The National Cultural Commission is keen on promoting, supporting, and preserving Papua New Guinea’s Indigenous Culture by tapping into unexplored places like the remote Upper Bundi in the Usino-Bundi electorate of Madang province.

On Tuesday, 02nd, April 2024, National Cultural Commission made a presentation of K5000 to the Bundi-Komba cultural festival in a small but significant ceremony held at the NCC head office in Downtown Port Moresby.

The cheque was presented by the NCC’s Executive Manager for the Festival, Marketing, Cultural Development, and Arts Industry Mr. David Taim on behalf of the National Cultural Commission’s Executive Director Mr. Kilanda.

In presenting the cheque Mr. Taim said, “In recent times, NCC has been supporting cultural festivals in the most remote parts of the country and the main reason is that culture remains in the villages with the people in those rural places, thus the commission needs to reach the unreached”.

‘’We have used the festivals in the recent past years as one of the important platforms in terms of sustaining and maintaining our indigenous arts and culture throughout Papua New Guinea.” Said Mr. Taim.

Present to receive the cheque was Bundi-Komba Cultural Festival Chairman Mr. Vincent Kumara. Mr. Kumura said, “I want to extend my word of thanks to the NCC Executive Director Steven Enomb Kilanda and the management of NCC for the support towards the Bundi-Komba festival.”

The current government’s emphasis on rural development aligns with the directive from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture to prioritize the cultivation and enhancement of culture in rural areas. Consequently, the National Cultural Commission (NCC) is actively engaging in this initiative by venturing into some of the most remote regions, accessible only by air or traversing dense forests on foot.

Bundi-Komba Cultural Festival Chairman Mr. Vincent Kumara acknowledges and appreciates the continuous support by the National Cultural Commission since its inception in 2019 until now.

The primary focus of the National Cultural Commission (NCC) is to promote the preservation and vitality of indigenous cultures. To achieve this, festivals have become a significant platform that is utilized by the NCC to inspire and empower people across Papua New Guinea to uphold and sustain their traditional heritage.

NCC’s main priority is to support, sustain, and maintain cultures in live form. So, festivals have become an important platform that NCC has used in terms of encouraging the people throughout Papua New Guinea to sustain and maintain their indigenous cultures.

Bundi-Komba festival is a rare food culture festival. It will be staged on the 8th-10th, of April 2024.