exhibition Installations in the Museum of American Art of Maldonado: Museum maintenance for the celebration of its 30th anniversary.
2. Quinteto Barullero. Classical Music and Instruments in the Elementary and Secondary Schools: Pilot plan for presentation of instructional concerts in public elementary and secondary schools based on surveys to complement and improve school curricula.
Venezuela
Venezuelan Association of Friends of Colonial Art - Museum of Colonial Art: Anauco Didacta. Preservation of Spanish colonial traditions by training ten museum guides who are part of the cultural extension program for educational institutions.
The Cultural Center home page is located at:
http://www.iadb.org/exr/cultural/center1.htm
E-mail address: IDBCC@iadb.org
IDB Cultural Center contacts:
- Félix Angel, General Coordinator and Curator (202) 623-3325
- Soledad Guerra, Assistant General Coordinator (202) 623-1213
- Anne Vena, Concerts and Lectures Coordinator (202) 623-3558
- Elba Agusti, Administrative and Cultural Development
in the Field Program Assistant (202) 623-3774
-Susannah Rodee, IDB Art Collection Assistant (202) 623-3870