Rio2C organizes meeting of Ibero-American Deputy Ministers of Culture
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The sixth meeting of the Ibero-American Forum of Vice Ministers of Culture, bringing together top officials from the 17 countries, will take place for the first time during an edition of Rio2C, the mega creativity forum taking place this week in Rio de Janeiro.
Representatives from Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay will discuss government policies for the region’s creative industries.
Established in 2024, the Ibero-American Forum of Deputy Ministers of Culture is a regional executive working group promoted by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Affairs (OEI). The main goal is to develop cultural policy aimed at strengthening the creative economy in all its dimensions.
“This year we are bringing the Forum for the first time. It was an initiative of the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, which recognized the relevance of Rio2C and the possibility of holding the Forum meeting during our event,” said Rafael Lazarini, founder of Rio2C.
Lazarini emphasized that the Forum is made up of deputy ministers and executive secretaries because they are actually the ones who “roll up their sleeves and get the job done,” while the ministers are mainly political figures.
“It will not be a political meeting, but a sector-oriented meeting. The aim is really to optimize integration between countries and content production,” he added.
The Executive Secretary of Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Márcio Tavares, will chair the meeting, as the host country currently holds the temporary chairmanship of the Forum.
“For the first time, we are bringing the Forum’s discussions to the largest creativity gathering in Latin America,” Tavares said Variety.
According to him, OEI and Fundação Itaú (the foundation of one of the largest private banks in Brazil) will sign a cooperation agreement during the meeting. The agreement will focus on structuring data and indicators that make it possible to measure the contribution of the creative industries to sustainable development.
Forum members will discuss the renewal of the Ibero-American Cultural Charter, signed in 2006, during the meeting in Rio2C. Countries will approve the new version in November, Tavares said.
In addition, during the meeting, Tavares will present Portuguese and Spanish language courses that will be offered by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture’s virtual school, Escola Solano Trindade de Cultura e Economia Criativa, to all members of the Forum.
“This convergence between the institutional public policy debate and the vibrancy of the creative market is unprecedented and of paramount importance to us. This is where we build bridges between the public and private sectors, in an effort to further stimulate and strengthen the production chains of culture and the creative economy in the region,” said Tavares..
