Par\u00eds, France, June 21, 2019 \u2013 This past Thursday the Dominican Republic formally presented before the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) three local cities to be considered to enter the Network of Creative Cities and Sustainable Development program. <\/p>\n
The recommended cities are Santo Domingo (the Greater Santo Domingo area), San Pedro de Macor\u00eds and Salcedo.<\/p>\n
Minister of Culture Eduardo Selman submitted before UNESCO three letters where the country motivates the recommendations in a special event that was headed by the country\u2019s Permanent Ambassador before the Organization, singer\/songwriter Jos\u00e9 Antonio Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n
Other Dominican participants included Billy Hasb\u00fan, Director of International Relations for the Ministry of Culture; Domingo Contreras, Director General of the President\u2019s Special Programs Office (DIGEPEP); Ren\u00e9 Polanco, Mayor of the northern section of Santo Domingo; Jhonny Jones, Secretary General of the Dominican Municipal League, and Ching Ling Ho, Coordinator of the \u201cQuisqueya Verde\u201d Creative Territory. <\/p>\n
The city of Santo Domingo was nominated in the Music category. The letter presented before UNESCO states that the city is the country\u2019s most important center for meetings, festivals, concerts, and cultural manifestations of the Caribbean region and where most of the D.R.\u2019s music is produced.<\/p>\n
It also states that Santo Domingo is home to the city\u2019s Colonial Zone, declared by the UNESCO as a Cultural Patrimony of Humanity. Also, UNESCO declared the Merengue, the country\u2019s traditional musical rhythm, and the Congos of the Holy Spirit of Villa Mella as Intangible Cultural Patrimonies of Humanity. Finally, Dominican singer\/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra was declared by UNESCO as an Artist for Peace. <\/p>\n
San Pedro de Macor\u00eds, a city situated in the country\u2019s eastern region, was recommended in the Gastronomy category. It is a city of immigrants where thousands of citizens from the English-speaking Caribbean settled there in the late 19th and early 20th century. These immigrants brought with them their cultural diversity and gastronomy. <\/p>\n
This popular art form and the \u201cTeatro Cocolo Danzante,\u201d also known as \u201cLos Guloyas,\u201d was declared by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Patrimony of Humanity and it also motivates the proposal to include the city in the Network of Creative City and Sustainable Development, created in 2004.<\/p>\n
The city of Salcedo was also nominated in the Popular Arts & Crafts category. The city is recognized for its musical heritage, including the artisans who manufacture typical instruments. The city is a national reference of what an active cultural city should be, especially for its colorful carnival tradition, popular art manifestations, and gastronomy.<\/p>\n
The proposal states that the city of Salcedo, situated in the northern region of the Dominican Republic, is known for its \u201cRoute of Murals,\u201d which extend to other communities \u2013 such as Villa Tapia and Tenares – situated in the Hermanas Mirabal Province, where the city is located. Each mural has a special message to deliver, such as the lives of the Mirabal sisters, considered heroines of the Dominican Republic for their struggle for democracy and eventual assassination by the dictator of Rafael Trujillo.<\/p>\n
In the three proposals presented by the Dominican authorities last Wednesday to UNESCO officials, Minister Eduardo Selman also states that \u201cpromoting the diversity of Dominican culture in all its forms is a strategy of urban sustainable development, to make our culture more accessible to its citizens.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTo become a part of this prestigious Network is our aspiration because it will have a major impact on the creative industry of sustainable development of the community,\u201d explained Minister Selman.<\/p>\n
The Dominican delegation arrived in Paris with a full agenda of activities that includes meetings with UNESCO representatives and cultural experts, as well as with members of the Dominican diplomatic corps and diaspora in France. <\/p>\n
Approximately 180 cities are members of the Network. By becoming full members, these cities promise to cooperate and develop alliances to promote creative and cultural activities, share unique practices, strengthen the city\u2019s cultural activities, and integrate culture in the city\u2019s economic and social plans. <\/p>\n
Last Wednesday, Minister Selman and Ambassador Jos\u00e9 Antonio Rodr\u00edguez met with UNESCO\u2019s Director of the World Patrimony Center, Mathilde R\u00f6ssler, and the Organization\u2019s Deputy Director for Culture, Ernesto Ottonne. All discussed the proposal presented to declare the historic village of La Isabela, in the Dominican Republic\u2019s north coast, a Cultural Patrimony of Humanity. <\/p>\n
UNESCO Ambassador Jos\u00e9 Antonio Rodr\u00edguez highlighted that the \u201cOrange Economy\u201d currently produces three percent of the national GDP, and emphasized that the fight against poverty demands providing an urgent support to artists and creators, as well as the adoption of public policies that will favor the formalization of these economic sectors. <\/p>\n
The Dominican representative also explained that \u201cUNESCO has the experience, the networks, and the programs to support these and other efforts encouraged by President Danilo Medina to strengthen the development of the \u201cOrange Economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister Selman also expressed that the Dominican Republic will benefit from the kind of technical support UNESCO may provide to encourage and motivate the country\u2019s culturally-oriented industries.<\/p>\n
Among the projects presented by Ottonne is a new Caribbean program for the strengthening of cultural industries which is currently being developed in Cuba and Jamaica.<\/p>\n
Minister Selman stated that the Dominican Republic would greatly benefit from UNESCO\u2019s technical support in order to develop the country\u2019s cultural potential.<\/p>\n
Also included in the agenda: a meeting with Pedro Monreal, from UNESCO\u2019s social and human sectors, to discuss the Juan Bosch UNESCO Award. This particular award was established by the Organization\u2019s Executive Council to commemorate the 100th birth date of Professor Bosch in 2009.<\/p>\n
Photo Caption:<\/p>\n
2.- Minister of Culture, Architect Eduardo Selman, along with Mathilde R\u00f6ssler, Director of the Center for World Patrimony; Dominican Ambassador before UNESCO, Jos\u00e9 Antonio Rodr\u00edguez; and Billy Hasb\u00fan, Director of International Relations for the Ministry of Culture. <\/p>\n
1.- UNESCO\u2019s Deputy Director for Culture, Ernesto Ottonne, with Minister of Culture Eduardo Selman and the Dominican Ambassador before the Organization, Jos\u00e9 Antonio Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n
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Par\u00eds, France, June 21, 2019 \u2013 This past Thursday the Dominican Republic formally presented before the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) three local cities to be considered to enter the Network of Creative Cities and Sustainable Development program. The recommended cities are Santo Domingo (the Greater Santo Domingo area), San Pedro de … Continue reading “DR Recommends Three Cities to Participate in UNESCO\u2019s Network of Creative Cities Program”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13646"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13665,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13646\/revisions\/13665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dominicanaonline.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}