The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture will, for the first time, partner with Miss Pacific Islands Pageant (MPIP) PNG.
TAC Minister Tobias Kulang attended the crowning of the Miss Pacific Islands PNG on Saturday to enforce this statement.
In his keynote address, he said he was starting a process that will go a long way to ensure formal government support to the pageant, empowering young women.
Minister Kulang noted that the young woman representing PNG as a cultural ambassador falls within the ministry’s responsibilities.
However, he said for a long time, the ministry did not recognise that to partner with the pageant.
He announced that the two parties will sign a Memorandum of Understanding which ensures the pageant receives formal government support, see the pageant as a platform for tourism, and it will be held at the ministerial level.
A budget will be set aside to accommodate for its programs and activities.
Minister Kulang acknowledged the pageant’s work over the last six years, raising over K500,000 and training over 152 women.
The pageant has been directly empowering the local fashion industry by involving local designers to try out on the international platform, he stated.
“So all these activities fall within the Tourism, Arts and Culture mandate, that’s why the ministry needs to get involved, that’s why we are here to announce our intention to partner with them and work alongside them,” he said.
MPIP PNG chairperson Catherine Johnston said the pageant was created to promote tourism and provide unity between Pacific Island nations.
She thanked the government for the move to partner, adding that tourism will take it to the next level.
(Tourism Minister Tobias Kulang at the crowning of Miss PNG on Saturday.)