"KUPANG MESSAGE" ENCOURAGES P2P CONTACT TO STRENGTEN MELANESIAN COLLABORATION by Fardah

 Jakarta, Nov 3, 2015 (Antara)- The first ever Melanesian Cultural Festival held in Indonesia yielded the "Kupang Message" that called for enhanced people-to-people contact to achieve better collaboration among the region's countries hosting Melanesian population.

         The Melanesian Cultural Festival was held in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, from October 27-30, 2015, to celebrate cultural pluralism in countries having Melanesian population. 
   The festival, hosted by Indonesia, was attended by delegates from New Caledonia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands  and Timor Leste.

        Themed "Celebrating the Cultural Diversity of the Melanesian World,"  the event was aimed at promoting cultural commonalities among South Pacific countries to further enhance cooperation in the region.

          "We will build upon the similarities to enhance collaboration among parties in the region," Cultural Director General at the Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry, Kacung Marijan, said while reading out the Kupang Message on October 28, 2015.

        The Kupang Message also stressed the importance of celebrating the diversity and unity of the Melanesian culture.

       Diversity will never hinder cultural collaboration and, in fact, has to be nurtured and developed. It will strengthen commitment and ideas through communication and cultural collaboration, the message noted.

       "The participating countries in the festival have agreed to continuously protect and preserve the Melanesian culture," Kacung Marijan said.

       The cultural collaboration must be implemented, not only by the governments, but more important by the people in the region.

       "The cultural cooperation must involve the communities, or people-to-people interaction. So, the cooperation is required not only among the countries, but also among the communities," Marijan stated.

        Socio-cultural interaction should become the driving force of such people-to-people contacts, that would likely lead to further cooperation in various fields among nations in the region.

    Closer cooperation among Melanesian countries is expected to eventually bring about communal harmony, prosperity, welfare and progress in the South Pacific region, he added.

        The delegates also agreed that similar festivals will be organized in the future in countries having Melanesian population.

        The first festival was organized following the acceptance of Indonesia as an associate member of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) during the MSG summit in the Solomon Islands in June 2015.

       Indonesia deserves to be a member of the MSG because the largest population of Melanesians lives in Indonesia, with 13 million people of this race spread in five provinces.

        The five provinces that are home to a big Melanesian population are Papua, West Papua, Maluku, North Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Nono Adya Supriyatno, secretary to the Culture Directorate General of the Education and Culture Ministry, said in Kupang, on October 29, 2015.    
   Melanesians living in six other countries add up to nine million people, and are in Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Fiji.

        The total population of Melanesians in the region is estimated at around 22 million.

        In Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara has the largest Melanesian population spread in 12 districts/cities of the province's 22 districts and cities, according to Peter Manuk, head of the NTT education and culture office.

       The 12 districts and cities are Malaka, Belu, South Timor Tengah, North Timor Tengah, Kupang, East Flores, Lembata, Sikka, Alor, Ngada and Ende.

          The rich Melanesian culture has a strong potential to become a tourist attraction, he added.

         The unique Melanesian culture and the beautiful scenery of the Melanesian region have attracted a number of film producers to make films on Melanesia.

         In fact, Chairman of the Indonesian Film Censorship Body Mukhlis Paeni said the Melanesian cultural diversity has helped boost the Indonesian film industry.

        "A number of Indonesian films depict the Melanesian culture which has adds value to the efforts to boost the film industry in Indonesia," he said. 

      Among these Indonesian films are "Denias Senandung di Atas Awan" (Denias, Singing over the cloud), "Melodi Kota Rusa" (The Melody of Deer City), "Tanah Air Beta" (My Mother land), "Lost in Papua", "Atambua 39 derajat Celesius" (Atambua 39 degrees Celsius), and "Di Timur Matahari" (The Sun in the East).

        In his opening remarks at the festival on Oct. 28, Indonesian Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan had said the festival was being held not just on account of certain historical or racial factors but particularly to achieve the common dream of a peaceful, just and prosperous world.

        Cultural cooperation is a good way to develop a better future for the younger generations as it instils a sense of cooperation in economic, political and social fields, among others, he remarked.

         "Further interaction will help to create peace and welfare," he stated, adding that having a common vision will help unify the younger generation.

         According to the New World Encyclopedia, the word Melanesia is derived from Greek and means "black islands."
   Geographically, the region extends from the western side of the eastern Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and northeast of Australia. The Melanesian people are in general dark-skinned with broad features, and with black, kinky hair. ***4***
(f001/INE)
 03-11-2015 21:58:50