MISSION

At Instar we work with “ordinary Cubans,” from housewives to professionals, from activists to students. We strive to serve a broad swath of Cuban society, with people from different political spectrums and education levels. We want to accompany them in their day-to-day construction of democracy in Cuba, in demanding their rights, and in the struggle for social justice in their educational and work spaces—contributing to the transformation from spectators to active citizens. This is a unique moment to think about the concept of nation, and to imagine a new country. Since ideas are still in the gestation process, there is room for all of us to participate. Art enables us to transform the ethical vision and propitiate the encounter with an unexpected order, a new order. A starting point to envision the future.

Creating bridges of trust where there is no fear of the other. Creating a peaceful and responsible response where there is violence. Creating a place where people with different political convictions can come together to build a better country.


Structurally, the Institute has three main areas:

1. Wish Tank: a space where any Cuban can express their opinions and share their desires for the country they live in, in complete liberty and with respect for others’ opinions.

2. Think Tank: A space for rethinking collective desires through the study of proposals and policy capable of bringing them into existence. Work in this area will deal with the Cuban context, whether directly or through work done in other contexts that resonates with the current social and political transformations in the country. It includes residencies for everyday Cubans, artists, activists, political scientists, economists, urbanists, etc., that participate in working groups centered on the issues selected as part of the process carried out in the Wish Tank.

3. Do Tank: The working groups’ proposals and the knowledge generated in the Think Tank will be put to the test with actions in the public space. The goal is to develop a common language with creative tools for individual and collective expression in the public sphere that encourages freedom of expression and social responsibility.

In the 1960s, Cuba had a literacy campaign that made it possible for almost all Cubans to learn to read and write. Today, we need a civic literacy campaign, so that through it everyone knows their rights as citizens and learns to defend them. The Institute will work to expand civic literacy beyond our members and our work nucleus.