Entitled Youth Voices, the festival aims to take a closelook at the youth, bring them together and serve as a venue for culturalactivists from both regions, thus strengthening connections between the twocontinents, for a more inclusive, sustainable, resilient global community.
The opening event in Jakarta on September 19 was a jazzconcert that featured the award-winning French jazz accordionist VincentPeirani, saxophonist Émile Parisien and violinist Sébastien Surel. The trio wasjoined by one of the most brilliant musicians of the Indonesian archipelago,pianist Sri Hanuraga, a major and unavoidable figure in the young Indonesianscene.
The EU-ASEAN Cultural Festival is to promotepeople-to-people linkages and connectivity between Europe and Southeast Asia, saidLukas Gajdos, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to ASEAN. Itendeavours to explore the enormous potential and dynamic synergy ofintercultural collaborations and artistic co-creations between the twocontinents, he added.
As co-organiser of the Festival, Elizabeth T. Te, Chargéd’Affaires, a.i. of the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN, said ASEANand the EU are rich in cultural diversity and heritage, and both regionsproduce world-renowned artists. She expected the concert and the music offeatured artists will not only bring the two sides closer together but also inspirethe regions to collaborate more meaningfully.
The festival programme includes jazz concerts, moviescreenings and a photo exhibition providing an historical perspective about theASEAN-EU cooperation in the past 45 years./.