Quito, December 2 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The director of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) Cultural Center Jose Regato announced that a network of cultural centers in member countries will be created to facilitate decision-making for all Cultural ALBA projects.

Regato told Prensa Latina news agency that the new headquarters would be based in Quito, Ecuador where the initial implementation plans will aim to encourage local artists and intellectuals to promote the initiative. The space will be primarily utilized to promote the national identities of ALBA member countries.

Both Cuba and Venezuela have ALBA cultural house projects, making Ecuador the third member country to take on the initiative. The ALBA Cultural House is part of its larger Culture Fund initiative facilitated by the Venezuelan government that has established more than 64 cultural projects in member countries of the alliance.

The ALBA bloc was integrated in Havana on December 14, 2004 by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban Leader Fidel Castro. It was the forerunner of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).