School celebrates culture show

ST CHARLES Lwanga Secondary in Port Moresby celebrated its first bi-annual culture show with a colorful array of different cultural dances and traditional food.
Grade 12 student from Manus, Tatiana Malai, 18, summarised the event: “Cultural differences should not separate us from each other but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all humanity.
“Therefore, to understand the culture, study the dance; to understand the dance, study the people.”
Malai was amongst many of her school mates from different parts of the country that took centre stage, attracting hundreds of people.
The show was organised in consultation with the National Cultural Commission (NCC).
There were groups from Central (Kairuku), West Papua, Western, Western Highlands, New Ireland (Girls), Chimbu and Jiwaka, Northern, Central (Hiri, Rigo, Abau), Hela, Morobe, New Ireland (Boys), West New Britain, Milne Bay, Enga, East and West Sepik, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, Southern Highlands, Gulf, Madang, Manus and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Also on display were the different types of special dishes from the different provinces.
NCC executive director Enomb Kilanda opened the cultural event and presented a K10,000 cheque to support the show.
Kilanda presented a certificate of recognition and announced that the St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School bi-annual Cultural Show had been formally recognised by NCC thus confirming it as an official cultural show.

He stressed the importance and the economic significance of culture and urged the students to continue to take pride and ownership of their cultural heritage.
“After oil and gas and any other extractive resource are depleted, culture and arts will be our fall back,” he said.
Kilanda added that Papua New Guinea had been blessed with about a thousand different cultures compared to many other nations in the world which only had about one or two.
“That means we own one third of the world’s culture,” he said.