JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT

THE 11th MEETING OF THE ASEAN MINISTERS

RESPONSIBLE FOR CULTURE AND ARTS (AMCA)

"Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Unity in Diversity"

24 October 2024, Melaka, Malaysia

1. The Eleventh ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (AMCA) Meeting and the AMCA Meetings with Dialogue Partners, including the ASEAN Plus Three, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, were held on 24 October 2024, in Melaka, Malaysia. Timor-Leste was in attendance as observer. 

2. The theme of the 11th AMCA was "Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Unity in Diversity" underlined the pivotal role of culture and the arts in promoting sustainable and inclusive development towards strengthening ASEAN’s solidarity. 

3. The Meeting was preceded by the 20th Meeting of the Senior Officials Responsible for Culture and Arts (SOMCA) on 22 October 2024, followed by the SOMCA meetings with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Plus Three Countries on 23 October 2024. 

Opening Ceremony 

4. The Opening Ceremony commenced with Welcome Remarks by H.E. Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, who expressed honour in hosting the 11th AMCA and Related Meetings. 

5. The ASEAN Anthem, "The ASEAN Way" was sung during the Opening Ceremony. 

6. The chairmanship of AMCA was officially transferred from the Lao PDR to Malaysia. In the Outgoing Remarks of the 10th AMCA Chair, H.E. Mdm. Darany PHOMMAVONGSA, Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism of the Lao PDR, delivered a message on behalf of H.E. Mdm. Suanesavanh VIGNAKET, Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism of the Lao PDR. H.E. Mdm. Suanesavanh expressed pride in the Lao PDR’s chairmanship, highlighting key achievements, including the adoption of the Vang Vieng Declaration on Promoting Small and Medium-sized Cultural Enterprises aligned with Green Growth for Sustainable Development at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits. She also noted the significant progress made in the advancement of ASEAN culture and arts agenda, particularly the implementation of the ASEAN Strategic Plan on Culture and Arts 2016-2025 with 81 out of 118 planned activities and projects successfully completed H.E. Mdm. 

7. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia. 

8. H.E. Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia as the 11th Chair of the AMCA, expressed appreciation to the delegates and acknowledged the strong leadership of Lao PDR as the outgoing Chair. He introduced Malaysia’s theme for its chairmanship, “Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Unity in Diversity,” with a focus on Youth, Creative Economy, and Digitalisation. H.E. Dato Sri Tiong emphasised Malaysia’s commitment to advancing ASEAN’s culture and arts sector, encouraging collaboration, innovation, and youth empowerment to shape the region’s future.  

Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Unity in Diversity 

9. The theme, “Bridging Cultures, Building Futures: Unity in Diversity,” aims to reinforce the idea that ASEAN is a region of unparalleled diversities, and yet its people remain united and share common values toward realising ASEAN 2045. SOMCA Malaysia has identified three priority areas: (i) Youth, focusing on the future of ASEAN through exchange and cross-cultural initiatives; (ii) Creative Economy, emphasising contributions to GDP, employment, cultural and creative industry (CCI) sales, intellectual property, and the preservation of cultural assets; and (iii) Digitalisation, which leverages digital tools, platforms and policies to enhance forward and outward-looking cultural safeguarding and innovation. 

10. The ASEAN Member States recognised that similarities and diversity in cultures and creativity are the important sources of innovation for human progress, and the essential impetus for development. Given that our rich, diverse, and intertwined cultural resources can serve as a unifying force to promote greater mutual understanding and contribute to social and economic development, the ASEAN Member States looked forward to strengthening the integration of culture in development policies that contributes to the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision. 

11. The ASEAN Member States recognised the vitality and potential of the ASEAN Creative Economy’s contribution to amplify appreciation of our rich cultural heritage and to build a shared future of inclusive economic growth and socio-cultural development. To this end, the ASEAN Member States looked forward to Malaysia’s stewardship in accelerating the realisation of the ASEAN Creative Economy through a multitude of initiatives. This includes an ASEAN Creative Economy Symposium in partnership with the UK supported by the ASEAN Secretariat. 

12. The ASEAN Member States also looked forward to the establishment of the ASEAN Creative Economy Sustainability Framework, building on the Siem Reap Declaration on Promoting a Creative and Adaptive ASEAN Community to Support the Cultural and Creative Economy, which was adopted on 7 July 2022. This policy framework will serve as a strategic guide to drive regional policy and programme interventions to promote the cultural and creative industries under the ambit of the creative economy unique to ASEAN’s developments. The desired social, cultural, economic, and environmental outcomes will be identified and achieved. 

ASEAN City of Culture – Melaka 

13. The title of ASEAN City of Culture is handed over to Melaka, Malaysia, for the period 2024-2026. Melaka is the eighth city to be selected as an ASEAN City of Culture. To mark the launch of Melaka as the ASEAN City of Culture, Malaysia will be hosting a series of activities, including the International Cultural and Arts Festival (ICAF), that will also commemorate the Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. 

14. In conjunction with the 11th AMCA, 20th SOMCA, and Related Meetings with Dialogue Partners, Malaysia as Chair, has organised the ASEAN Festival of Arts featuring performances by art troupes from all the ASEAN Member States, the Plus Three Partners and Timor-Leste. A special engagement session with youth participants at the ASEAN Youth and Heritage Forum, organised at the sideline of the AMCA and Related Meetings was convened. 

