Cultural ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean will gather at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to discuss how cultural policies and activities can help bring about economic and social development in the region.
The IDB 2010 Seminar on Culture and Development will be held by the IDB’s Cultural Center, with co-sponsorship by the Inter-American Culture and Development Foundation, on Tuesday, September 28 at the Bank headquarters in Washington, DC.
Invited by IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, 13 ministers of culture from Latin America and the Caribbean will convene to discuss best practices and challenges they face as they include cultural policies in their national development strategies. Cultural activities of all types are widely seen as potential economic catalysts with positive social impact, but rarely have government ministers in charge of cultural initiatives had an opportunity to share their unique challenges and success stories.
This is the first time so many ministers of culture are gathering at an international financial organization to share their experiences. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for the IDB to learn how resources are being used to expand economic growth through cultural initiatives, and how the IDB can help more effectively partnering with the cultural sector in the region.
Ministers of Culture from Argentina (Jorge Edmundo Coscia), Bahamas (Charles T. Maynard), Barbados (Steven D. Blackett), Belize (José Manuel Heredia), Colombia (Mariana Garcés Córdoba), Costa Rica (Manuel Orbregón), Dominican Republic (José Rafael Lantigua), El Salvador (Héctor Jesús Samour), Haiti (Magali Comeau Denis, Advisor), Jamaica (Olivia Grange), Peru (Juan Ossio Acuña), Trinidad and Tobago (Winston Peters) and Uruguay (Ricardo Ehrlich) will attend.
Panels will be moderated by Professor Robert Albro of American University, the IDB’s urban specialist Fernando Cuenin, and culture expert Carlos Villaseñor from Mexico.
The seminar is by invitation only but is open to the press.
For more information on the seminar and to view the agenda.