Minister: New festival targets Oceania youths

By PETER ESILA
TOURISM, Arts and Culture Minister Isi Henry Leonard says a new Oceanic Cultural Festival will be launched for PNG to participate in nearby countries with more youths involved.
He said this during a farewell reception for him in Port Moresby last week.
Leonard said while the country was rich with diverse cultures and tourism potential, Papua New Guinea needed to go out and promote and learn from other countries as well.
The farewell was hosted by the National Cultural Commission.
Leonard said more youths would be involved in this tourism product.
“I want to introduce a new product, there is one product that I want to leave behind, I call it the Oceanic Cultural Festival,” he said.
“It is a festival that I want to bring the owners of the culture and art.
“I want to use our nearby neighbour, especially Cairns city, to promote our art and culture.
“We need to look at our neighbours, whether it be New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, if we have never thought about Indonesia, we must think about it seriously, and learn from them, as well as Fiji, Tahiti, New Caledonia, the Oceania group of countries.
“We get our youths involved in art and culture and do tourism in Australia and at the same time promote labour mobility.”