Cultural relations between Europe and Latin America
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 31 January 1984 (23rd Sitting) (see Doc. 5161, report of the Committee on Culture and Education). Text adopted by the Assembly on 31 January 1984 (23rd Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Having noted the report on cultural relations between Europe and Latin America by its Committee on Culture and Education (
Doc. 5161) ;
2. Recognising the diversity of Latin American culture but also the existence of a common Latin American culture, just as there is a common European culture and a mosaic of cultural traditions in Europe ;
3. Aware that Latin American culture is a result of the meeting between European culture, in particular of Spain and Portugal, and the rich indigenous pre-Columbian cultures of Latin America ;
4. Believing that Latin American culture is an essential element in the social and economic progress of that continent and in the consolidation of the very identity of Latin America itself ;
5. Fearing, however, that Latin American culture is threatened by economic underdevelopment of the continent and by the overpowering cultural and technological influence of North America ;
6. Believing that Europe has much to benefit from a greater awareness of the richness of Latin American culture, but also wishing, through cultural co-operation, to make the cultural traditions of Europe in all their variety more accessible to Latin American peoples ;
7. Feeling that effective cultural co-operation and European support for Latin American culture are therefore particularly important at the present moment ;
8. Believing that such co-operation should be balanced and truly reciprocal, that it should be planned as a result of joint collaboration between Europe and Latin America, and that it should cover all means of creative expression ;
9. Drawing particular attention to the need to support those trying to develop in Latin America the spirit of emancipatory cultural activity on the popular level and the notion of cultural democracy that is characteristic of the approach of the Council of Europe to cultural creativity in Europe ;
10. Noting the initiatives taken by the United Nations organisations and in particular UNESCO with regard to the cultural development of Latin America, and wishing to reinforce this action, including measures to protect the pre-Columbian cultural heritage ;
11. Noting also the Final Act of the 6th European Community/Latin America Interparliamentary Conference, held in Brussels in June 1983, but believing that any meaningful cultural cooperation between Latin America and Europe requires the full involvement of Spain and Portugal ;
12. Believing that the Council of Europe can constitute a significant partner for the development of constructive cultural co-operation with Latin America, based on the principles of freedom of expression, of the importance of individual cultural creativity, and of a closely linked cultural tradition ;
13. Welcoming the agreement between the Council of Europe and the Ibero-American Education Organisation ;
14. Referring to its
Recommendation 976, on the Council of Europe's contribution to cultural cooperation with Latin America,
15. Calls on the governments of member states of the Council of Europe :
15.1 to encourage links with Latin America in the cultural field ;
15.2 to develop programmes of cultural cooperation with Latin American countries, and in particular exchanges between young people ;
15.3 to encourage the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese in European schools, alongside that of the other European languages, in order to facilitate the dialogue with Latin America ;
15.4 to provide funds for developing independent contacts between universities, research institutes and training centres (such as the European Craftsmanship Centre in Venice) in Europe and Latin America ;
15.5 to make Latin American culture better known in Europe ;
15.6 to support the cultural work of Latin American residents, or refugees, in Europe ;
16. Resolves :
16.1 to follow the development of cultural cooperation between Europe and Latin America, in particular on the following levels :
governments,
universities and institutions of research,
non-governmental organisations,
governmental bodies such as the Council of Europe, UNESCO or the European Communities,
youth organisations ;
16.2 to encourage in the cultural field the development of links at parliamentary level between Europe and the democratically elected parliaments of Latin America.
