Minutes of the ALBA-TCP joint meeting of ministers and high-level authorities of culture and tourism

Caracas-Venezuela, August 30th, 2021, 02:00 pm

Virtual Format

In compliance with the “2021 Post Pandemic Work Plan: Strategic Decisions”, endorsed at the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), held on December 14th, 2020, the ALBA-TCP Joint Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Culture and Tourism was held in a virtual format with the purpose of: Fostering the ALBA-TCP cultural and tourism agenda.

The following work agenda was considered:

Culture

  1. Challenges regarding culture in COVID-19 times. Threats and perspectives for the culture of our peoples.
  2. Strengths of the cultural industries.
  3. Reinforcement of cultural alliances among our peoples and promotion of cooperation in the cultural field.
  4. Development of mechanisms for the integration of indigenous, native peasant and Afro-Bolivian peoples through the ayni[1].
  5. Recognition of the ancestral knowledge of the native indigenous peoples.
  6. Participation of delegations and/or representations in the main artistic and cultural events organized in the region.
  7. Cooperation mechanisms and information and experience exchange to coordinate lines of action and production regarding art and culture.
  8. Defense of national expressions and the cultural diversity of the peoples of the Alliance.
  9. Permanent coordination between research institutions, intellectual networks, artists and social movements in defense of humankind, to consolidate an anti-imperialist movement.
  10. Develop training programs aimed at improving research, documentation, preservation, creation and dissemination of cultural content.
  11. Recognition of the artists and cultural promoters of the region and exchange of valuable experiences that reflect the richness and cultural diversity of our peoples.
  12. Exchange of experiences in cultural heritage, preservation of the popular cultures’ memory and promotion of cultural economy and industry systems.
  13. Editorial plans to publish poetry and literature anthologies by authors from ALBA-TCP countries.
  14. Social networks and 3.0 platforms in the context of the cultural battle and design creation and dissemination systems for multimedia content.
  15. Information and communication strategies strengthening alternative, inclusive, intercultural, and opportune and quality communication.
  16. Leadership in the field of prevention and fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, individual and collective cultural rights in the digital realm.

Tourism

  1. Need to promote exchange and cooperation in the tourism sector among our peoples in order to combine our strengths and capacities as diverse tourist destinations, appealing due to their culture, nature and history.
  2. Importance of working on the adoption of international protocols for the safe restart of tourism, redirecting it towards the new reality as a responsible, sustainable and accessible sector.
  3. Policies for the reactivation and recovery of tourism in the ALBA-TCP countries.
  4. Importance of the tourism sector as one of the main driving forces for the development of the economies of the ALBA-TCP member countries.
  5. Participation in activities for the tourism promotion and strengthening of the region, as an effective strategy for joint work and cooperation.
  6. Strengthening of air connectivity in the region, since this is one of the main factors for the development of tourism in Our America.
  7. Continue with the initial agreements of ALBA-TCP.

    i. Multi-destination packages.
    ii. ALBA hotel management school with technical training through an ALBA University.
    iii. Tourism Security.
  8. Education and training for the sustainable development of the sector.
  9. Exchange information on best practices regarding the plans and strategies implemented for the reactivation of tourism activities.
  10. Standardization of entry requirements and biosecurity measures with a view to regularizing the arrival of foreign tourists in the region.
  11. Biannual work plan for the consolidation of the medium and long term goals of the tourism sector including the necessary strategies for the development of our peoples through tourism activities.

Main agreements of the Meeting:

The Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Culture and Tourism of the ALBA-TCP agreed to:

Culture:

1. Reaffirm the importance of culture to address the consequences that the current social, political and economic crisis has caused to our peoples, which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Recognize the importance of dialogue with artists and the relationship with the system of cultural institutions to improve community socio-cultural management, which has been diversified in the COVID-19 epidemiological context.

3. Continue to work with artists, writers, cultural promoters to create new and better spaces in order to foster arts and culture for our people. Cultural work in communities reinforces social integration and favors the defense of local and national expressions.

4. Optimize the use of virtual platforms to make community cultural projects visible.

5. Condemn the use of social networks by the great powers and corporations of communication and information to censor the true cultural values of our communities and distort the daily reality of our peoples.

6. Confirm that cultural industries and cooperation are the driving force behind the cultural development of our countries. Strengthening alliances between our countries to spread these initiatives are keys to counteracting the imposition of foreign cultural patterns on our peoples.

7. Develop common communication campaigns to ensure the continuity of community cultural projects, especially in the complex context of facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

8. Adopt a schedule of meetings between national authorities in the field of cultural development.

9. Strengthen the cultural field of ALBA-TCP member countries by organizing a joint agenda of cultural activities, focusing on the participation of delegations and/or representations of ALBA-TCP countries in the main artistic and cultural events organized in the region each year.

10. Hold virtual or on-site meetings among authorities in charge of the main cultural institutions of the ALBA-TCP countries, in order to establish cooperation mechanisms and information and experience exchange to coordinate lines of action and production regarding art and culture.

11. Reinforce the coordination mechanisms of the member states with groups, organizations and social movements of artistic and cultural production in the region, in order to develop permanent and joint activities in defense of national expressions and the cultural diversity of the peoples of the Alliance.

12. Supportthe permanent coordination between Research Institutions, Intellectual Networks, Artists and Social Movements in Defense of Humankind, to consolidate an anti-imperialist movement in order to strengthen the cultural work of the ALBA-TCP countries.

13. Implement a coordinated cooperation strategy to strengthen technological capacities and develop training programs aimed at improving research, documentation, preservation, creation and dissemination of cultural content among the countries of the regional bloc.