Vang Vieng Declaration on Promoting the Small and Medium-sized Cultural Enterprises aligned with the Green Growth for Sustainable Development 

15. The ASEAN Member States expressed appreciation for the Vang Vieng Declaration on Promoting the Small and Medium-sized Cultural Enterprises (SMCEs) aligned with the Green Growth for Sustainable Development that was adopted by the AMCA on 13 March 2024 and officially adopted by ASEAN Leaders at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 9 October 2024. 

16. The ASEAN Member States underscored the importance of the declaration in underlining culture’s role to promote inclusion and sustainability, and especially to focus on the development of community-based, small and medium-sized cultural enterprises (SMCEs) as vital sources of innovation and creativity to support the development and promotion of local culture and products. 

ASEAN Strategic Plan for Culture and Arts (2016-2025) and the Development of a New Work Plan 

17. The ASEAN Member States acknowledged the substantive progress in the implementation of the ASEAN Strategic Plan for Culture and Arts (2016-2025) and welcomed the upcoming review of the work plan as it concludes in 2025. 

18. The ASEAN Member States looked forward to the substantive discussions ahead to develop the new work plan that will take into consideration of the opportunities and challenges for regional cooperation in the culture and the art sector. The 10-year new work plan shall be developed in 2025 and will be implemented from 2026 onwards. 

Interfaces with UK and ifa 

19. The SOMCA convened two interfaces with external partners at the 20th SOMCA to explore potential avenues for future collaboration. The UK through the UK Mission to ASEAN and the British Council, outlined the ongoing implementation of the ASEAN-UK Advancing Creative Economy programme, highlighting opportunities for cultural and creative sector growth within the region. In addition, the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) presented a research paper, "Enhancing ASEAN-EU Relations Through Cultural Cooperation", and discussed the way forward to forge joint collaborations. 

Cooperation with Dialogue Partners 

20. The ASEAN Member States exchanged views on the progress of cooperation with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea in culture and the arts. The ASEAN Member States welcomed the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Plus Three Work Plan on Cooperation in Culture and the Arts 2022-2025 in the areas of: (1) Cultural exchanges, (2) Creative cultural industries, (3) Cultural heritage management, (4) Human resource development, and (5) Enhancing partnership among cultural institutions in the region. The ASEAN Member States looked forward to the development of a new work plan with the current plan to be concluded in 2025. 

21. The ASEAN Member States expressed their appreciation for the cooperation with China to advance the implementation of the ASEAN-China Work Plan on Cooperation in Culture and the Arts (2022-2025) and looked forward to new joint initiatives in the areas of cultural heritage and traditional textile development, among others. 

22. The ASEAN Member States appreciated the support provided by Japan for the ASEAN Cultural Heritage Digital Archive (ACHDA) and the partnership with Japan in implementing the ASEAN-Japan Work Plan on Cooperation in Culture and the Arts (2022-2025). 

23. The ASEAN Member States expressed appreciation towards deepening cooperation with the ROK especially in the field of cultural heritage. Four Meetings of the ASEAN-ROK Working Committee on Culture Heritage Cooperation have been held since 2022. The ASEAN Member States looked forward to the implementation of a multi-year and multi-programmatic initiative that comprised research and development, capacity-building, as well as digital and content development to promote and preserve cultural heritage. The ASEAN Member States also welcomed the updates on the ASEAN-ROK Music Festival (AKMF) which has been successfully held in Busan, ROK and Jakarta, Indonesia. The upcoming AKMF will be held in Vientiane, the Lao PDR, this year. 

24. The ASEAN Member States further welcomed collaborations forged with new partners, including the United Kingdom, to advance the development of the ASEAN Creative Economy, and Italy in cultural heritage conservation. The ASEAN Member States noted the discussions on new priorities and potential partnerships at the 20th Senior Officials’ Meeting for Culture and Arts (SOMCA) and welcomed all AMS to incorporate new priorities in the new work plan, and to develop collaborations with new partners. 

ASEAN Cultural Heritage List (ACHL) 

25. The ASEAN Member States recalled the proposal to discuss the feasibility of setting up the ASEAN Cultural Heritage (ACHL) which was raised at the 15th SOMCA in 2019. Following the development of the Concept Paper on ACHL which was extensively consulted with the SOMCA in 2020 and 2021, a series of substantive policy discussions with experts and CSOs have been held since August 2023. 

26. The ASEAN Member States noted that Expert Panel Meetings, Ad-Hoc SOMCA Working Group Meeting as well as an Interface Meeting between Experts and the Ad-Hoc SOMCA Working Group have been convened. The ASEAN Member States looked forward to the finalisation of the Feasibility Study on the ACHL by the end of 2024, and for the report to be further deliberated by SOMCA in 2025. 

Closing and Acknowledgement 

27. The ASEAN Member States looked forward to convening the 12th AMCA and Related Meetings in Myanmar, in 2026. 28. The ASEAN Member States expressed their sincere and deepest appreciation to the Government of Malaysia for the excellent arrangements, and warm hospitality extended to all delegates of the 11th AMCA, ensuring the success of the 11th AMCA and Related Meetings. The meetings were held in the spirit of ASEAN solidarity and cordiality.