Begins at Colón citizen consultation and participation tour by General Cultural Act

Panama, 5 February 2020. The public consultation and participation tour to discuss and contribute to the General Cultural Act, organized by the National Assembly's Commission of Education, Culture and Sport with the support of the Ministry of Culture, began in Colón province with the presence of artists, teachers, artistic and cultural trade unions, students and parents.

The president of the commission, Héctor Brandes and Congressman Luis Cruz, presided with his co-president and with his co-president, Mr. Jorge Villanueva, and with his leadership from the Ministry of Culture, headed by Minister Carlos Aguilar Navarro, Minister Gabriel González and Secretary General José Ismael Herrera.

The draft General Law on Culture will be a legal instrument that will give the Ministry of Culture a modern framework and approach to support its actions in promoting cultural rights and sustainable development goals, stated Minister Aguilar Navarro.

The president of the National Assembly's Commission for Education, Culture and Sport, Héctor Brands, expressed his satisfaction with the receptidsd and dynamic of consultations with the colonist community and reiterated that the new law will legitimize public actions for a broad range of activities, processes and sectors that have so far been undesigned from national cultural normtionality as an integral part of the responsibilities of cultural institution.

"Panama does not have a General Cultural Act that recognizes the importance and breadth of issues that cover the concept of culture as well as the need to formulate public policies that meet the cultural requirements of society and this new law is therefore of great importance to culture in the country," Brandes reiterated.

The Draft General Law on Culture lays down what cultural rights the Panamanian State recognizes, consistent with the most important theoretical and legal developments that have been achieved by the international community and with the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Thus, cultural rights are established as an ethical and programmatic framework for public policies of culture.

Mr. Aguilar emphasized that MiCultura will support and stimulate the diversity of cultural expressions throughout the national territory that include folklore, artistic manifestations, popular and community cultures as well as cultural management activities that organize and promote them, digital culture and creative industries throughout the production chain with special emphasis on cultural enterprises and newly established enterprises that contribute a cultural component from their business plans.

The consultative process will continue as follows:

·       Thursday, 6 February, 9: 00 a.m. - 1: 00 p.m., Chitre, Herrera (for the areas of Azuero, Veraguas and Coclé), Auditorium of the CESBAF Chitre.

·       Tuesday, February 11, 9: 00 a.m. - 1: 00 p.m., Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Cancha de San Félix,

·       Wednesday, February 12, 9: 00 a.m. - 1: 00 p.m., Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, Casa de la Cultura de David

·       Thursday, February 13, 1: 00 p.m. - 4: 00 p.m., Panama City, Panama (for the areas of Western Panama, Center, North Panama, San Miguelito, Chepo and Darién), Arco Chato, San Felipe.

·       Tuesday, February 18, 9: 00 a.m. - 1: 00 p.m., Comarca Guna Yala, playa Chico