Jakarta (VNA) - KONNECT ASEAN, a culture andart initiative, made its debut on July 13 as part of activities celebrating the30th anniversary of the Dialogue Partnership between ASEAN and theRepublic of Korea (RoK).

Co-launched by the ASEAN Foundation, the ASEAN-RoKCooperation Fund, and the ASEAN Secretariat, the programme gathers artists and artworkers from across the region to deepen the understanding of ASEAN culturesand create a stronger ASEAN identity.

It aims to contribute to the realisation of objectiveslisted in the ASEAN Strategic Plan for Culture and Arts 2016-2025, whileimplementing the ASEAN-RoK Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration onStrategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity (2016-2020) via the promotion ofculture-art cooperation.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the three-year regionalinitiative will kick-start by implementing several virtual workshops anddiscussions. Two of the initial activities in 2020 are the ASEAN KO-mmunitiOnline Dialogue and Convention, which are scheduled for the end of July andmid-August, respectively.

The dialogue is a virtual event that enables ASEAN andRoK artists to exchange ideas and share their experience in creation during thepandemic.

Meanwhile, the convention brings together a group ofartists and educators from both sides to promote their arts practices to aglobal audience via digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.The arts demonstrations will range from painting to dancing, puppetry, film-making,and others.

“KONNECT ASEAN provides an inclusive platform for us tolearn, understand, and debate through the work of artists and at the same time givesdirect support to artists and art workers,” Benjamin Hampe, Project Director ofKONNECT ASEAN, said at the debut ceremony.

Yang Mee Eng, Executive Director of the ASEANFoundation, said artists can grow stronger together by being part of thegreater ASEAN Community and by working with their peers and colleagues from theRoK.

Lim Sungnam, RoK Ambassador to ASEAN, highlighted KONNECTASEAN as an exciting programme that brings together promising artists from the tenASEAN member states and the RoK.

“I look forward to seeing beautiful cooperation betweenASEAN and RoK artists in the coming months and years,” he added./.