Based in Guatemala City (Guatemala), a city of over 1 million people and the site of mass rural to urban migration in recent decades, the Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales e Investigaciones para la Paz (IRIPAZ) has worked to promote Guatemala’s cultural diversity through audiovisual media. With the support of UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), IRIPAZ launched the ‘Intercultural social communication through audiovisual creation’ project.

During the first phase of the project, students, many from indigenous communities, learned how to operate digital cameras, studied graphic design programmes such as Photoshop and Illustrator, explored video editing through Final Cut Pro and After Effects, and mastered digital music production with Logic Pro. Now in its second phase, the ICREA Lab project (as it is now known) is educating students in cultural entrepreneurship skills – such as crowdfunding strategies – geared towards the audiovisual industry. As a result of the project, more than 100 young people have received training in cultural entrepreneurship, with many going on to found their own audiovisual production companies. Furthermore, thanks to a partnership with the University of San Carlos in Guatemala City, a professional certification programme has now been established for young cultural managers. By creating new opportunities for young, indigenous cultural entrepreneurs, the ICREA Lab project is greatly contributing to economic development and social cohesion in Guatemala City and beyond.

Prepared by UNESCO