Dominican Republic calls art and culture essential to civic life

In a fast‑paced, technology‑driven era, a Dominican commentary argues that art, culture and aesthetics are not peripheral but core to human development, shaping sensitivity, critical consciousness and guiding civic behavior.

Citing Plato, Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schiller and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz, the piece stresses that aesthetic experience fosters respect, freedom, solidarity and collective responsibility, and that education in the arts is a means to strengthen national identity and citizenship.