The Ministry of Culture and ITLA sign agreement on access to information on the national cultural heritage

The Ministry of Culture and ITLA sign agreement on access to information on the national cultural heritage
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, November 11, 2012

The Ministry of Culture (MINC) and the Technological Institute of the Americas (ITLA- Instituto Tecnológico de las Américas), signed a landmark agreement for inter-agency cooperation, through which people will have access to information concerning the cultural heritage of the Dominican Republic and to make arrangements for public services.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, and Engineer José Armando Tavárez, Rector of the Technological Institute of the Americas, at MINC’s headquarters.

With the signing of this agreement,students from universities, public schools, private schools and cultural institutions, will have the opportunity to update and deepen their knowledge on issues relating to Dominican heritage, by accessing portals that will be installed in the different departments of the Ministry of Culture.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, and Engineer José Armando Tavárez, Rector of the Technological Institute of the Americas, at MINC’s headquarters. Also present were: Mirtha Olivares, Coordinator of the Vice Ministry of Creativity and Popular Participation; Ileana Polanco, ITLA Academic ViceRector; Carlos Salcedo, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Culture; Carlos Santos, Coordinator of the Vice Ministry of Institutional Development; and Manuel Jiménez.

The Minister of Culture pondered the benefits of the agreement for the agencyhe heads: “We value the contributions of the students and professionals who will collaborate with the Ministry, to make its portal on the World Wide Web an instrument of their creativity and innovation, as cultural workers who do well in the creative industries that have experienced greater growth andhigher impact in recent years: the cultural industries in the fields of information and technology.”

He added that through this agreement, Dominicans and foreigners who visit the portal will have the opportunity to learn about programs and initiatives, gaining knowledge and information that enablesthem to valuethe Dominican Republic and its cultural roleeven more.

Meanwhile ITLA’s Rector, José Armando Tavárez, agreed with the Minister and called for a renewed commitment to the country and to the development plan that President Danilo Medina is currently implementing for all aspects and situations of Dominican society.

He said that “with the technical knowledge that the ITLA possesses, with the number of young people who comefrom our neighborhoods thanks to scholarships from the government, the dreams of many can be achieved through technological education, and in this case, technology for art, and cultural and creative industries. It is an honor for us to put all our knowledge to the service of Culture.”

The agreement also includes training for personnel of the Ministry of Culture in multimedia, software and languages, as well as the appointment of teacher coordinators to supervise and accompany the interns in their assigned projects.

Minister José Antonio Rodríguez and Engineer José Armando Tavarez, Rector of the Technological Institute of the Americas signed the agreement.

Carlos Salcedo, Mirtha Olivares, José Antonio Rodríguez, José Armando Tavárez, Ileana Polanco and Carlos Santos