| New name for Council of Pacific Arts |
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Major changes including a new name for the Council of Pacific Arts has been decided in the 22nd meeting of the council on Wednesday in Amerika Samoa. The Council of Pacific Arts, responsible for the Festival of Pacific Arts that is held alternatively between Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia every four years, intends to change its name to Pacific Cultural Council. Amongst other changes is the review of its objectives and the development of a regional cultural strategy which is one of the provisions of the Forum Secretariat's Pacific Plan. Elise Huffer, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's Human Development Programme Cultural advisor said after the meeting that the council will attempt membership of the Forum's regional cultural strategic working group to ensure participation in the development of the regional plan. "There is an objective in the Pacific Plan that requires the development of a strategy to strengthen a Pacific island cultural identity," Ms Huffer said. The name change will be the second since the first festival in Suva in 1972 when it was titled the South Pacific Arts Festival Council; it changed to Pacific Arts Council to move away from a focus on the festival. Ms Huffer said the name change would have to be endorsed formerly. "It is an attempt to reflect the wide range of issues that the Pacific Cultural Council is going to deal with so that the Council has more of a policy then it's had in the past," Ms Huffer said. "This will allow it to inform, advise and monitor policy in a range if areas in culture throughout the region." Another major project will be monitoring of the implementation of the regional model laws on traditional knowledge and expressions of culture and on traditional biological knowledge. "These model laws also include the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage including languages," Ms Huffer said. "It will encompass the development of creative or cultural industries and contemporary artistic expressions in the region." The council will also look at developing a platform to ensure an improved management of the festival as it gets bigger, with more categories and the inevitable difficulties for both the host and the participating countries. Manager Community's Human Development Programme manager Linda Petersen said the next host Solomon Islands presented a report at the meeting which indicated they were already working at infrastructural and even logistical aspects of the festival. "They seem to be preparing well in advance," she said. "This morning they briefed the council on a whole range of aspects of preparations including plans to build a national museum and a national art gallery. "They are already looking at transportation, transportation routes, accommodation and all these other basic logistical issues. "They presented a schedule if you like and they look like they are well on their way to a good festival. They are well aware that they need to prepare well in advance and we are confident that financially, they will be able to host another spectacular festival." An assessment team from the Solomon Islands is here in Pagopago to observe and learn all to help them prepare. Fiji's principal cultural officer Mere Ratunabuabua said Fiji had endorsed the changes but all will be formalised in the next couple of months. "The name change is apt and a timely move - we cannot be seen to be focusing only on the arts, there are other issues that we as Pacific peoples will have to deal with. In all these developments, there has to be a cultural perspective and so Fiji is quite happy with the meeting outcomes," she said. Ms Ratunabuabua said it was very important that the Council participated in the development of the regional cultural strategic plan. She Fiji was also very supportive of the review of the council's objectives to reflect the increasing issues the Council and the peoples of the Pacific will have to deal with in the next few years. The meeting also made a decision on the country which will host the festival in 2016 but are keeping it under wraps as an official announcement will be made at the closing ceremony. It is understood however that Guam had made strong presentations to be considered. Matelita RAGOGO (679) 9739 020 |
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