<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage of Chile, Carolina Arredondo, signed an agreement this Friday establishing a framework for collaboration for the next five years on the subject of Culture and Memory.</strong></h4> The minister traveled to Chile to participate in the IX Ibero-American Congress on Culture, which is being held in parallel with the Cultural and Creative Industries Market meeting, MIC Chile 2025, where Spain is the Guest of Honor. "This trip opens a new stage of cultural cooperation with the Andean country, which focuses on democratic memory, cultural rights, ecological transition, and diversity," the Ministry stated in a press release. During the visit, Urtasun and Arredondo signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Memory and Culture "with the aim of strengthening ties between Spain and Chile and building a common agenda based on memory, human rights, and the transformative value of culture." This agreement, signed at the Pereira Palace in Santiago, Chile, establishes a framework for collaboration for the next five years and reinforces "a shared history marked by exile, solidarity, and the defense of democratic values," the Ministry continues. This agreement, according to Urtasun, is "an act of democratic responsibility, a political, cultural, and ethical commitment to our shared history, and a tribute to the memory of those who, in Chile and Spain, defended freedom, justice, and dignity." The document focuses on cooperation between archives and museums in both countries, especially those that preserve collections related to repression, social movements, and human rights struggles. Among the main objectives of the agreement are the exchange of digital copies of documents relevant to the history of repression and democratic resistance in both countries. Furthermore, joint research and dissemination projects on historical memory will be promoted, and cultural and training activities, such as exhibitions, seminars, talks, and residencies, will be promoted. "The Ministry of Culture thus reaffirms its commitment to cultural action abroad based on cooperation, respect, and the active defense of democratic values," the statement concludes.
