Panama to join Ibero-American Dance Platform

Panama through its Ministry of Culture will join the Ibero-American Dance Platform (FIP) to assist as a state entity with the management of dance development programs and projects in which it will strengthen links and cooperation with countries of the Ibero-American region to strengthen policies to promote dance.

That was the result of the agreements reached at the twentieth Ibero-American conference of ministers of culture held in Guatemala in 2018 through which Ibero-American countries are invited to recognize the regional work of the Ibero-American dance platform and the cooperation efforts in the field of dance with the Iberesque Programme, of which our country is a Member State.

For Gloria Barrios, Executive Director of the National Ballet, "The commitment of Panama's Ministry of Culture to the Ibero-American Platform of Dance, is one of the most solid steps we have been taking in our field in recent times, not only for the integration of our institutions but also for the formulation of public policies for the development of dance and thus also through partnerships to be able to get close to fulfill the desires of all our countries."

That entry will be through the signing of an Ibero-American inter-institutional convention with ministerial institutional representatives and by strengthening an area of continuous dialogue with a view to promoting regional integration and policy formulation for the development of dance and thereby enriching the cultural space of the area.

Adherence to this platform will be a great opportunity to build projects between countries and share knowledge and an opportunity for different dance organisations to meet and provide an environment for the interrelationship of the State with the sector.

The platform allows, through collaborative work among its various countries, to improve public policies currently in place for the sector and to implement new ones. Thus, a space for dialogue, mobility and the systemization of knowledge.

Considering the important role of intercultural dialogue in bilateral and multilateral relations and the strengthening of friendship between Ibero-American countries, this platform will be a bridge that will promote development and participation in the cultural field, particularly dance as a professional and individuative practice.