Meet agrees on women, youths to lead

WOMEN and youths should form the vanguard of efforts to preserve, safeguard and promote arts and culture throughout Melanesia, ministers and chief executive officers responsible for culture agreed at their annual meeting in Kokopo, East New Britain this week.
Ministers of Arts and Culture Melanesia agreed at their meeting on Monday and Tuesday that youths and women can play an important role in cultural preservation and directed the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat to provide technical training and capacity-building programme in the region.
There will be greater participation by these groups at future MSG meetings. The ministers agreed to engage women and youths in the protection and preservation of culture through advocacy, awareness, documentation and capacity-building initiatives.
It was agreed that there should be a Melanesian Music Festival and a Cultural Symposium next year.
The meeting agreed to share information and knowledge and for MSG to be the depository of all members’ documents on arts and culture in the MSG Secretariat website.
Vanuatu will host the seventh Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival in 2022 and will now take chairmanship of the group from PNG.