| Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata | |
|---|---|
| 8th Minister of Culture of Colombia | |
| In office 1 June 2007 – 7 August 2010 |
|
| President | Álvaro Uribe Vélez |
| Deputy | Enzo Ariza Ayala |
| Preceded by | María Elvira Cuervo |
| Succeeded by | Mariana Garcés Córdoba |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 November 1978 Bogotá, D.C., Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Alma mater | Autonomous University of Colombia (BSc) University of Cambridge (MPhil) |
| Profession | Industrial Engineer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata (born 11 November 1978)[1] is a Colombian engineer and professor. She served as the 8th Minister of Culture of Colombia, and was the third person to hold that office in the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Moreno was the first Afro-Colombian woman, as well as the youngest person to ever hold a cabinet-level ministry in Colombia. She is currently a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2]
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Moreno studied at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura from 1996 to 1998, graduating with a degree in Italian Language and Culture, and simultaneously attending the Autonomous University of Colombia where she graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering.[3] In 2003 she attended the University of Cambridge thanks to an awarded COLFUTURO Fellowship,[4] where she obtained her Master of Philosophy in Management Studies in 2004.[3]
Moreno had been working in the academic and development fields before being appointed as Minister of Culture. She was national coordinator, project manager and consultant of several development agencies, such as Panamerican Development Foundation (PADF), Chemonics, Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO), as well of community organizations and the Ministry of Interior in Colombia. At the same time, she was researcher at the Center of Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge, Assistant Professor in the Engineering Department at the Autonomous University and a Consultant for the Management Studies Department at the University of the Andes.
She was designated on 10 May 2007 as the new Minister of Culture of Colombia by President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. President Uribe was quick to point out Moreno's qualifications, albeit limited, to back up his choice, and on 1 June 2007 Uribe swore in Moreno as the 8th Minister of Culture in a ceremony that took place at the Office of the Presidency of Colombia becoming the first Afro-Colombian woman to ever hold a cabinet as well as the youngest person to do so, and just the fourth person of Afro-Colombian descent in the history of Colombia
During her time in office, her most important and visible work centered around the legislative agenda, three new laws were approved by congress for the heritage, national system of libraries and the protection of native languages. Additionally, the advancement in national cultural policies by two new state policies for historical centers, and cultural industries and the first compendium of cultural policies. She started new national plans, such as the National Plan for Dance and the National Audiovisual Plan, more than 20 new plans and programs were created in this period.
One of the most visible and recognized work that Moreno lead was around the international agenda for Colombia. The country had major spots at international events such the Guadalajara bookfare and film festivals, the Conference for the Afrodescendant Agenda for the Americas in 2008 and the Iberoamerican Congress for Culture in 2010. At the national level, she led the bicentennial anniversary of the Independence of Colombia that took place in 2010. In addition, for three years the Ministry of Culture organized the National Grand Concert, a massive live concert that took place in 1102 municipalities of Colombia and 44 embassies around the world, and broadcast in national television with an audience of more than 10 million Colombians, with the participation of more than a 200,000 artists performing in different stages across the country, and included artist such as Carlos Vives, Juanes and Shakira, as well as folkloric dance and music groups that represented all of the variations of music and dances of Colombia.[5]
Paula Moreno is currently the President of Visible Hands Foundation and advisor of international agencies and foundations such as ACDI VOCA, Open Society Foundations and UNESCO.
For her service to the Government of Colombia and the nation as Minister of Culture, Moreno was awarded the Order of Saint Charles in 2010 by President Uribe,[6] and in 2011 she was awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle by President of Mexico Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa for her contribution to the improvement of Colombia – Mexico relations during her term as Minister of Culture.[7] In addition, she also received the Unita Blackwell Award 2009 given by the Women's Committee of the National Conference of Black Mayors of the United States for her contribution to the cultural development of Afro-Colombian communities.[8]
She was born in Bogotá, D.C. on 11 November 1978 to Armando Moreno, a retired civil servant of the Bogotá Aqueducts, and María Zényde Zapata, a lawyer, both originally from the Department of Cauca.[1][9]
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