12 June 2014 - The 15th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information Sub-Committee on Culture (15th ASEAN-COCI SCC) led by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), was successfully held from June 05 to 06 in Makati City.
The 15th ASEAN-COCI SCC Meeting was chaired by NCCA Officer-in-Charge and Executive Director Ms. Adelina Suemith, who stressed the importance of culture as the foundation of society and development.
According to Ms. Suemith, the Meeting’s key objective is to review and select projects and programs to be implemented in 2015.
ASEAN-COCI SCC officials discussed the status and progress of cultural projects of ASEAN and ASEAN with its Dialogue Partners and deliberated on 14 new project proposals.
Some of the cultural projects lined up for 2015 include Philippine-proposed projects, such as the ASEAN Performance Arts Market, the ASEAN Youth Camp: Gongs and Bamboo Music Camp and Festival and the ASEAN eBook Phase I.
Another Philippine-proposed cultural project, Rama Plus Festival: ASEAN Epics and Legends for Modern Audiences, which was originally lined up for 2015 has been deferred for budget allocation and implementation for 2016.
The said cultural projects are designed to promote ASEAN identity in the region and enhance cultural cooperation among ASEAN Member States.
Meanwhile, ongoing cultural projects include: 1) Raising the Awareness in ASEAN for Design as a Key Factor in Strengthening Cultural Identity and Improving the Quality of Lifestyle Products with funding from Korea; and 2) ASEAN 20th Century Literatures Phase I. END