National Cultural Commission (NCC)

The plant fibres are woven into yarn to make bags or dresses and other garments. Kamel is known locally as the "Bilum Meri" and is an outspoken advocate for women's rights.

At the recent National Cultural Policy launch officiated by Prime Minister James Marape and National Cultural Commission board members, Florence was invited to speak as a representative of the Culture and Creative Industry.

The bilum symbolically represents PNG and is very significant about and to Papua New Guineans and on a very practical level it is what everybody uses from children to grown-ups.

The event was hosted to celebrate the goals he had achieved during his term, paving the way forward in Tourism, Arts and Culture.

NCC Board Chairman and Secretary Department of PM & NEC, Ambassador Ivan Pomaleu when delivering the welcome speech, mentioned how one of the most vocal agendas that have been achieved with the NEC through the Minister’s commitment, was the approved policy.

NCC is now working in partnership as per the Government’s policy on Public Private Partnership (PPP) to bring cultural services to the people and at the same time working to preserve, safeguard, protect, develop and promote PNG’s cultural heritage.

And as such NCC provided financial assistance of K10,000 to the ‘End Times Swallows’ singing Ministry, a of gospel choir group of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, established ssin PNG more than 20 years ago.

West New Britain Governor Sasindran Muthuvel when speaking at the event said such initiative will help curb the law and order in the province.
 
He said West New Britain is a tourist attraction with many tourists travelling into the province every day to explore the tourism destination especially the reefs at the Walindi resort.
 
“Therefore, we must embrace the culture in our province and allow tourists to explore our hidden treasures through our culture.” 
 

The MoU is one of the Partnership arrangements NCC is looking at to sustain arts and culture programs and activities throughout the country, in the bid to preserve, safeguard, protect and promote arts and cultures of the indigenous people of PNG. 
 
The MoU will allow provincial governments to capture all culture and arts programs, activities, cultural resources, assets, facilities and establishments in their provincial budgetary system so that they take ownership.
 

This wonderful project is the brainchild of UPNG Creative Arts Strand Leader, Philemon Yalamu and his two teenage boys. The creative hub is just like a website but one that holds certain information.

“The four goals that this object focuses on are promote, market, showcase and empower. Those four concepts are the grounding principals based on the data that we collect. Going forward the data we collect, point to several factors and most of it are specifically to do with artists not able to have a dedicated place where they could display their work, said Yalamu.

NCC’s Executive Director Steven Kilanda said that the two important documents launched signify the work they have so far launched, developed and sanctioned with almost 77 cultural festivals and cultural shows around the country in the past three years.

Kilanda said COVID-19 challenges did not deter them from hosting mini festivals and shows in the rural settings, all with complete adherence of the mandatory COVID restrictions.

The award, said to be a first of its kind, was presented to NCC Executive Director Steven Kilanda, by Secretary for the Department of Personnel Management (DPM), Taies Sansan.

In 2015, DPM manually put in place the Personal Management System (PMS) to monitor the performance of the statutory bodies, agencies, commissions and the public servants to provide effective service delivery. It later moved the system online, and has been operational for the past two years.

The four retiring staff committed collectively 130 years of their time and service.

Professor Don William Niles served for 42 years and is the Director and Senior Ethnomusicologist of the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies.

Professor Niles has been interested in research and publication on all types of music and dance in Papua New Guinea, including traditional, popular, and Christian forms.

Ahead of Professor Niles by a year is Senior Researcher John Himugu who served for 43 years.

This initiative is also to help alleviate poverty in Min, provide capacity building and empower women.

The Min Mama Bilum initative began from a dream that came to a strong woman who believes in her people and their culture and traditions.

Danick Kwetep had a dream that drove her to begin this journey of creating a cultural space where she collaborated with family on making artifacts and bilums that would incorporate the different clans, and historical backgrounds to amplify their importance.