Cultural Management Center for Community Work, Popular and Traditional Culture, and Local Development of the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood. Villanueva building.

The Cultural Management Center for Development is conceived from the idea of ​​creating an office capable of establishing strategies to train citizens as the main person responsible for social change, based on the experiences of the Conservator’s Offices and the Integral Transformation Workshops of the Neighborhood

A multifunctional community site with empowerment capabilities that responds from the AfroAtenAs conception to:

• Promote the participation of the population in the physical and social transformation of the community, thereby supporting the base government, institutions and the population. Thus establishing a strategic planning for community and local development of the Pueblo Nuevo People’s Council.

Space that was physically achieved thanks to the monetary contribution of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC.

From his actions that respond to the General Objective of AfroAtenAs, he conceives Lines of Work that are aimed at:

• Culture and tradition. (Popular and Traditional Culture)
• Community development.
• Local development.
• Capacity Building.
• Environment.
• Heritage
• Health
• Strategic Planning of the Popular Council.

It aims to ensure:

• Democracy from public consultation.
• The integrity of the neighborhood.
• Urban and social transformations from the need of the community.
• Maintenance of local identity.
• Historical continuity.
• Sustainable development strategies.
• Short and long-term projections to solve the main social problems.
• Cultural spaces for recreation and leisure.
• Face to face communication with the population.
• The sense of belonging.
• Work with social groups.
• Training of the population.
• Collective creativity.
• Institutional and citizen integration.
• Articulation of community projects.
• Attention to vulnerable groups and social problems.
• Development of the local economy.
• The transformation of the Popular Council into an EcoBarrio.

It has Phases and Elements of Strategic Community Planning such as:

• Participation Development: Communication, motivation and integration.
• Preparation of the Planning: Determination of the scope, method and techniques to be used, responsibilities, estimation of time and resources, availability of information.
• Analysis of the Current Situation: Characterization of the neighborhood, categorization and matrix D.A.F.O.
• Perspective: Mission, Vision, Objectives and Goals and proposed actions.
• Implementation of the Action Plan: Tasks, managers and participants, execution time, start and end dates, financial, material and human resources, indicators of success.
• Monitoring and evaluation.
• Approval by the Popular Council and the Municipal Administration Council.

It uses Techniques for the elaboration of the Strategic Community Planning like:

• Participation and facilitation techniques.
• Ideas Workshops.
• Surveys.
• Individual and group interviews.
• Drawing and composition contests for children.
• Participant observation.
• Problem Tree.
• SWOT matrix.

This Management Center after several years of work and tangible results in capacity building and neighborhood transformation, is not yet seen by the Local Government as an opportunity for development of the neighborhood because they do not yet conceive comprehensive development processes, however , the space exists and constantly works on multiple work objectives that put participation in research as the fundamental element of the transformation aimed at building a more caring, equitable and just society.