Panama as regional headquarters of the CECC-SICA Association of Ministers and Ministers of Education and Culture
Content of the News
Panama 10 December 2025. Panama is preparing to receive, on 10 and 11 December, the Thirty-eighth Session of the Board of Ministers and Ministers of Education and Culture of the CECC- SICA, strengthening its headquarters as the headquarters of the high-level regional dialogue on educational and cultural matters.
The meeting brings together the highest officials of Central America with the aim of strengthening inter-institutional cooperation and defining long-term strategic agendas for the development of both sectors.
From Panama, the Minister of Culture, María Eugenia Herrera, who holds the Pro Tempore Chair of the Council of Cultural Ministers, welcomes them to the member countries and mentions that this meeting is suitable for presenting the report of management of the ministry.
It also emphasizes that the meeting allows us to evaluate progress, share experiences and project a regional vision where education and culture are established as fundamental pillars of sustainable development.
At the meeting, CECC SICA and Panama announced the official launch of the Regional Policy for Cultural Workers and Artists, an important step for the region.
From the City of the Arts, Herrera emphasized that this policy responded collectively to historic challenges such as informality, labour instability and lack of guarantees in the cultural sector, and reaffirmed the value of culture as a provider of social cohesion, economic development and human dignity.
The Minister also noted that regional work entered a decisive stage of national implementation and confirmed that Panama advanced its national policy of artists and cultural workers, in harmony with the regional framework.
That process includes inclusive consultations, legal review and sustainable financing mechanisms and Panama projects itself as an integration platform by announcing the conduct of the CAF Festival "Voices for our region," in January 2026, in the context of the International Economic Forum Latin America and the Caribbean, strengthening its role as a strategic headquarters for culture and education in Central America.
