(Agencia Bolívariana de Noticias) - "Cultural representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela endorsed a document that defines the Fund as an instrument to concrete the different cultural agendas.

Culture ministries and authorities from seven Latin American and Caribbean countries signed an intention agreement to acknowledge the Bolivarian Alternative foe the Americas' (ALBA) Cultural Fund as the most important instrument to work together and strengthen the peoples' identity.

According to the Venezuelan Minister of Culture, Francisco Sesto Novás, they also see this agreement as a tool to promote, strengthen and recover the cultural values of these countries.

Representatives attending the meeting included the Minister of Urban Development, Culture, Work, and Electoral Affairs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, René Baptiste; the Minister of Housing, Culture and Social Transformation of Antigua and Barbuda, Eleston Montgomery Adams; the Vice-minister of Culture of Bolivia, Pablo Groux; the Minster of Culture of Cuba, Abel Prieto; the Minister of Information, Community Development, Culture and Genre Affairs of Dominica, Matthew Walter; and the Minister of Culture of Ecuador, Antonio Preciado.

By jointly acknowledging the huge cultural wealth of the region's countries and the development potential of the Latin American peoples, the participants regarded ALBA as a fundamental element in the construction of principles related to the public policies regarding culture.

Likewise, the cultural representatives certified the importance of culture within the context of the new social, political and economic reality of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cultural Integration

The Cuban culture minister, Abel Prieto, stressed the need for the region's nations to face the challenges of the hegemonic globalization.

'Defending our multiple identities, traditions, and the need of fighting racism, colonialism and exclusion is a priority,' he stressed.

Using new technologies to consolidate exchanges and promote contests on the Internet in order to encourage participation of young people were also issues tackled by Prieto.

Likewise, the culture authorities proposed the publication and distribution of books and anthologies about Latin American and Caribbean poetry and stories. They also stressed the need of projects such as the Virtual Museum, which publishes in the Internet the intangible and material heritage of the Latin American and Caribbean countries (images of dances, customs, gastronomies, traditions, etc.).

Minister Baptiste emphasized on offering cultural programs to children and adolescents, who 'are the first victims of the hegemonic entertainment industry.' She also highlighted the proposal of creating cultural industries aimed at preserving the region's customs, manifestations and expressions.

'The ALBA Cultural Fund is a mechanism to produce and distribute all the cultural goods in order to create a big intercultural dialogue,' expressed the Venezuelan Culture Ministry, Francisco Sesto, faced with the need of counteracting the traditional entertainment industries".