Artists, cultural professionals (including César Díaz, filmmaker and co-director of the KinoLatino Festival), and members of civil society shared their experience as migrants and discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with their integration process into their host societies during an event organised by the EU-LAC Foundation as part of the Próximamente Festival.

The event, called “Fostering EU-LAC Cooperation: Cultural Policies and the Role of (Artistic) Diasporas in Building Resilient, Inclusive, and Democratic Societies,” took place at the end of 2024 at the KVS Theatre in Brussels.

The experts tackled key topics like the role of artistic diaspora, also involved in the audio-video sector, in host societies and their contributions to developing inclusive and resilient communities. They discussed the conditions necessary to empower migrant communities, the ways in which artistic expression, including audio-visual, can challenge stereotypes and foster mutual understanding. They also focussed on the role of cultural policies in safeguarding migrants’ rights.

With a diverse audience and a focus on co-creation, the event concluded with an open mic session, where participants reflected on their contributions to host communities and shared recommendations for designing effective cooperation policies.

This gathering, which blended dialogue, art, and civic engagement, highlighted the importance of diaspora as agents of cultural and social change in a globalised world.

Background

This initiative is linked to the values and objectives of the initiative EU-LAC Cinema: promoting audio-visual cooperation on youth, gender and diversity. It is part of the EU-CELAC Bi-regional Roadmap 2023-2025, presented last year at the Summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Brussels. This roadmap is an important milestone ahead of the forthcoming EU-CELAC 2025 Summit in Colombia.