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Final Document for the Meeting of Ministers of Culture of the
Non-Aligned Movement, Medellin, Colombia, 3-5 September 1997
The Ministers of Culture and Officers in charge of cultural
policies of the Member States of the Non-Aligned Movement met in Medellin, Colombia, on
September 4 and 5, 1997, to define actions to promote both cultural cooperation among
Member States and respect for the cultural diversity and free expression of their peoples,
and in accomplishment of the mandate given by the XI Summit of Heads of State and
Government of the Non-Aligned Countries, they:
Expressed their satisfaction at the call
made by the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Countries to hold a
conference of Ministers of Culture and officers in charge of cultural policies, as a
recognition of the importance granted to the subject of culture by the XI Summit.
Agreed that the guiding principles of the
Movement continue to be valid because, notwithstanding the end of the cold war and,
consequentially, the end of ideological confrontation, new barriers have emerged between
the North and the South. Globalization, unipolarism, and technological gaps threaten and
marginalize ancient cultures and question the survival of the sovereign nations of the
Movement.
Acknowledged that the cultural diversity and
the different views of the world constitute the greatest asset of mankind, and thus they
declared them to be the guiding values for the construction of a new world order. These
rich differences should gather consensus rather than lead to conflict, if considered as
opportunities for cooperation and solidarity instead of reasons for dissension.
This new world order shall be based on
cooperation and not on confrontation. As it emerges from the final document of the
Cartagena Summit, cooperation is not an option but an imperative, and should be grounded
on the acknowledgement of the cultural identity and autonomy of each nation.
The Ministers insisted that the media should
act as a mechanism to universalize ideas on tolerance, respect for cultural diversity and
the right to cultural development, rather than serve as a tool to accentuate the
disparities and imbalances prevailing in the fields of information and communication.
The so-called "threat of virtuality" daily
distorts the image of developing countries. Therefore, the Ministers expressed the need
for the Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries to act coordinately in all the relevant
international fora, in order to face the disinformation strategies adopted by some States
aimed at producing political effects on countries that are members of the Movement and
other developing countries. This is the South's demand to objective information.
- Descending globalization leads to the loss of identity, the
sense of community, personal esteem and the sense of belonging to a culture of one's own.
Therefore, the Ministers agreed to develop the concept of "ascending
globalization" as the only option whereby countries of the South may enrich the
cultural heritage of mankind, rather than be reduced to play the role of passive consumers
of cultural goods produced in and sent from other parts of the world.
In keeping with the spirit of the Cartagena Summit, the Ministers
expressed their commitment to take specific actions to strengthen South-South cooperation
in the information and communication fields, based on the principle of collective
self-confidence.
They also stressed the need to increase the technological
transfer in the fields of information and communication, and called upon the
industrialized countries to ensure that intellectual property rights do not become an
obstacle to trade and investment in developing countries.
Agreed that one of the main objectives of
cultural policies in developing countries is to stimulate the underlying creation
potential of their peoples. They also agreed that the greatest challenge the Member States
of the Movement face is to create as a means to contribute to others and to believe in
themselves.
Emphasized the importance of conceiving
culture from a broad standpoint, transcending the concept that limited it to fine arts and
folklore, and assigning it a basic role in the comprehensive development of countries and
in the consequent betterment of the quality of life.
They agreed that culture should be the foundation and
raison d'etre of nationalities rather than just an accessory or decorative item for
society.
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- Highlighted the responsibility of States to guarantee and
implement the right to culture as established in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
They also decided to develop the
cultural aspects of the so-called fourth generation of human rights, or the human rights
of future generations, as contained in the Tenerife Manifesto, which is translated into
the obligation that we have, as present inhabitants of the planet, to guarantee future
generations a culture of their own and a healthy environment.
- The Ministers, as the Heads of State and Government did,
expressed their concern for the new racist trend to adopt discriminatory practices based
on culture, nationality, religion or language, and reject the contemporary forms of racism
discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance.
In the context of the so-called "migration era", the Ministers claimed
the right of minorities to express their culture in host countries. In this sense, the
Ministers urged the forthcoming World Conference Against Racism to explicitly condemn the
practice of discriminating and excluding immigrants because of their culture.
- They reiterated the need for national institutional
organizations that, while keeping into consideration the characteristics of each
individual State, be capable of responding to the cultural needs of its people,
guaranteeing the full exercise of cultural rights, in perfect harmony with cultural
movements, so that its action becomes a promoter, rather than an obstacle, for
development.
