JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON CULTURAL COOPERATION
Santa Fe, New Mexico
May 22, 2003

Text in Spanish

The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (USA) and the National Council for Culture and the Arts (Mexico) have met on this day in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to affirm their shared commitment to bi-national cultural cooperation.

Adair Margo, head of the U.S. President's Committee on Arts and Humanities, left, and Sari Bermúdez, head of Mexico's National Council for Culture and the Arts, right, sign the Joint Communiqué on Cultural Cooperation.

As President Bush and President Fox said in Monterrey in March of 2002, "Our two nations have developed a historic level of trust and mutual respect, strengthened by common values and purposes." The governments of the United States and Mexico recognize that a nation's cultural life contributes to the vibrancy of its society, the dynamism of its economy and the strength of its democracy.

We agree on the importance of encouraging communities to identify and preserve their local culture, history and traditions. We recognize that the arts and humanities depend on partnerships between and among government agencies, private foundations, corporations, non-profit organizations and individual benefactors to nurture talent and bring the creative achievements of our best artists, artisans, and humanities scholars to as wide an audience as possible.

As we enter this new century, we affirm that the arts and humanities are more essential than ever to increasing mutual understanding between our peoples and to fostering a greater appreciation for the richness and diversity of our cultures. We therefore dedicate ourselves to the following goals:

Expanding Artistic Opportunity and Diversity

We seek to expand access for a greater number and variety of artists in both countries to the cultural marketplace through initiatives such as Gateway to the Americas. We aim to involve a wider range of regions, cities, institutions and individuals in bi-national cultural exchange through encouragement of such initiatives as the Bi-national Regional Arts Organization Alliance.

Highlighting Our Cultural Heritage and Promoting Cultural Preservation

We seek to expose wider audiences to the richness, diversity and creativity of cultural expression and heritage in both countries, and to collaborate in the vital task of cultural preservation. Emblematic of these efforts is the Camino Real initiative, as well as the growing number of collaborative projects involving the museums of our two nations.

Access to Culture and Knowledge

We agree on the importance of expanding access to culture and knowledge for all segments of our populations. In addition to the contributions to this goal by way of exchanges of exhibits, tours of performing artists, co-productions and wider distribution of films and other cultural forms, we note the importance of libraries, arts and humanities education in schools and cultural centers, and support for the teaching of English and Spanish as second languages.

Adair Margo President's Committee on Arts and Humanities

Sari Bermúdez National Council for Culture and the Arts