Brasília, 8/21/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Last night minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, opened a State Secretaries of Culture Forum in Foz de Iguaçu, Paraná. In his speech, Gil pointed out that at the monent Europe is going through a process that Brazil has been going through since the 16th century: racial mixing and cultural syncretism.

Gil said his ministry faces three central challenges: fulfilling its constitutional role as formulator and executor of Brazilian cultural policy; promoting administrative reform and institutional training in order to carry out that role; and obtaining financial resources necessary to do the job. (AB)