Melanesia Festival to Strengthen Melanesian Countries` Cooperation

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesia, for the first time, will be hosting the Melanesian Cultural Festival 2015 in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara from October 26 to 30, which is aimed at improving cooperation among Melanesian countries.

"The festival is based on the reality that the majority of Melanesians are living in Indonesia, approximately 80 percent of them," the Director General of Culture at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Kacung Marijan said on last Thursday.

The festival will draw participation from stakeholders, who are engaged in culture and arts in Indonesia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, as well as representatives from the Melanesian Spearhead Group, based in Vanuatu.

Indonesia will send its representatives from five provinces, which has a population of Melanesia, namely East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua.

The festival will feature a conference and film screenings, as well as dance performances.

Three Indonesian films will be screened at the festival, which are "Atambua 39 C", "Tanah Mama" (Mother Land) and "Cahaya Dari Timur" (Light of the East).

Besides Indonesia, Fiji and New Caledonia will also send their movies to be screened to exchange knowledge, tradition and culture and to increase solidarity among the Melanesians.

Melanesia is a sub-race, which in Indonesia, has spread in East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua.

Archaeologists from the National Archaeological Research Center, Harry Truman Simanjuntak, said the festival also aims to sensitize people against the two biggest races in Indonesia -- the Mongoloids and Austronesians, who are brothers and have been interacting culturally and biologically for tens of thousands of years.

"Do not create any dividers, we need to know each other to strengthen the national spirit," Harry said. (WDY)