Dominican Republic hosts regional culture ministers for CECC/SICA Meeting
Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic welcomed cultural leaders from across Central America and the Caribbean on Tuesday as Culture Minister Roberto Ángel Salcedo opened the 39th Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Culture of the Central American Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA).
The gathering brings together senior cultural officials from member countries to strengthen regional cooperation and advance a common agenda focused on cultural development, heritage preservation, and the growth of creative industries.
During the opening session, Salcedo emphasized the importance of collaboration among nations to promote culture as a driver of sustainable development, regional integration, and social cohesion. He highlighted the value of sharing experiences and developing joint solutions to address common challenges facing the cultural sector.
The meeting’s agenda focuses on six priority areas identified by member states: protecting the rights of artists and cultural workers, safeguarding cultural heritage, improving cultural data and statistics systems, decentralizing cultural management, addressing digital rights and artificial intelligence in relation to copyright, and strengthening cultural and creative industries.
Representatives from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama participated in discussions, presenting successful initiatives and public policies aimed at supporting artists, preserving cultural traditions, and enhancing cultural information systems.
Among the initiatives highlighted were Costa Rica’s efforts to strengthen legal protections for cultural workers and the Dominican Republic’s ARTSECURE project, which seeks to support and protect artists and cultural managers. Delegations also shared experiences in heritage preservation and the development of cultural statistics that help measure the sector’s contribution to economic and social development.
The Dominican Republic additionally presented proposals for greater regional cooperation in cultural innovation and discussed upcoming initiatives linked to the Ibermedia Program and the XII Ibero-American Meeting of Museums.
The meeting is expected to conclude with the approval of agreements designed to strengthen cultural cooperation across the region and establish permanent mechanisms for collaboration among CECC/SICA member countries, reaffirming culture’s role as a tool for development, integration, and regional identity.
