1999 - Final Working Report

Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

At the close of the Second Informal Meeting of the International Network on Cultural Policies, held on September 20 and 21, 1999, in Oaxaca, Mexico, at the invitation of Mr. Rafael Tovar, President of the National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico, the 17 Ministers of culture and their representatives present adopted this work report.

The importance of this Network relies in the fact that it provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of culture at the international level.

In accordance with the main proposals on which the Network on Cultural Policies was created, the Ministers reaffirmed their willingness to defend and promote cultural diversity.

In this information society, the Ministers are convinced of the need to preserve and encourage the plurality of cultures and languages because of the wealth they represent.

They emphasized that the protection and promotion of both material and intangible heritage must be central to long-term cultural policies. They agreed that the concept of heritage has developed considerably, and must include a vision of the future which incorporates contemporary cultural creation, as well as the active participation of other sectors of cociety. Similary, the undeniable value of the heritage in the context of social, economic and sustainable development policies was recognized. This is especially important in the case of developing countries.

It was also agreed to strengthen links with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Union.

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The Ministers believe that cultural goods and services, including audiovisual means, deserve special treatment, since they reflect national and regional cultural identities.

They are aware of the responsibility corresponding to national and local governments in the protections and dissemination of cultural expressions in both national and international contexts.

The Ministers recognize the right of nations and governments to establish their cultural policies freely, as well as to adopt the means and instruments necessary for their application.

They consider the ever increasing and concerted mobilization of civil societies necessary to archieve all these targets. As a result, in addition to redoubling their efforts to democratize access to cultural goods and services, the processes of consultation with society must be widened to learn of its priorities and interests. Similarly, the importance of the participation of society in cultural projects was emphasized. The challenge is to accomplish a unified action and establish a fruitful association on the basis of shared interests and criteria.

The Ministers are committed to uniting their efforts to encourage the adoption of measures to guarantee cultural diversity, heritage of humankind and future generations, in support of the Stockholm Action Plan. The Ministers hope that here UNESCO will continue to play a decisive role in the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity.

The Ministers stated their intention to step up the fruitful exchanges of opinion they have had about the means to preserve cultural diversity in the framework of the International Network on Cultural Policies. On the basis of the topics dealt with in Oaxaca, the Ministers thank Canada for its offer to set up a liaison office to support the follow-up work of the Netwok. Under the coordination of the Contact Group, interested countries will begin specialized work on the subjects of cultural diversity, globalization and heritage, whose results will be reported to the group before the next meeting.

Finally, the Ministers agreed that the next meetings of the Network consisting of the national Ministers of Culture or their equivalents, will take place in Greece in the year 2000, in Switzerland in 2001, and in South Africa in 2002.

This report will be submitted by Mexico, as President of the Network, to the Ministerial Round Table of UNESCO, co-chaired by France and Canada that will take place on November 2, 1999.

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