Panama 30 August 2026. The Vice-Minister of Culture, Arianne Benedetti, participated as a panelist at the Public Policy Dialogue "I think and Leo Iberoamerica: Public policies for reading, book and citizenship," organized by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), as part of the International Panama Book Fair 2026.

The meeting, held at the Ibacuet Salon at the Atlapa Convention Centre, brought together representatives linked to the educational, library and cultural sector with the aim of promoting a strategic conversation about public policies related to reading, writing and orality as well as the interordination between the institutions responsible for ensuring equitable access to written culture.

During his participation, Benedetti referred to the need to move forward with a national policy of reading, writing and orality, built in an articulate manner between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education with technical accompaniment from OEI.

Benedetti emphasized that to build this policy, it will be vital to have a diagnosis that will allow us to get to know national reality, to identify the main challenges and to put concrete actions into place. He also propose to move towards a law that will ensure its sustainability and the allocation of resources so that policy can transcend governmental periods.

"We have to make a diagnosis, know what's going on and, from that reality, build the policy we need.
I also believe it important to have a law that will support and secure a budget, so as to secure its continuity and prevent efforts from being lost with changes of government, "Benedetti stated.

The meeting resulted in an agreement to move forward at work tables between MEDUCA and MiCultura with the technical accompaniment of the IORO with a view to initiating the process of building this national policy next year.

The Deputy Minister also announced that the Ministry of Culture will reflect the inputs and recommendations of the librarians of the country, with a view to integrating their experiences and proposals into the process. These inputs will be systematized and later shared with OEI to be considered at the next stage of work.

The dialogue also gave an opportunity to put to the table challenges that Ibero-America faces with regard to reader understanding and access to reading, strengthening the importance of developing comprehensive and coordinated strategies between educational and cultural sectors.