The British Council invites proposals from UK suppliers with a solid experience working with international delegations to design, coordinate and facilitate the programme, methodology and content for the COL-MEX Delegation to the UK that consists of a 5-day visit by 6-8 international delegates focused on top level meetings between government representatives, deep dive and knowledge exchange encounters between peers and engagement with the cultural sector visiting venues and key cultural managers in the UK, with the main aim of forming new, potentially long lasting, institutional or creative relationships and/or market and sector opportunities for those involved.
The project will be delivered from March 2023 to June 2023 (4 months). The programme will be collaboratively shaped by the UK supplier and the British Council in Colombia and Mexico.
About the programme and its background:
‘ODA Delegations’ create important opportunities for cultural connections and are a component of the Connecting Cultural Professionals strand of Culture Connects at the British Council.
In this context a delegation means a curated tour by a small group (6-8) of independents or representatives of organisations and public bodies in Colombia and Mexico to the UK. The programme would include meeting counterparts, seeing art and visiting venues.
Mexico and Colombia have been historical long-lasting friends. Their culture, people, traditions, heritage, and economy have the most similarities of any countries in the region. Currently, both countries share a left-wing government with similar approaches to the notions of culture and a shared agenda that positions indigenous communities and creators as a priority. We believe bringing a joint delegation from Colombia and Mexico to the UK would act as a triple leverage, potentiating relations between Mexico-Colombia, Colombia-UK and Mexico-UK, with this in mind we are certain that we could grow our impact through multi-country global programmes ensuring the relevance of our work at the British Council.
The delegation would be composed of key members of the cultural sector, including members of the newly elected Government of Colombia and its Ministry of Culture, as well as representatives of the Mexican government and mixed not-for-profit entities funded by public and private funds, bridging the public and the private sectors, with a focus on strengthening the creative ecosystems and supporting economic sustainability in the creative industries.
The Opportunity
The selected UK supplier will contribute to coordinate a meaningful visit by this delegation which intends to support policy and cultural exchange between the UK, Colombia and Mexico in key areas of the cultural sector, through a visit of pivotal stakeholders including the recently elected new government in Colombia to form potentially long-lasting links for the next 3-4 years.
We aim to develop new and strategic links between top level government representatives, organisations and cultural leaders from the UK, Colombia, and Mexico to form new, relevant, institutional, and creative relationships to support both governments development plans and fostering new collaborations between the delegates and their UK counterparts.
Our aim is to position the British Council and the UK as key partners for the region especially in the new government´s cultural strategy in Colombia as well as for the Mexican government still in office whilst creating a cluster approach and opening opportunities for UK arts organisations to work in the Americas.
The core objectives of the overall programme include:
- Facilitate very high level - short, trilateral meetings between government representatives that enable new relations between the three governments and a meaningful interaction that fosters the creation of future joint agendas for the cultural sector of the UK, Colombia and Mexico.
- Facilitate knowledge and deep dive meetings for the international delegates. Meetings of at least 1 hour to learn from UK relevant models are expected to take place.
- Delegation Engagement with the UK Cultural sector, getting to know relevant venues and cultural managers. At the end of the visit, the international delegation must get a better understanding of the UK value and potential to contribute towards the Colombian and Mexican public policy and cultural agendas.
- The maximum budget available is £20,000 GBP (VAT included). Proposals must include a pricing approach.
Proposals
To submit a proposal for the opportunity please download and read the instructions included in the RFP pack. The pack includes the core RFP which covers specifications, deliverables and proposal guidance, and additional application annexes.
The deadline for proposals is 2 March 2023. Clarification questions and proposals should be sent to Carolina.Gomez@britishcouncil.org