IDB wants recognition for Caribbean Afro-descendents

President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno (Photo: Chasquionline.com)

WASHINGTON, United States, December 12, 2008 - The President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, called on the international community to increase recognition and support for the Afro-descendent peoples in the Caribbean.

“Cultural expressions of all kinds constitute a necessary and integral condition for the economic and social development of the Latin American and Caribbean populations,” he said. “Promoting inclusive cultural policies will allow us to establish the necessary bridges to incorporate Afro-descendents into the region’s development goals.”

Mr Moreno was speaking during a forum on culture and development to advance equality and racial inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean held at the IDB this week, on the 60th anniversary of the United Nation’s adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The forum focused on culture as a means to achieve social and economic inclusion of people of African descent in Latina America and the Caribbean.

Discussions centered on the role of governments, civil society and mass communications as agents of change to find common ground on best practices in the promotion of cultural diversity and racial equality and to enhance future initiatives for inclusion in the region.