03 June 2014 – The Department of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), will host and organize the ASEAN 10th Senior Officials Meeting on Culture and the Arts (SOMCA) and the 15th Sub-Committee on Culture (SCC) in Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati from 03-06 June 2014. A total of 70 senior officials for culture and arts and delegates from the ten ASEAN Member States (AMS), Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, People’s Democratic Republic of Laos (Lao PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the ASEAN Secretariat as represented by Deputy Secretary-General Alicia Bala, are expected to attend these meetings.
One of ASEAN’s key sector under the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) is the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (COCI). Established in 1978, its mission is to encourage cooperation in culture and information which could enhance mutual understanding and solidarity among AMS. The SOMCA discusses future priorities and policy direction for culture and arts, and reviews its working mechanisms. The SCC discusses in detail all culture-related projects and proposals submitted by AMS.
During the 9th SOMCA in Hue, Vietnam in April 2013, it was agreed that the Special 10th SOMCA Meeting will be held back-to-back with the 15th SCC Meeting in the Philippines in June 2014.
The Philippine official delegation is composed of DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Mr. Luis Cruz, Dr. Raul Sunico, CCP President and Head Delegation, SOMCA, and Executive Director Ms. Adelina Suemith from NCCA. END