Artists, cultural creators and representatives of the creative sector in the Chilean Lakes Region (Region de los Lagos) were offered a diverse array of activities and content. More than 6,200 persons, mainly from Chile, but also from the United States, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil logged into the 40 hours of digital offerings by the ETC, featuring various workshops, mentoring programmes and business meetings. Performances by local artists were also part of the programme. The social networks registered more than 3,500 hits.
The annual meeting of the Creative Cities Network in the music category was also part of the event. The Creative City of Frutillar hosted that meeting. Round Tables with international participants explored subjects of sustainable development and the creative industry, and, in this context, questions of education, tourism, artistic programme planning and corporate development.

Recordings of the event can be accessed for free on the official homepage www.etclosloagos.cl.

The Director General of ETC Los Lagos, Alex Paredes, expressed his pleasure at “having 40 invited speakers, including 12 international experts on the creative industry, such as the British author Charles Landry (‘The Creative City’), Doris Sommer from the USA, responsible at Harvard University for the Cultural Agents Initiative, and Felipe Buitrago, the Deputy Minister for Creativity and Orange Economy of Chile. They all networked virtually with creative entrepreneurs from the Lakes Region and enjoyed an intense exchange of opinions about issues of economy and creative regions.”

On the future of the creative economy, Deputy Minister Felipe Buitrago said: “Cultural consumption is no longer limited to purchasing the object itself, but also about knowing more about its history and motivation, knowing who made it how and whether it was created using a sustainable process. These are questions we are asking ourselves now, and the technology enabling us to make personal contact with artisans and their products is now available.”

Doris Sommer, who contributed interesting considerations on cultural revolution and the role of cultural agents, said that “we are at a turning point in our development, a crisis of humankind in which artists should work with natural scientists, political scientists and administrators in order to save the planet and restore dignity to democratic practice. Both the planet and democracy are fragile, precious resources, and we need to devote holistic attention to them once again.”

During the annual meeting of the music cluster of the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, institutions from various world cities were able to exchange views and experiences, also regarding the current pandemic.
The National Network of Creative Regions was also presented to the public. This encompasses cooperation between the Chilean cities of Arica, Valparaiso, Concepción, Valdivia and Frutillar. The network’s goal is to make culture and the creative sector the central focus of local development, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of Chile.