A/HRC/17/38/Add.1 access to libraries, theatres, cultural centres and museums. These provide a solid basis for further strengthening cultural rights, using the experience of innovative initiatives and the expertise of existing resources in public institutions. In moving forward, it is important to remember that ensuring cultural rights requires that individuals and communities be empowered to create culture as a continuously evolving way of life that is valorized on an equal footing by all. This includes enabling communities to build their self-esteem, to be respected for their values and practices, and to be able to preserve the elements of their culture that they desire to keep, while participating in contemporary Brazilian society. It is equally important to ensure that individuals, groups and communities benefit fully from the cultural expressions they contribute to create. This aspect of promoting and protecting cultural rights requires special attention on the part of the State, as many individuals and communities still do not feel they are fully appreciated as equal participants in national life. Despite progress made, in the independent expert's view, a number of challenges remain, and accordingly she wishes to make the following recommendations: 91. The Government of Brazil should consider undertaking comprehensive and State-wide assessments, with the assistance of United Nations agencies, academic institutions, and other stakeholders, as and when deemed pertinent, on: (a) Successful interventions and innovative approaches so as to extract lessons learnt from implementation, such as the Territories of Identity programme in the states of Bahia and São Paulo that takes into consideration socio-cultural and economic variations in planning, programming and budgeting; (b) The progress made on access to culture in Brazil, the implementation of goals established for the culture sector, and the remedial measures available so as to establish baselines, and indicators of achievement to facilitate the monitoring of the implementation of the objectives of the National Plan on Culture, which should be specific, measurable, realistic and time-bound; (c) The impact, lessons learnt, good practices and major challenges related to the implementation of Law 10.639 of 2003, which introduces the compulsory study of general history of Africa and the history of the people of African descent in Brazil, in close consultation with the communities concerned, SEPPIR and the Palmares Foundation, with a view to addressing all factors that stand in the way of its effective implementation; (d) The impact, lessons learnt, good practices and major challenges, including those that may stem from state and municipal laws and regulations, related to the implementation of the Statute on Racial Equality (Law 12.288 of 2010) and the work undertaken by the National System for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SINAPIR), with a view to enhancing the mandate of SEPPIR and provide it with the human, financial and material resources necessary to carry out its mandated activities, and strengthen its goal to achieve racial equality in Brazil and contributing thereby to the full respect for cultural diversity and the enjoyment of cultural rights. 92. The independent expert encourages Brazil to: (a) Ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; (b) Continue adopting all necessary steps to address the concerns highlighted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2009 (E/C.12/BRA/CO/2, paragraphs 26 and 33), particularly by ensuring the wider availability of cultural resources and assets, especially in smaller cities and regions, and ensuring, in this regard, a special provision through subsidies and other forms of 21