Alvarez addresses UNESCO

Last Oct. 16, Cecile Guidote Alvarez, Director UNESCO Dream Center/Artists for Peace, President, Phl Center, International Theater Institute, addressed a UNESCO gathering in Paris of Ambassadors of Goodwill, Artists for Peace and Champions for Sports organized by Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s first woman director.

Herewith are excerpts of Cecile’s brilliant speech Towards a Culture of Peace and Sustainable Development: Drawing from Philippine Experience”.

Our collective presence today is a testimony of hope. We are here to manifest a spirit of determination, harnessed as a creative army under the banner of UNESCO, to confront the terrible and terrifying ills that afflict our world. We are here to demonstrate our willingness and capacity to help persuade the world that we can win the war against poverty and pollution, against drugs and despair, against crime and corruption, against terrorism and tyranny, against ignorance and injustice. Not by compulsion BUT BY PERSUASION, not by force BUT BY ART.        

Instead of spending billions on arms and war technology that destroy life, we must learn to mobilize our resources to affirm the dignity of human life — to respect our diverse cultural traditions, to promote international understanding, and to unite people and nations against global warming.

Theatre, as a meeting ground of all the arts, can be a powerful engine for development. Art can be a dynamic force for learning. And artists can be formidable facilitators of social change. From their songs, poetry, and stage narratives, we learn of the tragedy, apathy and greed of ancient civilizations  but also their virtues, sacrifices, and heroic struggles. Above all, we are beneficiaries of their capacities for caring and sharing, for compassion.

Culture is an essential ingredient for development. Development plans are retarded or accelerated, depending on the creative and dynamic integration of culture in development planning and processes.

We must democratize the right to culture, that is, promote a decent regard for all cultures. Cultural care-giving services must be accessible to the oppressed, those with disabilities, those suffering from trauma, victims of war and disaster, the abandoned, the street kids, the out-of-school youth, the delinquent, the indigenous groups that feel helpless, excluded or desperate. The right to culture must be a vehicle to discover the goldmine of their abilities and confidence to transform the social realities so they may live dignified lives.

Free arts training in all disciplines and participation in multi-media presentations that draw meaning and power from the lives and language of our people can fire their imagination, stimulate innovation, and galvanize the will to overcome difficulties. Free arts training opportunities help develop artistic skills of expression to help people pursue their dreams for a more just and peaceful world. Just like our endangered species, equally threatened are our indigenous communities. We must preserve bio-cultural diversity for the continuation of a meaningful life on earth.

Besides expanding employment opportunities through the Arts for our transformed and recycled handicapables — by this I mean young men and women who are physically handicapped but perform very capably — we have also encouraged the creative industries of our indigenous peoples so they can be mainstreamed through the curriculum, the media and through venues for partnerships with business, civic and religious groups that can help them with micro-lending, cooperative development and marketing.

Peace has been elusive in my country. Recently, however, the first giant step towards peace was taken. President Benigno Aquino III, son of the martyr Ninoy Aquino, signed a framework agreement with the Muslims, meant to address the age-old problem of poverty through an economic strategy utilizing culture as a creative weapon for people empowerment and to diminish the culture of corruption that undermines the goals of good governance.

There is a rising clarion call to give peace a chance. A theatrical concert by artists in areas of conflict can conscientize and fertilize the ground for diplomacy and dialogue. In the demilitarized zone of Korea, Artists for Peace are planning a performance with artists from North and South Korea. In the Spratly Islands, a contested area located in the West Philippine Sea, artists from countries with contending claims can be a powerful influence to prevent further armed conflict.

Where politics almost certainly divides, the Arts can most certainly unite. Arts and artists have the sensitivity to heal, bond and cement nations and peoples together. Theatre recharges memory. Without memory, we will never learn from the mistakes of the past. Without memory, we would not know where to draw our strength as a springboard to reach our goals and realize our dreams of sustainable development.

Through cultural symbols and expressions, people can begin to empathize and understand the complex issues of their daily existence, be motivated to respond and be passionate in solving their problems. A painting, a poem, a song, a play, a dance, or a film that inspires CAN BRING THE MESSAGE ACROSS. Stories of love, heroism, courage, and commitment can dry the tears of children, bring hope to orphans and widows, and diminish the violence against mankind and Mother Earth.

Together, as a rainbow network of UNESCO marching under the leadership of Director General Bokova, we can triumph over poverty and the ills that plague the world.

Cecile’s discourse made a considerable impact. UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Nasser Khalili was so moved by it that he pledged to have three disabled artists join the UN Youth Forum. Ambassador to France Cristina Ortega told Cecile: “Your intervention proves to be true in real life: art and culture are more effective than arms and war for international unity and understanding. Your intervention has presented a possible effective solution to the north-south Korean Peninsula problem as well as the West Phl solution. DFA Secretary A. Del Rosario sent Cecile a note verbale. ITI Director General Tobias Biancone told her: “Everybody was in favor of what you said.”