Artists, cultural professionals, and members of civil society shared their migratory experiences and discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with integration into their host societies during an event organised by the EU-LAC Foundation as part of the “Próximamente Festival.”
The event, “Fostering EU-LAC Cooperation: Cultural Policies and the Role of (Artistic) Diasporas in Building Resilient, Inclusive, and Democratic Societies,” took place on 22 November at the KVS Theatre in Brussels.
To initiate the exchange, artists and cultural managers Leonor Courotisie (Uruguay/France), Junio Akwety (Congo/Belgium), Lucila Guichon (Argentina/Germany), and Reinaldo Ribeiro (Brazil/Spain) shared moments when they had felt like “a stranger,” “at home,” or “lost in translation” within their host communities.
The event’s main panel discussion was moderated by Geoliane Arab, an international advisor at the Office National de Diffusion Artistique in Paris, and featured a diverse group of experts. The panellists included Joaquín Pereira, economist and cultural manager from the National Dance Council of Uruguay; Nathalie Huerta, director of the Joliet Theatre in Marseille; Julián Ramírez García, director of the Unamos Culturas Foundation in Poland; Emy Díaz Erazo, researcher and professor at the Technical University of Loja in Ecuador; Nadia Lie, president of the Regional Committee for Latin America at KU Leuven in Belgium; and César Díaz, filmmaker and co-director of the KinoLatino Festival.
The experts tackled key topics on the role of artistic diasporas 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 can challenge stereotypes and foster mutual understanding, and 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 diasporas as agents of cultural and social change in a globalised world.
For more information about the Próximamente Festival, visit this link.
