Izah Azahari
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) is planning to provide an academy that will become the centre of the arts and culture with a professional workforce to build a resilient national identity.
This was shared Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Nazmi bin Haji Mohamad during the 19th Legislative Council (LegCo) session yesterday.
The minister was responding to LegCo member Yang Berhormat Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan’s query as to whether the MCYS plans to go forward with the establishment of a National Arts Academy discussed with local artists recently.
“To realise the aspiration, the ministry developed a curriculum book for the Brunei Cultural Arts Academy, aimed at preserving Brunei’s rich culture and promoting a deeper understanding of its customs,” said the minister.
He added that the book will provide an opportunity to learn and enhance skills in traditional music, dance, creative writing, as well as traditional and contemporary performing arts as part of the academy’s mission.
“It is also hoped that this curriculum will be used as a support and direction for the movement of youth and other artists to gain knowledge and skills in the arts and culture of Brunei,” said the minister.
The minister also shared that the draft modules in the curriculum have been discussed with the Ministry of Education (MoE) for research and the art fields identified as priorities are: traditional music, singing, traditional dance, visual arts, craft arts, creative writing, art screening, and various media.
“This completed curriculum will be a guide through several formal learning methods that will be implemented, such as short-term workshops, master class programmes, and other specific courses.”
Furthermore, as part of its immediate efforts, the ministry have devised strategies to promote cultural art and its intrinsic values. This includes the organisation of cultural art roadshows and workshops, as well as offering courses and briefings to students at higher education institutions and youth associations to foster greater awareness and appreciation of various art forms.
The minister also said the MCYS typically utilises its own facilities to organise roadshows, working in collaboration with the Department of Co-Curriculum Education of the MoE to conduct ‘Training of Trainers’ sessions focussed on traditional Bruneian arts, including dance, hadrah and gulingtangan.
