NGCI Director Natalie Urquhart recently presented on the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean International Foundation (EU-LAC)’s ‘Cultural Policies in Times of Digitisation’ webinar. The event was organised by the EU-LAC Foundation on 04 May 2021, in the framework of the ‘Europe Week 2021 in Hamburg’ (Europa Woche), an initiative of the Senate of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
The objective of the webinar was to provide a space for dialogue between decision-makers in the field of cultural policy and a group of representatives of cultural management organisations from both regions. It aimed to generate an exchange of challenges, opportunities and promising initiatives at the level of cultural policies, accompanied by a balance of similarities and differences in terms of digitisation and its implications for cultural policies. Speakers were invited to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the digitisation of cultural policies in their specific regions, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to provide a space for the presentation of digitisation best practices in both regions.
Representing the Caribbean, Urquhart spoke about the opportunities that the rapid digitisation of programming had brought, while highlighting the urgent need to update cultural policy to protect creators. She noted that virtual programming has the potential to break down some of the barriers that exist for different styles of learners, but that the crisis had highlighted challenges around digital literacy, and equitable access to internet services, broadband and equipment. She concluded by stressing the need for a more collaborative approach to multi-stakeholder policy making that includes government policy makers and stakeholders at both the regional and national levels.
The full report can be accessed via https://eulacfoundation.org/en or the panel viewed on YouTube below.
