First ASEAN-EU Cultural Festival underway

The first edition of the ASEAN-EU Cultural Festival is being held both offline and online in Jakarta, Bangkok and Phnom Penh from September 19 – 25 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the ASEAN-EU relations.

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Entitled Youth Voices, the festival aims to take a close look at the youth, bring them together and serve as a venue for cultural activists from both regions, thus strengthening connections between the two continents, for a more inclusive, sustainable, resilient global community.

The opening event in Jakarta on September 19 was a jazz concert that featured the award-winning French jazz accordionist Vincent Peirani, saxophonist Émile Parisien and violinist Sébastien Surel. The trio was joined by one of the most brilliant musicians of the Indonesian archipelago, pianist Sri Hanuraga, a major and unavoidable figure in the young Indonesian scene.

The EU-ASEAN Cultural Festival is to promote people-to-people linkages and connectivity between Europe and Southeast Asia, said Lukas Gajdos, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to ASEAN. It endeavours to explore the enormous potential and dynamic synergy of intercultural collaborations and artistic co-creations between the two continents, he added.

As co-organiser of the Festival, Elizabeth T. Te, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN, said ASEAN and the EU are rich in cultural diversity and heritage, and both regions produce world-renowned artists. She expected the concert and the music of featured artists will not only bring the two sides closer together but also inspire the regions to collaborate more meaningfully.

The festival programme includes jazz concerts, movie screenings and a photo exhibition providing an historical perspective about the ASEAN-EU cooperation in the past 45 years./.

VNA