KUCHING: Malaysia has been elected as a member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the term from 2022 to 2026.
Federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri shared Malaysia’s UNESCO involvement on the international front when officiating at the
Opening ceremony of the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Culture and the 11th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three Cultural Cooperation here today.
“Malaysia is committed to promoting the cultural heritage sector as it remains an engine for economic growth and regional pride.
“We will also fully support any future projects and programmes that celebrate ASEAN’s rich cultural diversity and heritage. I am confident that our discussions on cultural projects during the meetings will yield positive mutual outcomes for this region,” she said.
The ASEAN Plus Three Cultural Cooperation Network (APTCCN) meeting discusses cultural, arts and heritage projects implemented through ASEAN cooperation with the Plus Three countries, namely the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, the 23rd SCC meeting has endorsed two project proposals from Malaysia, namely ‘The ASEAN Workshop on Sustainable Heritage Food Packaging and Commercialisation for the World Market’ from the Department of National Heritage and ‘The Echoes of ASEAN Bronze’ from Istana Budaya with an approved budget amounting to USD100,000 under ACF to be implemented in 2023.
Secretary general of Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Datuk Saraya Arbi elaborated that two projects approved yesterday was related to the ‘The ASEAN Workshop on Sustainable Heritage Food Packaging and Commercialisation for the World Market’ from the Department of National Heritage and the ‘The Echoes of ASEAN Bronze’ from Istana Budaya.
“Both projects have been approved and the expected cost amounting to USD100,000.
“USD100,000 from ASEAN and USD50,000 for each project, five new projects are currently ongoing discussions and another three recurring projects, however there will be further discussions in terms of how much it actually comes to the maximum,” she said.
“The ASEAN fund is sustainable and is able to provide and that further discussions are still in place in terms of the scope itself, its output and outcome and the most suitable budget,” she said, adding that the ministry had further meetings with Japan, South Korea and China yesterday.
The Sub-Committee on Culture (SCC) meeting held for the first time in Sarawak is an annual senior officials’ meeting to discuss cultural, arts, and heritage projects implemented by ASEAN Member States (AMS) funded under the ASEAN Cultural Fund (ACF).
Separately, the meeting also reviewed new project applications proposed by the AMS in addition to updates on the implementation of projects approved.
