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), in Colombia, is working together with the Instituto de Cooperación Internacional y Desarrollo Municipal (Institute for International Cooperation and Municipal Development - INCIDEM), in 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), in 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

Beneficiary entities

Dirección de Cultura del Gobierno Municipal de Guadalajara

Mexico

First provider entities

Secretaría de Cultura de Bogotá

Colombia

Second provider entities

Instituto de Cooperación Internacional y Desarrollo Municipal - INCIDEM

Spain

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 has benefited 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.

The Initiative aimed to harness the knowledge of the Partnership entities to transfer a community cultural strategy and intervention tools that foster social change at the local level, thus contributing to the development of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

Triangular approach

Through the Triangular Cooperation Initiative, a technical exchange was promoted among the Partnership member entities, as well as between these entities and various community organisations in Mexico, Colombia and Spain. In addition to providing a framework to foster synergies between local governments, knowledge was 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, where traditional interventions have not been effective. In response to these challenges, community organisations have emerged that are using culture as a tool for conflict resolution. However, these initiatives must be accompanied by public policies in order to establish an institutional support framework, as well as to ensure sustainability and to scale-up impact.

It is within this context that the Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sport of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá (SCRD) contributed with its knowledge and expertise, both institutionally in the area of cultural policy and through community work with cultural groups, using its 'Community Cultural Strategy' as a model. This strategy contains the conceptual, methodological and operational roadmap to advance towards collaborative processes between the public sector and civil society, to promote peacebuilding and social change through culture. To complement this work, INCIDEM lent its expertise in the creation of networks between local governments and the identification of innovative cultural policies for a peaceful coexistence.

In this regard, institutional capacity building was achieved among the Partnership entities as well as among the community workers 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 the Initiative focused on the institutional capacity building of the Beneficiary entity, while at the same time strengthening the capacity for advocacy and coordination among Guadalajara's cultural agents, based on the experience of the SCRD's "Community Cultural Strategy" and the Spanish experiences. As a result, this dual level of institutional and territorial impact was present in all of the activities, strengthening the ties between the two.

In this regard, the activities were centred on the acquisition of tools and strategies for the design of community cultural policies, carried out through a series of virtual and face-to-face meetings. The first activity was a virtual workshop in which the Partnership addressed the strategic direction of the cultural policy, based on a participatory and demand-driven approach. In this workshop, the steps taken by the SCRD towards the construction of the 'Community Cultural Strategy' of Bogotá were presented. In addition, an initial introduction to the community cultural organisations that participated in the Initiative was made.

The second activity was 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 included institutional working sessions, territorial routes, presentations by experts on the key themes and roundtables. It concluded with a practical exchange between cultural agents that led to the start of a collaborative network between the civil society organisations of the Partnership.

The seminar in Guadalajara was followed by a study visit to Spain to exchange best practices among local government officials on reconciliation and community development. During the visit, working sessions were held with the city councils and community organisations of Madrid and Barcelona, which contributed to the consolidation of the strategic planning exercises of the public policy managers of Bogotá and Guadalajara.

The fourth activity was a face-to-face seminar in Bogotá, expanding on the knowledge offered by the SCRD, particularly in terms of its lines of work and tools for a territorial approach. Emphasis was placed on reconciliation processes. Special attention was given to the incorporation of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities and groups led by women. In addition, the results obtained from the implementation of the Initiative were presented, reflected in the document 'Resonamos, del barrio al sur global', which synthesised the knowledge generated within the seminar.

Through a consultancy, a systematisation of the products generated throughout the Initiative was carried out, including recommendations for the implementation of cultural strategies and tools. These were disseminated through a virtual meeting, where the main findings of the Partnership were discussed, along with the roadmap to follow after the conclusion of the Initiative. This document was developed in order to support the processes of the Beneficiary entity, but also considers the potential for replication by other Latin American and/or European entities interested in generating peacebuilding strategies and plans with a cultural, inclusive and community-based approach.

Seminar 'Weaving territories for peace' '
Guadalajara, Mexico |29/09 - 03/10/2022

[@gallery:"galeria-ict331-guadalajara"@]

Study visit 'Exchange of good practices in EU cultural policies'
Barcelona y Madrid, Spain |01/11 - 07/11/2022

[@gallery:"galeria-ict331-barcelona-madrid"@]

Seminar 'Transforming the city through culture'
Bogota, Colombia |24/11 - 28/11/2022

[@gallery:"galeria-ict331-bogota"@]

PODACSTS

TEASERS

Direct beneficiaries (individuals)

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

There were 174 direct beneficiaries in the Initiative, 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 have also benefited, with whom work was carried out to strengthen their capacity for coordination and advocacy to promote community-based cultural policies. Their interest in participating in the activities meant that the Initiative was able to reach a greater number of beneficiaries of the proposal and foster coordination among them.

Thanks to the seminars, which were open to individuals from academia, political and social spheres, approximately 25 experts also benefited 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 €

The information gathered in this IMPACT section is the result of the first 'joint ex post analysis exercise' of the Initiative which, as foreseen in the policy framework of the ADELANTE Window, took place one year after the end of the implementation period.

For more information on these exercises, please consult the ADELANTE Window 2021 Impact Report.

Continuity of the Partnership

STARTING POINT: Existing North-South and South-South relationship that has been strengthened by the combination of both modalities (with the First provider entity as the unifying partner).

The Partnership has not been consolidated and has not been maintained over time.

However, some of the Partnership member entities have continued to engage in bilateral collaboration in the core areas of the Initiative.

New Initiative within the framework of the ADELANTE Window in which the Beneficiary entity and the First provider entity are participating, with new entities joining.

Application of generated knowledge

The knowledge generated has been applied by the Beneficiary entity.

During implementation, the Initiative involved final beneficiary groups (community cultural organisations).

The Beneficiary entity has continued to work closely with these groups, who have benefited from and applied the knowledge generated throughout the Initiative. Moreover, these groups have created and maintained networks beyond the scope of the Initiative.

Impact

Applying this knowledge has enabled the Beneficiary entity to successfully tackle the development challenge that gave rise to the Initiative with the necessary quality assurance.

FACTORS THAT HAVE ENABLED THE IMPACT:

The relevance of the knowledge generated as a response to the challenges of the Beneficiary entities and the final beneficiary groups.
The relevance of the technical expertise of the Partnership member entities.

Future perspectives

Maintain bilateral relations between the different Partnership member entities and collaborate with new entities to establish Triangular Cooperation models.

Continue to make progress in the transfer of knowledge to the beneficiary groups, monitoring and evaluating the impact in their respective areas of intervention.

Mobilise public financial support and international funding to strengthen the potential application of the knowledge generated.

Download PDF