On May 1, 2014, the Secretariat of State of Arts and Cultura and the Ministry of Tourism will inaugurate, in Lospalos, at 4:00pm the Lospalos Cultural Centre.

The cultural program will start at 9:00 am and will consist of a crafts fair, exhibitions, traditional music and dance.

This project, funded by the Government of Timor-Leste, is the first of a set of District Cultural Centres that the Secretariat of State of Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Tourism intend to develop over the coming years in each of the 13 districts of the country.

Over the past few years, the Secretariat of State of Arts and Culture has worked with the NGO Many Hands International, local authorities and the community of Lospalos, in order to create an infrastructure that will support the study, development and promotion of the arts and culture in the district of Lautém.

The architectural project to adapt the Old Portuguese municipal market to a Cultural Centre was offered by the NGO Many Hands International, with which the Secretariat of State of s and Culture will sign, on the opening day of the Centre, a Memorandum of Understanding.

This institution, which has been supporting the Government with budget, materials and training of staff and the youth in the district of Lautém, has also done research on different aspects of the local culture as well as organised training programs and other cultural activities.

The answering directly to the State Department of Arts and Culture, Cultural Center of Los Palos will contribute to the decentralization of access to culture, making this actually reaches the sub districts, juices and villages in the district of Lautém. Apart from constituting itself as a privileged space for cultural performances, the Cultural Center of Los Palos also has rooms for holding exhibitions, trainings and other nature activities culture. Coming soon will also be provided with a library space and Internet access, a small recording studio and a cafe / restaurant.

The Lospalos Cultural Centre, under direct supervision of the Secretariat of State of Arts and Culture, will contribute to the decentralization of the access to culture, allowing it to reach the sub districts, sukos and villages in the district of Lautém. Apart from constituting itself as a privileged space for cultural performances, the Lospalos Cultural Centre also has rooms for holding exhibitions, training programs and other activities of acultural nature. Soon, it will also be provided with a library space and Internet access, a small recording studio and a cafe / restaurant.
The District Cultural Centres are part of the Government’s National Cultural Policy, which aim at becoming spaces connecting the Government, communities and national and foreign non-governmentalgroupsandorganizations linked to culture.

It is expected that gradually the Lospalos Cultural Centre becomes a focal point of cultural creation and dissemination at regional level, allowing the organisation of cultural events between different regions, districts and subdistricts, thus contributing to the overall goal of building a national identity for Timor-Leste and helping to foster a spirit of peace and tolerance among people of different cultures.