Samoa impressed by Guam’s hospitality

05 June 2016, 12:00AM

As the Festival of Pacific Arts comes to a close, Samoa's head of delegation, Peone Fuimaono, told KUAM News it's been two weeks of hospitality, friendship, and love. 

She and her delegation were treated to a fiesta by the Guam National Guard on Friday morning.

"This showing of culture over the past two weeks has been amazing, it's been amazing,” she said. 

“It's not about having pride in your own, but getting to know another, and having that bond that we share the same ocean and it connects us in so many ways. 

“So on behalf of Samoa's delegation I would like to say thanks to the people of Guam.”

On the sidelines of the festival, recognizing the importance of supporting initiatives to develop and strengthen national and regional culture as part of the framework of sustainable development was part of the discussion.

More than 30 representatives from across the Pacific convened recently at the Governor's Complex at Adelup for a three-day forum.

The forum – “Culture, Arts and Sustainable Development in the Pacific” – was convened in conjunction with the Pacific Community (SPC) and UNESCO as part of the 12th Festival of the Pacific Arts.

Lourdes Pangelinan, former director general of the Pacific Community from 2000 to 2006, delivered the opening remarks. “Culture is who we are, where we are, what we want to be, and more importantly, where we want to go in our future,” she said.

She said that preservation, protection and promotion of culture and heritage are the responsibility of each individual.

However, it is especially the responsibility of the national government to ensure that cultural policies and legislation are in place and adequate natural and human resources are available for cultural preservation and promotion, as well as to ensure that culture is mainstreamed in the socio-economic development of the society.

Pangelinan said it is important to not just talk about culture. “We need to plan, and more importantly, to implement concrete action-oriented measures to truly preserve and promote our cultures,” she said.

She also talked about the regional cultural strategy developed by the SPC that provides guidelines for a wider audience.

05 June 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>