End of Commitment Report – Map of cultural spaces of Montevideo

Name of Evaluator

Juan José Prada

Email

[email protected]

Member Name

Montevideo, Uruguay

Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title

Action plan – Montevideo, Uruguay, 2023 – 2025

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Map of cultural spaces of Montevideo

Title

Map of cultural spaces of Montevideo

Action

Carry out a mapping of cultural spaces in the city of Montevideo.

Problem

There is no single record of information about the rooms, premises or spaces where cultural activities are carried out.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

complete

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

This commitment identified three milestones: 1) Surveying cultural spaces; 2) Presenting the first version of the interactive map; 3) Creating an application form for artists to present their work in these cultural spaces. All three were completed. For goal 3, a registration and management mechanism for cultural spaces already existed (the Corners of Culture program), which encompasses venues such as centers, halls, community rooms, clubs, and committees managed by an established and organized group of people, where cultural activities are held for the neighborhood community and its surrounding area. These are spaces for community gathering and participation. So, while a web-based form wasn’t developed, these venues allow local artists to register and offer their talent, a task they currently carry out through local registries and in and in agreement with the program’s organizers.

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

There were no major problems implementing this commitment. There was strong involvement from the areas of the Department of Culture of the Municipality associated with cultural spaces.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

This commitment identified three milestones: 1) Survey of cultural spaces; 2) Presentation of the first version of the interactive map; 3) Application form for readings of their works in these cultural spaces. 1) This milestone allowed for a comprehensive view of the existing cultural offerings in Montevideo, laying the groundwork for future actions that encourage their use by citizens. 2) The map is available on the Montevideo Observatory website via the following link. 3) Regarding this milestone, it should be noted that Montevideo already had a mechanism for promoting and registering neighborhood cultural activities through the Corners of Culture program, which has implemented a protocol that allows residents to apply to showcase their talents (singing, poetry, etc.) A web form was not developed, as these spaces allow for registration, so that neighborhood artists can offer their talent through local registrations and in agreement with the program organizers.

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Substantial

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

Having a single, centralized, and easily accessible source of information about public cultural spaces makes it easier to promote and register neighborhood cultural activities, fostering spaces for community gatherings and participation. The involvement of the various departments was key to this initiative’s success and led to greater visibility for the entire community.

Evidence:
Map of cultural spaces in Montevideo, and other indicators resulting from these decentralized cultural policies of the municipality, such as Montevideo cultural data.

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Not Applicable

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Not Applicable

2.1.4 Other Results

Unclear

Degree of result:

Marginal

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

In today’s world, dominated by social media with its vast amount of content whose quality is often questioned, and where AI is booming, prioritizing cultural themes within the city—those that foster a sense of identity and belonging among residents—is vital. While an evaluation of the impact of this map’s publication on citizens was beyond the scope of this project, we believe that, like other cultural publications, it enhances dialogue with the community and strengthens related activities.

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment involved mapping cultural spaces in the city of Montevideo, as the city lacked a comprehensive registry encompassing all existing spaces, whether managed by the Municipality or under the purview of neighborhood associations. The aim was to create a single point of reference for identifying spaces where people could participate, either as listeners or as proponents of new ideas.

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

We believe the greatest strength lies in the involvement of several officials from the Department of Culture who made the survey of the spaces possible because they saw it as an important achievement for cultural promotion in the city. Other departments also collaborated with the team that carried out the project, particularly for map development and data entry.
The key and the future challenge is to ensure the ongoing maintenance of this map and the information it contains.