The Inter-American Development Bank today announced the selection of 46 small-scale cultural development projects from 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that will receive financial assistance.
The IDB will support the projects with grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.
The Bank’s Cultural Center, in cooperation with the IDB’s 26 country offices, administers the program to encourage the development of innovative projects that promote cultural development, preserve and recover traditions and conserve cultural heritage, among other goals.
The selected projects were chosen from among 149 pre-selected proposals from an original pool of 357 applications.
Through a competitive process the proposed projects are judged on the basis of fulfilling a local need, contributing toward cultural values, stimulating economic and social activity in new and successful ways, supporting artistic excellence and contributing toward youth and community development.
The IDB may finance up to two-thirds of a single project for one time only. Local organizations are responsible for providing the remainder of the resources and continuing the project on a sustainable basis.
This year’s grants went to programs that, among other activities, supported museums, theaters, school cultural competitions, woodworking, art courses, cultural tourism and indigenous language poetry.
The IDB Cultural Center has been supporting small-scale cultural development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1994.
Applications are now being received by the IDB Cultural Center and the IDB country offices for projects that may be selected for cultural development grants in 2004.