Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing addresses opening ceremony of 24th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competition
Nay Pyi Taw October 24
The opening ceremony of 24th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competition was held at MICC-2 here this morning, addressed by Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Also present were Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, wife of the Senior General, SAC Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win and wife Daw Than Than Nwe, the Joint SAC Secretary and wife, SAC members of wives, union level officials, union ministers, the Nay Pyi Taw Council chair, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, the Nay Pyi Taw Command commander, deputy ministers, members of the steering committee, work committee and subcommittees, chief ministers of regions and states, judges, supervisors, coaches, aides, national brethren contestants from regions and states and officials.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Patron of Steering Committee to Organize 24th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competition Vice-Senior General Soe Win, and Chair of the Steering Committee Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Tin Oo Lwin unveiled the signboard of the competition.
In his address, the Senior General said all the peoples of global countries have their own culture, traditions and heritage.
Likewise, ethnic peoples of Myanmar also have their unique cultural characteristics. For thousands of years, forefathers of the successive eras of the country have developed and conserved the country’s own literature, culture, customs, and true identity and characteristics of Myanmar.
According to the evidences of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, found at ancient cities of Myanmar, literary records, and contemporary records of the neighboring countries, the Myanmar people had firmly established religious teachings, an advanced civilization, exquisite art, and their own cultural and lived with national prestige and were proud of identity throughout their long history.
In this age of rapid IT development countries are facing cultural homogeneity, cultural divide and cultural integration.
Waning or loss of cultural identity will weaken love and admiration for the country, and eventually, the national strength will dry up. Evaporation of national strength will be followed by threats against the country’s sovereignty. In this regard, every country is protecting its own cultural characteristics, national norms, and essence of the nation and preserving and strengthening its national spirit.
The government focuses on exploration and preservation of natural cultural heritages with the aim of sustaining fine prestige, traditions and national standards of Myanmar country and Myanmar people as long as the world exists. Among these responsibilities for preservation of national cultural heritages, holding the Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competition is one of the national endeavors in which all the entire people participate.
Arrangements were made to increase quantities and quality of types of events in the competition year after year. This year, it can be seen satisfactory that number of contestants to the 24th competition is larger than the 23rd competition due to support of officials from regions and states, relevant ministries, encouragement of the government and the people and growing numbers of enthusiasts in the Myanmar’s fine arts.
Hence, all the people were urged to continuously uplift and preserve Myanmar national culture with the national awareness and conscientiousness for enabling Myanmar to stand tall in the international community as a fine and noble country and people with the national prestige and integrity.
All the people, artistes and all youths have to strive for flourishing of own fine arts and national culture and national characters in the world for thousands of years to preserve them through fine arts power, make efforts for preventing penetration of alien culture into the country, enhancing the national spirit of new generation youths through the fine arts power to prevent cultural heritages of forefathers, and uplifting the national cultural standard of Myanmar with the fine arts power forever for ensuring long term existence of Myanmar as long as the world exists.
Chairman of the Leading Committee Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture U Tin Oo Lwin reported on plans for holding the competitions.
The artistes sang the song “let’s preserve traditional heritage” composed by Alinkakyawswa U Maung Maung Latt.
After the ceremony, the Senior General, wife and party cordially greeted maestros from the panel of judges.
In accord with four national objectives to uplift national prestige and integrity and to preserve the cultural heritage and national characteristics;
to explore, preserve and uplift the traditional cultural heritage of performing arts of ethnic nationals and national cultural characteristics; to explore and preserve the traditional cultural heritage of the young generation and further propagate the national spirit; and to support measures in the field of national culture ensuring the development, peace and tranquility of the State, the performing arts competition is being held.