Among most of the influencersand communication experts who visited the country for the Second International Patria Colloquium, there is – according to the president of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), Ricardo Ronquillo Bello – the perception that without the Island it will be impossible to put together a continental articulation in terms of progressive communication.
For this reason, the agreements that emerged from that Latin Americanist meeting held on March 13 and 14 at the Casa de las Américas outlined a route that now includes, among other projects, the creation of a popular university for political and communication training, as well as as the conjunction of sovereign platforms for content distribution.
That Ronquillo Bello alluded to the colloquium this Wednesday, March 22, from the beginning of the meeting with the provincial presidents and branches of the organization, was not fortuitous, given “the significance of the meeting for what is being built among the Latin American left.”
In addition to the agreements drawn up, the Patria concluded with an unprecedented act on the steps of the University of Havana, which showed, with the use of the technique of video mappinghow much it is possible to do to link art and politics.
The event, in which about 60 international specialists from 14 countries and more than 120 Cubans participated, was held within the Conference for Press Day, extended to all the country’s provinces, and which recalled, on March 14, the 131st anniversary of the founding of the newspaper Patria, created by José Martí, in 1892.
Likewise, Juan Carlos Ramírez Heras, head of the UPEC Organization department, specified some details about the activities prior to the XI Congress in July of this year.
With the celebration of the assembly on the Isla de la Juventud next week, he said, the assembly process at the provincial and branch level concludes, from which nine new presidents of the organization have been elected, while the rest have been ratified.
Currently, according to Ramírez Heras, the national candidacy commission, approved in the IX Plenary of UPEC, is working on the selection of 40 colleagues out of a total of 268 proposals presented in the country, who in May will be voted on to integrate the National Committee, through a rigorous and ethical process, according to Ronquillo Bello.
As part of the planned plan for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of UPEC, Juan Carlos Ramírez reported on the holding of a special gala by the National Ballet of Cuba, a tribute to the founders of the guild, the inauguration of the exhibition 60 moments with Fidel which includes a catalog and an audiovisual about the journalist Fidel, a book of interviews to the National Journalism Awards and the delivery of a commemorative coin “to those who have more than 50 years of an outstanding career in the sector.”
Subsequently, Ronquillo Bello alerted his representatives in each province and in the branch delegations, about the importance of following the evolution of the progress of the projects presented by the media that are part of the experiment to transform the press.
This is one of the essential tasks, because – he stressed – the general conformation of the press system in the country depends on its success.
In the end, the president of UPEC referred to the elections for deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power, on March 26, which – he stated – are taking place in the midst of a complex national context and in the face of a radically different society. that “is bombarded by demobilizing and hate speech.”
Hence – he concluded – it is even more important to accompany the process from our organization and explain the political meaning of what we will experience.