14. Relaunch the ALBA-TCP Awards in all artistic categories to foster the recognition of the artists and cultural promoters of the region and guarantee the exchange of valuable experiences that reflect the richness and cultural diversity of our peoples.

15. Create exchange programs for cultural trainers and managers to develop, under the principles of complementarity, solidarity, harmony, balance, equality and equity, cultural work and action teams benefiting from the predominant experiences and knowledge of each people.

16. Builda network of ALBA-TCP museums for the exchange of experiences in cultural heritage, preservation of the popular cultures’ memory and promotion of cultural economy and industry systems in the geographical area of the member countries.

17. Foster editorial plans to publish poetry and literature anthologies by authors from ALBA-TCP countries and promote their dissemination, visibility and presence in the activities of the regional bloc.

18. Identify the challenges posed by the growth of social networks and 3.0 platforms in the context of the cultural battle and design creation and dissemination systems for multimedia content aimed at promoting the values of regional identity and the cultural diversity of the peoples of the ALBA-TCP countries.

19. Reject the imposition of unilateral coercive measures contravening international law and denounce their impact on the full enjoyment of the cultural rights of our peoples, including the right to artistic creation.

20. Make progress in the consolidation of information and communication strategies deep-rooted in the historical, cultural, political and social processes of our peoples, strengthening alternative, inclusive, intercultural, and opportune and quality communication.

21. Express support for the situation regarding the assignment of the “amazon” domain, which has affected the cultural and linguistic heritage of each of the eight Amazonian countries in our region.

22. Endorse the commitments undertaken in the statement of the 3rd Meeting of Ministers of Culture, held on September 18th and 19th, 2015, in Havana, Cuba, with special emphasis on regional leadership in the field of prevention and fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, individual and collective cultural rights in the digital realm.

23. Strengthen coordination among the ALBA Houses for the fulfillment of the relevant agreements adopted at this meeting.

Tourism:

Whereas the COVID-19 crisis has affected the tourism sector, with unprecedented negative impacts on employment and businesses and consequently on tourism destinations and their economies;

Aware of the importance and priority of adopting international protocols for the safe restart of tourism, redirecting it towards the new reality as a responsible, sustainable and accessible sector;

Given the role of ALBA – TCP as an integration platform for the Latin American and Caribbean countries, focused on solidarity, complementarity, justice and cooperation to combine our capacities and strengths and also being a political, economic and social alliance in defense of independence, self-determination and identity of our peoples; we reaffirmed our willingness to:

24.Strengthen tourism cooperation, as an expression of solidarity, in order to promote bilateral and regional programs and projects, as well as triangular cooperation for development, taking into account the priorities and possibilities of our countries;

25. Design tourism strategies, based on the experience of projects previously implemented by ALBA-TCP member states, including education and training, exchange of good practices, tourism safety, promotion and marketing, tourism events and fairs, among others, taking into account the new normality imposed by the international healthcare situation.

26. Work together to reactivate the tourism sector through concrete actions for the benefit of our people.

27. Reiterate our commitment to the development of sustainable tourism as a factor of cultural, historical and socioeconomic exchange among our peoples;

28. Express our gratitude for the support of the ALBA-TCP nations in the struggle for the lifting of the U.S. blockade against Cuba, which is significantly affecting the development of tourism at a cost of over one billion dollars every year.

29. Embrace the tourism sector as one of the main driving forces for the development of our economies, taking into account that tourism is a structural factor in the integral growth of countries, given its cross-cutting contribution to other productive sectors.

30. Coordinate the participation of ALBA-TCP countries in activities for the tourism promotion and strengthening of the region, as an effective strategy for joint work and cooperation among our nations.

31. Promote cooperation among civil aeronautics authorities and state and private airlines of our countries, leading to the strengthening of air connectivity in the region, since this is one of the main factors for the development of tourism in Our America.

32. Encourage coordination among national tourism authorities for the development of multi-destination tourism products, as a tool for the joint promotion of the main destinations and tourist attractions of our nations in third markets.

32. Contribute to tourism education and training for the sustainable development of the sector, being an important driving force for the recovery, promotion and defense of the socio-cultural heritage of our people, as well as for the improvement of the quality and competitiveness of the sector as a whole.

34. Exchange information on best practices regarding the plans and strategies implemented by our tourism authorities for the reactivation of tourism activities in the ALBA-TCP countries, in order to promote the growth of incoming tourism in the nations.

35. Encourage the standardization of entry requirements and biosecurity measures implemented in human movement, with a view to regularizing the arrival of foreign tourists in the region within a coordinated environment.

36. Work towards the creation of a biannual work plan for the consolidation of the medium and long term goals of the tourism sector in the member countries of the Alliance and the region, including the necessary strategies for the development of our peoples through tourism activities.

37. Propose a tourist route of the Liberators in each member country of the Alliance, which shall be part of the “Liberator’s Route” of the ALBA-TCP countries, following up on the initial agreements of ALBA-TCP.

38. Exchange experiences on the provision of tourism services through technical training to be provided in the hotel management schools in our countries.

39. Share experiences on tourism risk management systems in terms of security, climatic events and biosecurity.

Caracas, August 30th, 2021

Countries:

•        Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

•        Republic of Cuba

•        Plurinational State of Bolivia

•        Republic of Nicaragua

•        Commonwealth of Dominica

•        Antigua and Barbuda

•        Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

•        Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

•        Grenada

[1] Ayni (in Quechua) refers to the concept of reciprocity or interaction between people in Andean mountain communities or the practice of this concept.