SAARC Cultural Festival in Maldives

A cultural festival is being planned to be held in Addu City to coincide with the 17th SAARC Summit being held from 10-11 November 2011.

The main objective of the SAARC Festival is to highlight the unique cultural identities of the SAARC region, while showcasing Addu City to the visiting delegates and international media covering the Summit.

This will be the first time that regional cultural items will be showcased outside of Male’ in the country, and the main idea is to revitalize Addu City as a vibrant and dynamic place for the community to gather and to explore the diversity of cultural experiences of South Asia. As per this year’s theme Building Bridges, the emphasis is community involvement and local artists working with regional performers, and bridging the regional cultural gap.

The program for the SAARC Festival is planned by the Addu City Council and local NGOs, with assistance from other Government authorities, and will be held from the 1st of November till 12th November 2011.

Three different component of the SAARC Festival will be held during this duration, in addition to local performances and music shows being held across Addu City by individuals.

As announced by H. E Mohamed Nasheed, President of Republic of Maldives, this year’s Eid coinciding with the 17 SAARC Summit provides with the perfect avenue to showcase Maldivian cultural music and dances to the region.

In addition to this, in order to better strengthen the ties between the people of the region, the Festival will host cultural performances from other SAARC member countries, highlighting the variety of music and dances that is indigenous to the region.

Each Member State is invited to send cultural troupes of not more ten per country to perform traditional songs, music and dances. As the performances are spread out from 1-11th November, with one night dedicated to each Member State, the performers will have 60 minutes of performance time. Every member state troupe will be performing one night in Addu City and one night in Fuvahmulah (total two nights).

The countries have been selected in alphabetical order, and upon confirmation of troupes from each country, Ministry will be sending a final schedule. (Draft schedule attached separately)

The Government of Maldives will provide local hospitality of accommodation, food and internal transport (Male – Gan and Fuvahmulah transfer) from the date of arrival till departure (it is estimated that each troupe will be staying for 5 days approximately). It should be noted that fees will not be paid for the performers by the Government of Maldives, and the stage setup, sound and lights will be provided at the venues. Performers can bring their own instruments.

This is coordinated by the National Centre for the Arts, Addu City Council and Fuvahmulah Council with assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: www.seventeenthsaarcsummit.mv