The first Regional Crafts Forum was held at the Boquerón governor’s office, with more than 100 artisans from the departments of Boquerón, Alto Paraguay, and Presidente Hayes in the Paraguayan Chaco region.
The National Handicraft Policy is the roadmap that state institutions will follow between 2023 and 2030 to make handicrafts a central element of Paraguay’s sustainable development, promoting the participation of all sectors, especially artisan organisations, reports the Paraguayan Artisans Institute (IPA).
Representatives from various state institutions that are key members of the inter-institutional working group for the National Craft Policy (PNA) and the private sector participated in the Regional Crafts Forum.
This meeting addressed key topics such as a review of the PNA’s progress; a compilation of local needs; the services the IPA provides to the sector; the work being carried out with the PNA’s Interinstitutional Roundtable; the schedule of upcoming actions, among other important discussions for the sector.
Paraguay’s crafts are diverse and are produced by rural and urban communities, as well as by the 19 indigenous communities in multiple municipalities and across all of the country’s departments.
By Presidential Decree No. 1,399, Paraguay’s First Handicraft Policy was approved, with the aim of promoting a governance model that articulates public institutions at all three levels of government, as well as the private sector, civil society, particularly artisan organisations, and academia, turning the National Handicraft Policy into an instrument of development.
In a statement, the Paraguayan Artisans Institute said that it “expresses its pride in facilitating these spaces for dialogue, where the voices of artisans are a priority. Through its community initiatives and leadership, it will promote continuous and targeted improvements for the development of handicrafts in our country, offering more opportunities and a better quality of life for each of its communities.”
