A man passes in front of the campaign headquarters of the candidate Gustavo Petro.Luis Eduardo Noriega A. (EFE)
The administration of culture is of immense complexity.
It is generally associated with a minor portfolio within the State administration.
Nothing is further from reality.
This is of capital importance in a country that, moreover, is a multiethnic and multicultural power, as recognized by the National Constitution of 1991. Whoever assumes the direction of the Ministry of Culture must have technical knowledge in art, culture and heritage, with proven experience in the management of the public -which is already a challenge in itself-, as well as a broad negotiating capacity that allows it to influence the design of the General Budget of the Nation (PGN).
This, if he wants to contribute to paying off the historical debt with this sector, which has been one of the most forgotten by the State.
When we speak of culture, we refer to a creative and productive territory of often incomprehensible diversity.
To mention just a few areas, we will talk about the arts in general, which include the performing arts —theater, circus, music, dance, magic—, the plastic arts —painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc.— and the visual arts —photography, video art, cinema , etc.-.
Culture is also made up of literature and trades associated with books, new digital media and communications, architecture, crafts, as well as popular expressions and expressions -fiestas, festivities, carnivals, traditional trades, etc.-.
Likewise, it covers everything whose declaration certifies it as tangible, intangible and/or natural heritage: from architectural complexes from all eras,
The administration of culture must also consider that there are neuralgic institutions, often made up of territorial or national networks, such as museums, libraries, artistic venues, collections, training institutions and research institutes.
And that, in all of them, information systems that are continuously modernized and updated must be created and strengthened.
This, to favor decision-making, but also to move towards transparency and citizen participation that institutional models of open government require in the progressive democracies of the 21st century.
Whoever enters the complexities of the public administration of culture must be clear about the importance of formulating culture plans and sectoral plans that seek to characterize, diagnose and propose specific actions that allow the needs of the cultural universe to be met from the national level, municipal and/or district, with population and territorial approaches.
Ideally, these plans, built by citizens with the technical support of the Artistic Areas Councils, national and territorial sectoral participation bodies, must also be promoted by the Ministry of Culture and the cultural entities of each department, municipality and/or district. .
We cannot lose sight of the importance of accompanying the territorial entities and the citizens, too,
in the formulation of the Special Management and Protection Plans (PEMP) of the material heritage existing throughout the national territory, as well as in the Special Safeguard Plans (PES) for the manifestations of intangible heritage.
Both are management instruments that seek to preserve our heritage wealth and that require immense citizen and institutional work that should always include an economic investment.
There is a legislative battery that has been expanding from Law 397 of 1997 (the General Law of Culture) until today with the latest bets made by President Duque to promote cultural and creative industries from private investment.
It is also essential to know this other world, because here are the keys to what is there and what is missing, what works and what can be improved.
Likewise, it is vital to develop legislative commitments, always endowed with a budget, that truly guarantee the fundamental right of citizens to enjoy a quality cultural life, while guaranteeing minimum labor standards for cultural workers, who live in conditions of extreme precariousness and informality.
Whoever risks taking the reins of culture in our country should know that there are economic activities related to the sector, such as tourism, ICT, science and, of course, education, with which they must work in a very articulated way.
And even more so, if this government seeks to strengthen activities that allow it to make the transition from extractive economies to sustainable creative economies.
And there the competencies in relation to the relationship with the private sector and with international cooperation are also key.
The panorama of action that already exists is vast.
And it expands even more if the proposals made in the "Historic and Cultural Pact" are taken into consideration, as the document endorsed by the then candidates, Petro and France, was called, in which more than 1,500 people from different territorial nodes participated.
This articulates multiple proposals based on eight lines of work, based on the historical debt owed to culture and proposing ways in which citizens consider that it can be settled.
The eight axes focus on the territorial commitment to generate processes around the culture of peace, which includes the recognition of ancestral knowledge in each region, as well as the inclusion of artistic education in the curriculum from early childhood and in formalization of the teaching staff.
It emphasizes the need to develop innovative cultural products for different platforms, to recognize the participation of population groups -focusing on the financing of projects for young people and women-, and the promotion of territorial cultural autonomy.
It also proposes the improvement of the infrastructure and the provision, as well as the need to maintain the monuments and create counter-monuments.
Regarding cultural governance policies and models, the document advocates institutional decentralization and the formulation of plans with an intergenerational approach.
It also offers various strategies for the exchange and mobility of artists, and for the qualification of associativity to promote creative economies.
Regarding public policies,
In these moments of opening to dialogue with other parties, it would be worth inviting the experts who created the culture program of former candidate Fajardo, given that there are far-reaching proposals in terms of institutional strengthening that it would be important to consider as part of the actions to be developed. in this new government.
Whoever takes on the challenge of directing the culture portfolio must establish priorities, valuing what exists, what has been done, what is missing and what has been promised, especially since in four years it will be very difficult to attend to everything.
And even more so if you take into account that both the elected president and vice president have spoken that this will be a government with a territorial approach.
Complex work: in 2022, the Ministry of Culture was assigned an investment budget that did not exceed 400 billion pesos, that is, 0.57% of the PGN in investment, which was $69.6 billion.
This figure is laughable when it comes to serving one of the sectors that, according to DANE, was one of the most affected by the pandemic.
And it is even more so when compared to the budget for Education, which for this year was $49.5 billion;
Defense and Police
to which $42.6 billion were assigned;
Health and Social Protection, with $41.9 billion;
Labor, with $34.7 billion;
or that of Social Inclusion and Reconciliation, which has $23.2 billion.
The territorial approach also has another enormous challenge beyond the economic one, and that is prioritization: between Bogotá, Antioquia and Cauca in 2022, almost a quarter of the PGN investment was shared.
Whoever is responsible for the culture portfolio must have a very accurate mapping of regional and sectoral needs, and know how to focus priorities, especially serving populations and territories.
And she will have to negotiate a decent investment budget for culture, actively participating in the design of the PGN of the incoming government that, we assume, will have a gender focus.
The discourse of the new government revolves around the fact that Colombia will be a world power of life.
For this, the contribution of culture will be definitive and must be at the center of economic and social policies because, as we artists in this country well know, whoever wields a musical instrument, a brush or a chisel;
who by dint of poetry expresses his nonconformity, his deepest desires;
whoever dances and sings to express his most intimate impulses, will hardly be able to wield a weapon.
Culture is the essence of our life together, it is the legacy of our ancestors, it is hope, that which ultimately redeems and saves us.
*Director of the Institute of Heritage and Culture of Cartagena