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An article by Alina Ramos Martin from Prensa Latina
Unesco’s proposal to turn culture into an objective of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was one of the most heard demands at the Havana Convention Palace.
Culture ministers and high-ranking officials from the member countries of the Group of 77 plus Cuba, who attended the meeting, reiterated the initiative launched last year at the World Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, held last September in Mexico.
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The Havana event coincided in the transcendental value demonstrated by culture in the face of the challenges of Covid-19 and how it helped as a source of resilience and solidarity to face the isolation during the pandemic.
In this regard, the Venezuelan Minister of Culture, Ernesto Villegas, endorsed the statements made at the meeting and called for the promotion of respect for diversity and national cultures.
On the need to promote culture as an essential global public good, China’s Vice Minister of Culture Li Qun highlighted his government’s global civilization initiative in defense of the traditions, heritage and history of all peoples.
Colombia’s Vice Minister of Development and Heritage, Adriana Molano, urged the promotion of more inclusive alliances based on culture, through diverse solutions that make it possible to face current challenges.
She highlighted her country’s experience in resolving the armed conflict through a culture of peace, which is making it possible to transform imaginaries and society and fight against all forms of inequity.
Hilmar Farid, Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, said that the excessive commercialization of culture has had serious negative consequences on respect for the various artistic expressions, their creators and national traditions.
Meanwhile, Anarella Vélez of Honduras explained what her government is doing to confront the hegemonic attempts of big capital and the right wing and to develop culture so that it can be consolidated as a cornerstone of its policy of good living.