Panama, January 31, 2026. - The Ministry of Culture of Panama opened its Training programme in interpretation and mediation of underwater cultural heritagean initiative developed with the Regional Office of the UNESCO for Central America, Mexico and Colombia and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) at the Colón Center of Art and Culture.

The opening event included a protocolary space with the participation of the Minister of Culture, María Eugenia Herrera, Spanish ambassador to Panama, Guzmán Palacios Fernández and Enrique Lopez-Hurtado, specialist in culture of the UNESCO for the region.

The training programme, to be conducted for eight weeks in a virtual manner with face-to-face sessions, aims at strengthening the capacities of youth linked with community organisations for the protection, interpretation and mediation of the underwater cultural heritage with special emphasis on the province of Colón and its relationship with the sea as an area of memory, identity and community life.

The first day focused on key issues such as Panama's normative framework for the management of cultural heritage, its contribution to sustainable development and an introduction to and importance of the underwater cultural heritage with exhibitions by national and international specialists and included participatory spaces, integration activities and the establishment of working groups for the training process.

The call process prioritised criteria of social inclusion, gender parity, ethnic diversity and territorial development with an emphasis on young people living or from Colón Province, from community and with medium or technical training. The preliminary selection reflected a diversity of participation, mainly from youth of African descent and from local communities, and guaranteed a representative training approach and aligned with the realities of the Territory.