Honorable Ministers and Highest Authorities on Culture, Mr. André Frenette, Chairman of the Inter-American Committee on Culture, Distinguished Members of the Committee, Permanent Representatives of the OAS Member States, Representatives of international, regional, and civil society organizations, Colleagues from the OAS, Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Organization of American States, it gives me great pleasure to open the Fourth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Culture. As some of you already know, culture is for me personally a very important topic, as it leads toward sustaining vibrant societies that provide for and promote the common welfare. At the outset I want to reaffirm the commitment of the OAS to this process and to say that I look forward to the proposals and decisions that come out of these two days of meetings.

As we all know, culture is gathering importance all over the world. It is being recognized by people from different sectors that working hand-in-hand with culture can have significant effects in terms of economic growth, skills building, and social harmony.

I believe that the importance of the arts, culture, and related activities lies in two areas:

• the political function of facilitating peace in society among diverse groups, contributing to fostering important social values, good citizenship, social cohesion and inclusion; and

• the economic function of how diversity can be constructively utilized to enhance economies by creating cultural industries, especially in regions with a high dependency on tourism.

I believe that as representatives of governmental and inter-governmental bodies we must do more to provide effective solutions that can be translated into policies responsive to the realities of our ever changing regional, hemispheric and global environments that every day deal with increasing rates of crime, unemployment and economic disparities.

Now is the time, in the face of the current economic crisis and what some might call a crisis in confidence and values, that we as Authorities with a mandate in culture, create new scenarios that allow culture to gain the space it is clamoring for, recognizing the importance it has demonstrated to bring alternative solutions for fighting violence, poverty and other social ills.

On the economic side, the creative industries offer an attractive and economically promising future, given that they generate consumer demand, employment opportunities, increasing exports of goods and services, and, as well, synergies with other sectors of the economy and development.

The creative economy offers concrete opportunities for acquiring skills, creating decent jobs and engaging youth into new ways of development and improvement that should be promoted within the countries of the Americas. There are approximately 150 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the Americas, representing roughly 20% of the total population of the region. This group has an unemployment rate of 16% -- three times the unemployment rate of adults. I believe that cultural entrepreneurship represents an important and growing area of opportunity for our youth. Culture can indeed be an engine for growth, development and economic opportunity. Culture should be, like youth and gender, a cross cutting issue in our policy making, planning and programming.

At the VI Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education this past August in Quito, Ecuador, the region’s highest authorities in education also recognized culture as part of the solution to making educational programs more interesting, more relevant and more engaging for young people. In their declaration, “Better Opportunities for the Youth of the Americas: Rethinking Secondary Education,” they recognized that “the study and practice of art, culture and sports strengthen identity and personal development, forge better interpersonal relations, develop a greater sense of social responsibility, increase discipline, and enhance the interest in learning.” They therefore encouraged the promotion of “the inclusion of cultural, artistic, and sporting contents and activities in secondary school study programs.”

When the OAS General Assembly agreed to declare 2011 the “Inter-American Year of Culture,” it recognized that culture is what makes us unique while bringing us together as a community, a region, and a hemisphere. This is why culture makes significant contributions to finally reach a world full of peace, respect, understanding, tolerance and acceptance. Culture and diversity should be considered as enriching our social environment and used in a constructive way to unite people. And in the context of the cross cutting nature of “culture,” I am prepared to start a inter-departmental working group in the Secretariat to discuss how we can become more effectively

This meeting is predicated on a conviction that sharing policies and programs and designing joint activities can strengthen the ability of each member state to face its challenges. New-technology tools can help to deepen collaboration through ongoing communication among a network of policy makers and others who work in the field of culture.

I take this opportunity to recognize the work done by the Inter-American Committee on Culture (CIC), and especially by its Authorities. I would like to recognize the leadership of Canada in its position of Chair of the Committee for the past four years, as well as the Vice Chairs: Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica and the United States during 2007-2009. I would like to acknowledge the work and support provided by the OAS Office of Education and Culture, which serves as Technical Secretariat to the Culture Ministerial and the CIC, for the important role they play in coordinating these initiatives.

Finally, I want to thank you all for the effort made to be here. Since this meeting sets the course of the CIC for the next two years, it has particular importance. I know this meeting will firmly contribute to keeping us on a path toward reaching our goals. I thank you for your presence, look forward to your contributions, and wish you every success in your deliberations.