Colombian Minister: Country needs stable cultural policies

Colombia's Minister of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge, Yannai Kadamani, has emphasized the critical need for enduring cultural policies that transcend governmental transitions. Speaking two weeks before the end of President Gustavo Petro's term, Kadamani argued that Colombia requires "permanence" in its development strategies to prevent progress from being undone every four years.

Kadamani expressed concern not about democratic leadership changes but about the lack of continuity in public policies. "I am not worried about democratic changes in institutional leadership, but I am worried that we are not capable of building a progressive policy, that every four years objective development concepts are being changed," she stated in an interview with EFE. She believes that even with differing ideological visions, governments should respect the consensus reached with cultural sectors.

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I am not worried about democratic changes in institutional leadership, but I am worried that we are not capable of building a progressive policy, that every four years objective development concepts are being changed.

Reflecting on her tenure, Kadamani highlighted the expansion of access to artistic training as a major accomplishment. The "Artes para la Paz" (Arts for Peace) program, she noted, received an investment of 4.7 trillion pesos (approximately $1.455 billion) over four years and reached 825 municipalities, covering 83% of the national territory. This program significantly increased participation, moving from serving about 95,000 children and youth to offering nearly 1.4 million spots through ongoing artistic training facilitated by local instructors.

The minister also defended the decentralization of cultural investment, reporting that 82% of the Ministry's resources during her term were allocated to regions outside the five main cities. Kadamani stressed that strengthening the cultural sector requires a combination of public and private investment, but above all, institutional stability. She described the sector as "profoundly fragile" and in need of "progressive and permanent policy in tools or investment mechanisms."

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This sector is profoundly fragile and what it needs is a progressive and permanent policy in tools or mechanisms of investment.