As part of the process of drawing up the Action Plan for Culture, the Municipality of Famalicão promoted the 1st Cultura.30 Forum last Saturday, 31 January, a participatory working session that brought together around 100 cultural agents from the municipality, representatives of partner entities, and employees from various municipal services.
During the initiative, which took place at the Casa das Artes de Famalicão, an overview of cultural policies in Portugal and Europe was presented, along with a summary of the diagnosis and priority challenges facing those involved in cultural activities in the municipality. The guest speaker, cultural programmer and producer Luís Sousa Ferreira, highlighted the importance of placing culture at the centre of collective life and public policy as a transformative factor in the region, emphasising culture as a fundamental factor for democracy through participation, critical thinking, and pluralistic access to cultural creation and enjoyment.
The cultural agents present participated in-group dynamics, collaborating in the development of ideas and proposals for the main cultural and artistic challenges in the territory, transforming ideas into suggestions for key actions that will be integrated into the future Action Plan for Culture.
At the end of the meeting, the Municipal Councillor for Culture, Susana Pereira, reinforced ‘the Municipality's commitment to building a useful and feasible plan, anchored in listening and participation, ensuring continuity in the work that has been started, in a spirit of shared responsibility with cultural agents and the community’. The councillor also emphasised ‘the structuring role of culture in public policies and in the development of the municipality’, highlighting ‘the importance of transforming the diagnosis and contributions gathered into concrete measures, with clear priorities and effective impact in Vila Nova de Famalicão’.
