Minister for National Heritage, Arts, and Local Government Owen Bonnici highlighted the importance of cultural rights during the MED9 meeting, a coalition of nine Mediterranean and Southern EU states. He noted the growing pressures on cultural rights globally, including attempts to narrowly define culture and issues like conflicts, climate change, and pandemics, which impact the cultural sector.
Malta is working to advance cultural justice through a new project aimed at empowering people to engage with cultural issues critically while ensuring respect for others’ rights and freedoms. The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to these challenges due to social currents driven by globalization and population movements.
To address these issues, Malta introduced the National Cultural Policy in 2021, which focuses on eight areas to promote cultural access. The policy seeks to foster social inclusion by creating community cultural spaces, enabling diverse communities to come together regardless of age, abilities, or background.
Minister Bonnici emphasized that MED9 serves as a crucial forum for reflection and transformative change, tackling both the challenges and opportunities facing cultural rights. He stressed that EU member states are well-positioned to address cultural rights issues given their understanding of societal impacts.
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