Community cultural strategies for the local level

Background

The Secretaría de Cultura, Recreación y Deporte de la Alcaldía de Bogotá - Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sport of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá - SCRD (Colombia) is working together with the Instituto de Cooperación Internacional y Desarrollo Municipal - Institute for International Cooperation and Municipal Development - INCIDEM (Spain) in the framework of the project 'District Network of Creative Districts: A strategy with a gender-based approach and human rights approach for social, cultural and economic revitalisation in Bogotá, in response to the crisis generated by COVID-19', funded by the Madrid City Council. They are also collaborating with the Dirección de Cultura del Gobierno Municipal de Guadalajara - Department of Culture of the Municipal Government of Guadalajara (Mexico), through the development and implementation of various international cooperation initiatives in the framework of the Joint Commission between Colombia and Mexico, which has facilitated the exchange of experiences and knowledge to strengthen the local cultural ecosystem.

Through the coordination by the SCRD, the Partnership member entities have developed a Triangular Cooperation Initiative that responds to the need to develop mechanisms and strategies for territorial intervention, centred on culture, within the scope of the Department of Culture of Guadalajara.

Within the framework of the Initiative, INCIDEM lends its extensive experience in decentralised cooperation as a key tool for strengthening local governments and improving the effectiveness of public policies. Thanks to the organisation's relational capital, exchanges with Spanish local governments will be enabled that address the issues raised in an innovative way, establishing synergies for dialogue and organisational learning. On the other hand, the SCRD provides its experience in the design, implementation and monitoring of public policies, as well as in cultural participation systems, with the 'Cultural Transformations for Peace District Project' and 'Community Cultural Strategy' as case studies.

Entities and roles

First provider entities

Development challenges

Guadalajara has identified certain territories suffering from multiple forms of violence and social segregation that have had negative effects on society, breaking down the social fabric in those areas. If we add to this the existence of various forms of prejudice and stereotypes that are deeply rooted in the culture, we are faced with conditions that make it difficult to establish democratic relations or guarantee the conditions for peace and governance.

Government programmes have proved insufficient in managing territorial conflicts and violence, and in response to these needs, civil society organisations and networks have emerged. While acting in the spirit of solidarity, they have been developing conflict resolution mechanisms and strategies centred around culture. However, there is an absence of strategies and tools to strengthen and connect these community organisations and networks in order to guide their cultural projects.

Thanks to this Triangular Cooperation Initiative, the Department of Culture of the Municipal Government of Guadalajara will benefit from the experience and knowledge of the Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sport of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá and INCIDEM in the field of social change through culture, in order to develop tools and strategies that contribute to strengthening cultural policies, as well as support and coordination mechanisms for cultural agents in the territory.

This Initiative aims to tap into the knowledge of the Partnership entities to transfer a community cultural strategy and territorial intervention tools that foster social change, and thus contribute to the development of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

Triangular approach

The Triangular Cooperation Initiative will promote a technical exchange among the Partnership member entities, as well as between these and various community organisations in Mexico, Colombia and Spain. In addition to providing a framework to foster synergies between sub-national governments, knowledge will be generated with a view to strengthening the social fabric through cultural practices to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable territories; based on shared responsibility between the public sector and civil society.

In Mexico, there are territories struggling with violence and social segregation, in which traditional interventions have not been effective. In response to these challenges, community organisations have emerged that are making use of culture as a tool for conflict resolution. However, these initiatives must be accompanied by public policies to establish an institutional support framework, as well as to ensure sustainability and to scale-up impact.

It is here that the Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sport of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá is able to provide its knowledge and experience, both institutional in terms of cultural policy as well as through community work with cultural collectives, with its 'Community Cultural Strategy' as a benchmark. This strategy contains the conceptual, methodological and operational roadmap to advance in collaborative processes between the public sector and civil society, for peacebuilding and social change through culture. To support this work, INCIDEM will lend its experience in the creation of networks between local governments and the identification of innovative cultural policies for coexistence.

In this regard, the aim is to strengthen the institutional capacities of the Partnership entities, as well as those of the community agents where the Partnership operates, in order to generate knowledge that fosters participatory, inclusive and sustainable cultural policies and strategies.

Sectoral approach - Contribution to the 2030 Agenda

Primary SDG

Goal 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

Secondary SDG

Goal 16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

ADELANTE SDG

Goal 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Goal 17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

Territorial approach

Intervention methodology

The work plan of this Initiative is primarily aimed at strengthening the institutional capacities of the Beneficiary entity, while at the same time focusing on the capacity building of Guadalajara's cultural agents in advocacy and coordination, based on the experience of the SCRD's "Community Cultural Strategy" and experiences in Spain.

In this regard, the activities are focused on the acquisition of tools and strategies for the design of a community cultural policy, through a series of virtual and face-to-face meetings. A virtual workshop will be the first activity, in which the Partnership will address the strategic direction of the cultural policy, based on a participatory approach. In this workshop, the steps taken by the SCRD in developing the 'Community Cultural Strategy' of Bogotá will be presented. In addition, an initial introduction to the community cultural organisations participating in the Initiative will be made.

The second activity will be a face-to-face seminar in Guadalajara, focused on the exchange of community development tools implemented by cultural agents from the three Partnership countries. The seminar will include institutional working sessions, territorial visits, presentations by experts on the key themes and roundtables, and closing with a practical exchange between cultural agents in order to foster the start of a collaborative network among the civil society organisations of the Partnership.

The seminar in Guadalajara will be followed by a study visit to Spain to exchange best practices on reconciliation and community development among local government officials. During the visit, collaboration will be facilitated with the city councils and community organisations of Madrid and Barcelona, which will contribute to the consolidation of the strategic planning exercises of the public policy managers of Bogotá and Guadalajara.

The fourth activity will be a face-to-face seminar in Bogotá, tapping into the knowledge offered by the SCRD, particularly in its lines of action and tools for a territorial approach, with an emphasis on reconciliation processes. Special attention will be paid to the inclusion of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, as well as women-led collectives.

Through a consultancy, a systematisation of the outcomes generated during the Initiative will be carried out and presented in a virtual meeting, where the main lessons learnt from the Partnership will be addressed, along with the roadmap after the finalisation of the Initiative.

Direct beneficiaries (individuals)

According to Rule 9 of the Guidelines for Applicants: all persons participating in the activities of the Initiative.

The Initiative has more than 170 direct beneficiaries, who are primarily professionals from the Partnership member entities involved in the management of cultural policies in local governments. In addition, individuals from civil society organisations and cultural organisations in the Initiative's member countries will benefit, with whom work will be carried out to strengthen their capacity for coordination and advocacy to promote community-based cultural policies.

Thanks to the seminars, which are open to people from the academic, political and social spheres, approximately 25 experts will also benefit from the panel discussions and roundtables.

Budget

EU contribution: 136,628.71 €

Co-financing - Triangular Cooperation Partnership: 53,927.48 €

Total budget: 190,756.19 €

 

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