Likewise, the Ministers expressed the
need to formulate long-term policies to generate ambitious cultural projects and avoid
discontinuity in cultural processes.
They acknowledged the fundamental role that
women are called to play in this new model of culture.
They stressed the need to promote cultural
industries and the free and democratic distribution of the goods they produce.
They expressed their commitment to strive to set up
networks for the exchange of cultural goods and services within member countries.
They expressed the need to move towards a
new concept of cultural heritage inclusive of spiritual expressions and live cultures
which, on a daily basis, recreate ancient ways of understanding the universe.
They considered essential to promote and
sponsor activities in the fields of education, science, technology and culture in their
various manifestations and modalities, and highlighted the role that international
organizations, such as UNESCO, are called to play in this respect. They expressed their
confidence that the outcome of a Summit on Culture and Development be conducive to a
significant improvement of cooperation among the Non-Aligned Countries.
As was the case forty years ago, peace
continues to be the main purpose of the Non-Aligned Movement. Peace among nations and
peace within their boundaries. Therefore, the Ministers highlighted the basic role that
culture plays in every process aimed at the consolidation of peaceful coexistence. Culture
being understood as the reaffirmation of those traits which dignify the human being, as
opposed to barbarism and intolerance.
The Ministers agreed that governance implies
new conceptions of the practice of politics and the participation in it, conducive to
people who are fully participatory in politics, economically productive, socially
supportive, environmentally committed, and universal in their concept of coexistence.
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PLAN OF ACTION
The Ministers of Culture and officers in charge of cultural
policies agreed that, on the eve of the 21st century, the Movement has a major
responsibility towards mankind to protect the cultural diversity of peoples all over the
world and to promote respect for pluralism, in the quest for peace and integration, based
on cultural development.
To this effect, they considered that governments should
give priority to the design and implementation of new cultural policies, in accordance
with their own diversity, aimed to guarantee full respect of cultural rights, pluralism
and cultural development in the era of globalization.
1. Cultural heritage and diversity
The cultural heritage of a nation is the expression of its
diversity, since the fact of belonging to certain cultural specificities - that provide a
framework for action, creation and production-, is in the very nature of each human being.
Cultural heritage is understood as all those tangible and
intangible goods, present, past or future, which represent the sum of the collective being
of each people, its traditions and habits, as well as the collection of its assets and
chattels.
The most important element of the cultural heritage of a
nation is its people: its ethnic groups and their forms of community and their individual
characteristics, languages, values, beliefs, religions, history, hopes and fears, as well
as their creative expressions.
Based on the foregoing, the Ministers recommended that
their governments:
Consider the preservation of the cultural
heritage as a guiding principle for the formulation of cultural policies.
Design and implement plans and programs to
make the inventory, evaluation, dissemination, recovery, maintenance, rehabilitation,
preservation and use of the national cultural heritage.
In defending the cultural diversity, avoid
discriminatory or preferential treatments, as they are detrimental to the principles of
equity.
Resort to all available media in order to
disseminate this diversity and make it known both at the national and international level.
Foster multilingualism, in as much as it
implies the acknowledgement of the right and duty of each country in the world to both
make itself understood and understand others.
Highlight the importance of oral tradition
of the peoples of the world and draw up programs to preserve and respect it.
Guarantee the right and duty of girls and
boys to have access to a culture of their own and to develop it creatively, not only as
consumers but as creators, as well as their right and duty to know and respect other
cultures.
Promote the exchange of information on the
compilation, restoration, social use, dissemination and preservation of the cultural
heritage of their countries.
Guarantee the return of cultural assets to
their countries of origin, insisting on the restitution to each country of its art
objects, monuments, museum pieces, archives, manuscripts, documents and any other cultural
or artistic treasures. This action will contribute to the strengthening of international
cooperation and will allow cultural values which are common to developing countries, to be
preserved and flourish.
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2. Education and tolerance
The Ministers and officers in charge of cultural policies
agreed that education is the best tool to foster tolerance and respect for differences
between human beings.
They underlined the importance of education as an essential
component of the social and economic development of their peoples and, in this context,
insisted that national development plans should give priority to investment in this field.
