The 50th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (ASEAN COCI) was held on 9-11 November in Surabaya, Indonesia.

“The 50th Meeting of the ASEAN COCI gives us the opportunity to further support the ASEAN Community 2015 as the culture and information sectors have an important role to play in promoting ASEAN identity,” said Prof. Dr. Kacung Marijan, Director General for Culture, Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia.

The ASEAN COCI continues to chart the directions of the ASEAN regional partnership in the fields of culture, information and media. The Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, H.E. Anies Baswedan, who graced the welcome dinner, highlighted the importance of culture and arts in bringing ASEAN countries together since 1967. “These serve as foundations of our region, which has diverse culture and heritage, to move forward as one community,” he said.

The COCI has ushered in the new phase in radio and television cooperation through such projects as the ASEAN Television News: Informs, Integrates and Inspires and the Voice of ASEAN: Beyond Boundaries to further strengthen ASEAN awareness through the sharing of media resources.

The COCI lauded the successful implementation of the flagship project on Festival of ASEAN Cultural Expressions held in Kuala Lumpur on 15-20 October 2015. To bring ASEAN culture to a wider audience, the COCI has also decided to bring the Best of Performing Arts Series to other ASEAN Member States starting in 2017 in time for ASEAN’s fiftieth anniversary.

Near-term efforts of the COCI will include support for the dissemination of public service announcements for the launching of the ASEAN Community at the end of 2015. The COCI encouraged the ASEAN Member States’ broadcasting companies to use these multimedia materials, both via traditional and new media throughout the region.

The meeting recognised that information and culture programmes have to target and involve the youth. In line with this, the COCI will launch a programme for young bloggers and the ASEAN Virtual Learning Resource Centre website. Forums and programmes to engage the youth in heritage conservation are also expected to be implemented in 2016.

The COCI will push for collaboration with non-government cultural organisations, initially by holding the ASEAN Culture and Arts Dialogue next year.

The 50th Meeting of the ASEAN COCI was organised by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia, in partnership with the Ministry of Communication and Information, Indonesia, the Government of East Java Province, and the Government of the City of Surabaya.

More information about the initiatives of the ASEAN COCI can be found on http://cultureandinformation.asean.org/ and www.facebook.com/aseancoci.