For Mónica Ramírez Hartmann, director of Colombia Crea Talento, cultural expressions are essential elements for society, therefore, the need to promote strategies that favor entrepreneurship focused on the creative economy.
With what strategies has the development of the arts, heritage and cultural and creative industries been promoted in Colombia?
Since the Constitution of 1991 and the Law of Culture of 1997, several public policy instruments have been developed aimed at promoting culture, protecting cultural heritage and providing citizen access to cultural goods and services, not only giving continuity to policies of each government, but building on the advances of the previous ones.
An example of this is the creation of Colombia Crea Talento (Cocrea), contemplated in the current Development Plan, where there is a clear and evident prioritization of these sectors. Not only have higher and higher budgets been allocated and other ministries have been involved in a transversal way, but mechanisms such as the one provided by Decree 697 have been structured, so that large and small taxpayers can contribute and participate in the development of these industries, obtaining large tax benefits in return.
The central task of the entity is to implement Decree 697 of 2020. What have been the toughest challenges?
Cocrea began operating on July 1 of this year and the challenges have been many. The first was to put an organization into operation in the midst of a pandemic (build a team, structure and processes), and only have half a year to meet goals that had been set for a full year of operation.
Another important challenge has been to publicize a very new mechanism (the decree was approved at the end of May, at the height of the quarantine peak), which has very important benefits for all those involved, but which has technical components, legal, tax and operational that have required us to have many spaces for dissemination, workshops, specialized presentations by sector and generate alliances to publicize their impact and how they can serve everyone. This is one of the most generous and flexible tax benefits that exist in Colombia today, and still many companies do not know about it or know that they could use it to improve their financial planning and reduce their tax payments.
Curiously, although virtuality represents some challenges, I think there have been many more opportunities it has given us to reach all parts of the country and to be able to connect with people in regions that we could hardly have reached in person. This is something we want to keep in the future.
Within this task there was an investment quota of $ 300,000 million and a reduction of 165% in the income statement for those who invest or donate in orange economy projects. How many projects have you had for each investment?
Follow the news of El Espectador on Google NewsWe are still in the implementation stage with the open call and, therefore, we cannot yet measure the final results. The call opened on September 4 and closes on December 4, and for some time after the closing, we will surely continue in the evaluation stage of the projects that have been able to apply before the closing.
The fiscal quota approved by the Government for the implementation of this mechanism is not a budget of Cocrea, but the amount for which the Investment or Donation Certificates can be issued that a contributor receives for investing or donating in cultural or creative projects that have been endorsed by the call.
To date, we have 145 projects created in Cocrea (at some stage of the application process) for a total value of $ 109. 729 million. This does not mean that all these projects will be executed, since they must first complete their application process, then go on to evaluation and, later, those who obtain the endorsement will be able to receive resources from contributors.
Let’s talk about cultural entrepreneurship. How has this issue evolved in Colombia?
An enormous transformation is taking place that begins with the increase in entrepreneurs who see in culture and creativity not only an opportunity for expression, but also a way to create value with an unlimited resource that is creativity. In a world that increasingly values experiences, enormous opportunities open up to create them, leveraged by creativity and culture.
I dream that more and more entrepreneurs see in creativity and culture an opportunity to create high-impact initiatives that allow more people to live what they are passionate about, while generating well-being, opportunities, employment, development, knowledge, identity and pride. That more people can understand that the sustainability and development of the country go through culture. Without it, Colombia is only land and water.
What is the best way to start a business in the cultural industry?
There is no single way of undertaking, so I would not dare to say that there is a better way than another. All ventures are acts of creating an idea that becomes a product, a service, something that another person consumes and obtains well-being or enjoyment from doing so. In that sense, if we talk about cultural or creative ventures, what I do think is important is the element of local identity, authenticity, the character and stamp of what is Colombian. Our cultural wealth is enormous and very diverse, and I believe that this is the true strength of the enterprises in these sectors in Colombia.
Which industries are Colombians betting the most on in terms of creativity?
In the call, which is not necessarily representative of the country, 46% of the projects that are being applied are in the areas of arts and heritage; 27% from cultural industries and 22% from creative industries. In arts and heritage there are very diverse projects in sectors such as music, theater, circus and dance. In the cultural industries sectors, the greatest activity is in the audiovisual sector.
How do you see the issue of leadership when running an industry like the arts?
I focus more on the task that I have to direct an organization that arrives with the vision of being a relevant actor within the cultural and creative sector, rather than directing an industry that already has important leaderships and that are doing very important tasks from their fronts . I believe that the most important thing now is to structure a very agile, efficient and close organization, which offers the sector useful tools and, above all, easy to apply, which can benefit those who are interested in using them.
I have the privilege of leading a multidisciplinary team of incredibly committed, passionate, talented and knowledgeable people about the dynamics of the cultural, creative, entrepreneurship and business sectors from different perspectives, and I see the leadership role more focused on guiding our efforts to That from this organization, with this team, we are able to serve our interlocutors in the best way and, above all, to generate the necessary connections between them so that everyone wins.
In particular, from Cocrea the most interesting leadership challenge has to do with connection and communication. In how we managed to connect two seemingly distant and incompatible worlds. On how we make both sides of this equation feel that they are included and build credibility in any of those languages. It is not easy for the cultural sector to talk about a call that is tied to the willingness of a contributor to receive a tax benefit, and it is not easy to talk to an entrepreneur from a non-cultural sector about the importance and impact of investing in culture. This mechanism implies changes of mentality from part to part, so for me, leadership in this context is that through what we do, we can achieve more and more examples of co-creation. We can show that in co-responsibility lies the true transformation of our country.
