malaysiang
MELAKA, The 11th Meeting of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (11th AMCA) has successfully delivered as a platform for promoting cultural collaboration and understanding among ASEAN Member States and their Dialogue Partners.
Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Datuk Sri Tiong King Sing said the initiatives discussed during the meetings, including the 20th Senior Officials Meeting on Culture and Arts (20th SOMCA) and Related Meetings with Dialogue Partners held from Oct 22 in Melaka underscored the importance of cultural heritage in fostering unity and cooperation in the region.
‘This theme covers four main ideas which celebrate cultural diversity as a unifying factor in this region, empower youth to promote appreciation and ownership of ASEAN identity and cultural heritage, create value for cultural assets in the creative economy and accelerate digitalisation in preserving and sustaining culture and arts.
‘It hinges on three priority areas namely Youth, Creative Economy and Digitalisation
,’ he said in a statement here today.
In line with the priority area on Creative Economy, Tiong said Malaysia will spearhead two key deliverables which are the Development of the ASEAN Creative Economy Sustainability Framework and the Symposium on ASEAN Creative Economy, scheduled to be held early next year.
‘MOTAC, together with the Malaysian Youth Council, successfully organised the ASEAN Youth and Heritage Forum as a side event and there are over 200 international and local youth participants.
‘The ASEAN Festival of Arts (AFA) also will be held on the evening of Oct 24 where this festival showcases the diverse cultural and artistic traditions of ASEAN Member States, providing a platform for cultural exchange and understanding, moreover performers from the Plus Three and Timor Leste were invited to participate for the first time,’ he said.
Tiong said that throughout the two years as Chairman of AMCA, Malaysia will be home to various cultural programmes and activities to invigorate the region’s cultural
landscape.
For that, he said Melaka has been chosen as the ASEAN City of Culture 2024-2026 with three main initiatives which were to deepen a shared ASEAN identity, encourage the preservation and conservation of ASEAN’s cultural heritage and showcase the histories, cultures, arts and traditions of the region.
Among the exciting programmes lineup are the Melaka River Festival, the International Culture and Arts Festival, the Melaka Handicraft Festival as well as the Melaka Heritage Food Festival.
‘The hosting of AMCA meetings in Melaka is also significant as the state holds its Visit Melaka Year 2024 campaign. For that, the collaboration between the state and federal governments will further boost Melaka as a dynamic cultural tourism destination,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
