Spanish
Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu) and the Ministry of Culture signed an agreement with the aim of establishing a framework for collaboration to promote the valuation, strengthening, and dissemination of art and culture in the country's municipalities.
The agreement, which was made within the framework of the Fedomu Board of Directors meeting, and signed by its president and mayor of Samaná, Nelson Núñez, and the Minister of Culture, Roberto Ángel Salcedo, also establishes strengthening cultural institutions, citizen participation, and decentralized cultural management. Also attending were the president of the Dominican Municipal League, Víctor D´Aza; the executive director of Fedomu, Félix Santos, and most of the mayors of the Council.
The agreement pursues the fulfillment of the National Development Strategy, therefore both institutions assume the commitment to share good practices, develop links that associate the public and private sectors to reinforce the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of sanitary and cultural activities, goods and services.
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In his words, the president of Fedomu, Nelson Núñez, highlighted that "for the Federation, the signing of this agreement with the Ministry of Culture is of great value and importance, as we are sure that with the support of the mayors, the results will reach all the municipalities of the country".
He affirmed that the agreement will promote the training and development of municipal technical personnel in cultural management, and will establish basic guidelines for the creation and strengthening of the cultural departments of the city councils.
On his part, Minister Roberto Ángel Salcedo, pointed out that this is an important step for the true promotion of culture and art in the Dominican Republic, for which "we hope for the support of the local governments of the country so that this initiative benefits the greatest number of young people in each of our municipalities".
He said that a Municipal Cultural Policy will be formulated at the national level; the management of cultural heritage in the municipalities and its possible impact on local development will be promoted, and the orange economy will be promoted at the municipal level as a way to improve local economic development.
The agreement also contemplates implementing the Calle Cultura Project in the municipalities; developing local craft and gastronomic fairs with community participation, as well as preparing a National Guide of Fixed Cultural Activities by territory, and activating public spaces, especially central parks, as permanent cultural venues.
Within the commitments of the Ministry of Culture are: to organize, together with Fedomu, the logistics of the participation of the municipalities within the conferences to promote the culture of each municipality; to make available to the town halls the programs of the institution; to develop, in conjunction with Fedomu, the instruments of municipal cultural policy and planning, as well as to finance or co-finance strategic projects such as Calle Cultura and Ferias Artesanales.
Likewise, Fedomu undertakes to identify, jointly with the city councils, the spaces to be intervened for the realization of the programs and activities that are included in this agreement; to ensure, together with the city councils, the maintenance and cleaning of the spaces destined for the realization of these activities; to coordinate with local governments the implementation of joint cultural activities, and to promote the institutional and territorial articulation of culture in municipal plans.
