As the Tradition continues, The ASEAN PUPPETRY ASSOCIATION conducted its 3rd Puppetry festival in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

The ASEAN PUPPETRY ASSOCIATION (APA)

The participants of the 1st ASEAN Puppetry Festival, comprising of representatives of national puppetry associations/secretariats, puppetry artists, enthusiasts, experts, and observers from brunei Darussalam, the kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao’s Peoples’ Democratic Republic, Malaysia, The Union of Myanmar, the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, gathered in Jakarta on the 1st day of December, 2006, after due consideration, had declared the establishment of an association for regional cooperation in the field of puppetry among the ASEAN member countries, to be known as the ASEAN Puppetry Association (APA), henceforward referred to as “the Association”. Representatives of nine of the ten ASEAN member countries had signed the declaration document establishing the Association, henceforward reffered to as “the Declaration”, and the delegates from Myanmar, as Non-Governmental Organisation, not on behalf of the Government of the Union of Myanmar, had signed a document acceding the Declaration, henceforward reffered to as the Association.

Pursuant to the Sixth Dictum of the Declaration, namely “That other matters related to the Association which have not been sufficiently delineated in this Declaration shall be documented at a later date by consensus among the members of the Association, “representatives of the said national puppetry associations/secretariats, puppetry artists, enthusiasts, experts, and observers who have signed the Declaration and the Accession, gathered in Jakarta on the day of two thousand and seven hereby establish the following Articles of the ASEAN Puppetry Association (APA).

INTERNATIONAL PUPPETRY SEMINAR & FESTIVAL 2011

Seminar and Festival Opening Ceremony

The 4th meeting of APA was officially opened by Presidium Chairman Drs. Solichin and declared that 4th APA Meeting attended by Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam. Myanmar and Thailand were not present.

Before the start of the meeting all delegates observed a moment of silence in memory of Pak Tupuk Sutrisno. The Presidium Chairman also highlighted the creation of peace in the SEA region through puppetry; the election of APA Board members; and the finalization of the ASEAN Puppetry Book.

In his opening speech, the presidium Chairman of APA, Drs. H. Solichin, stated that we do not realize that APA, formed in December 2006, has been running for five years. Many activities have been done in efforts to preserve and develop the puppetry traditions and simultaneously to strengthen friendship and cooperation in ASEAN. He said that we should continue to organize good cultural activities as a means of helping to create peaace in the region. The ten ASEAN member countries have agreed to develop puppetry as an item of ASEAN identity.

The 4th APA Meeting in Kuala Lumpur also arrived at an agreement in using a cultural approach in resolving disputes which may happen in the ASEAN region. Such an approach enhances a quiet atmosphere away conflict.

APA, as an asset of ASEAN, should continue to be developed and not to stand still or recede. Therefore, members have to work towards implementing the decisions of APA Meetings. Consolidation of APA should be carried out continuously, and puppetry activities should be increased in order that our organization keeps on developing and getting stronger.

Election of Meeting officers

The Board of APA Presidium elected Mr. Suparmin Sunjoyo and Mr. Danny Liwanag as Chairman and Co-Chairman respectively and Mrs. Amihan Ramolete and Mr. Hari Suwasono as Rapporteurs of the meeting.

All the delegates starting with Brunei Darussalam (Mr. H. Abdul Hakim); Cambodia (Mr. Sopheap Tep); Indonesia (Mr. Hari Suwasono); Laos (Mrs. Phannaly); Malaysia (Prof. Dr. Ghulam-Sarwr Yousof); the Philippines (Mr. Danny Liwanag); Singapore (Dr. Chua Soo Pong); and Vietnam (Mrs. Phan Lan Huong) expressed their heartfelt thanks to Mr. H. Solichin for his dedication as the presidium Chairman from 2006-2011. The appreciation also goes to Malaysia and University of Malaya for organizing and providing the facilities for the 4th meeting of APA.

Festival Performances

 Philippines

Singapore

 

 Indonesia