They pointed out that educational policies should include
mechanisms to ensure that everybody has access to an education of quality, and stressed
the need to reinforce the principles of cultural diversity in education programs.
The Ministers and officers in charge of cultural policies
agreed on the need to:
Design and implement cultural and
educational policies that link the educational system with the social and cultural
setting, based in specific programs related to the culture of each people.
Design and implement policies whereby
educational systems proclaim the principles of respect for others and tolerance for
differences, specially addressed to boys and girls, and youth.
Include history in education curricula as a
way of fostering integration and peace.
Implement cultural and educational programs
which give priority to gender issues, with a view to ensure equal opportunities for men
and women in education, work, political participation, decision making and opportunities
to develop their creativity.
Design and implement education policies
addressed to overcome the idea of culture as fine arts, and that of creativity as artistic
inspiration. Wider dimensions of culture and creativity will pave the way to cultural
development for different human groups in all ranges of age.
Develop cultural and education programs that
include and foster oral traditions, where the elderly can actively participate by sharing
their knowledge and memories with younger generations.
Encourage teachers and specialists exchange
among Member Countries, particularly in the field of cultural management and formal and
informal education for people of all ages.
Promote scholarships and internship programs
among NAM countries.
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3. Communications and globalization
They reiterated that dialogue is the best way to encourage
the acknowledgement of the cultural diversity of peoples, and rejected the use of the
media to exert intellectual and cultural domination over other countries, by means of an
evident trend to monopolize information that gradually restricts freedom and imposes
cultural hegemony.
They expressed their solidarity to face the growing efforts
to create a new form of colonialism, which surreptitiously permeates young people and even
whole countries, destroying the basic values and core principles of their own societies,
in as much as industrialized countries seek to impose their values, opinions and
lifestyles on developing countries, to the detriment, and even the loss, of cultural
identities.
In this sense, Governments should design and implement
policies to:
Guarantee all citizens democratic and
participatory access to information and the media.
Make maximum use of the media to spread the
pluralism of member countries.
In the era of globalization, pursue a
leading role for the media as culture promoters, by means of a redefinition of the
communicator individual in the light of culture.
Launch advertising and information campaigns
in which citizens of Member Countries, individually and collectively, join the efforts of
member States, and commit themselves to the historical and political significance of these
efforts in the era of globalization.
Strengthen cooperation with the Broadcasting
Organization of Non-Aligned Countries (BONAC) and take advantage of this NAM information
entity to disseminate the cultural and creative diversity of Member Countries.
Participate in NAM events such as the Film
Festival for NAM and other developing countries. In this respect, they expressed their
satisfaction with the success of this festival and highlighted the work of the Popular
Democratic Republic of Korea in holding and organizing this event.
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4. Planning and cultural development
All States should guarantee equal opportunities for men and
women to develop their cultural rights, through development plans that enable the exercise
of cultural freedom and the expression of creativity within an atmosphere of cooperation.
The Ministers and officers in charge of cultural policies
reiterated that the eradication of poverty has to be the top priority of developing
countries when drawing up state policies, while also stressed the, fundamental role that
culture has to play in the economic, political, and social development.
The Ministers and officers in charge of cultural policies
recommended that governments:
Assume culture as a matter of State within
their development plans and programs, acknowledging cultural development and cultural
rights as fundamental concepts.
Find appropriate ways and means to achieve
balance between development and the preservation of the cultural heritage.
Introduce legislation aimed to promote,
disseminate and respect cultural rights.
Make an inventory of the different cultural
rights of each nation in order to prevent them from being violated, and to effectively
disseminate such rights.
Promote the concept of human integrity as a
component of social development.
Conduct surveys on cultural impact.
Foster art in all its forms, as well as
other symbolic expressions, as a means of dialogue, exchange and participation, and as a
free and prime expression of thought that builds pacific coexistence.
In this sense, recall that cultural policies
should take into account both the creators and promoters of culture, while granting
special treatment to those with physical, sensorial or mental limitations, the elderly,
children and youth, and the most socially, culturally and economically deprived sectors.
Give women a predominant role as culture
promoters and fundamental pillars of communication and education processes.
Design and implement programs to prevent and
combat drug addiction, cultural uprooting and the lack of opportunities for young people,
seeking to integrate those affected by these phenomena to their cultural environment in a
creative and useful manner.
Pursue both economic resources and technical
advise, through international cooperation, for the accomplishment of these
recommendations.
   
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