Five Priority Areas Outlined At Special SOCA Meeting In Desaru

KOTA TINGGI, March 4 (Bernama) -- In line with Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) as the lead of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) pillar, outlined five priority areas and deliverables during the Special Meeting of the Senior Officials’ Committee for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (SOCA) held today in Desaru here.

MOTAC secretary-general Datuk Roslan Abdul Rahman said the five priority areas and deliverables were arts and culture, health, youth and sports, artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, green jobs, and climate action.

“In addition to the endorsement of the ASCC Strategic Plan which will be adopted at the 46th ASEAN Summit in May 2025, the meeting also discussed the partial and initial interim findings of the End-Term Review of the ASCC Blueprint 2025.

“The meeting also endorsed the proposed draft Rules of Procedures for the ASCC Secondment Officers,” he told a press conference here.

He emphasised that the ASCC is committed to enhancing people's quality of life through people-oriented and people-centered cooperative initiatives and will continue to strengthen regional cooperation towards realising human development fully, resilience and sustainable development across the 15 sectors covering a wide range of areas.

"The ASCC Strategic Plan benefits ASEAN peoples in numerous ways, directly improving their quality of life and fostering greater regional integration. 

"This includes cultural preservation and exchange; youth and sports development; technological advancement; environmental sustainability and green jobs; and inclusive growth and social cohesion," he said.

Roslan further highlighted four key ASCC programmes under the ministry including the ASEAN-UK Symposium on the Development of the ASEAN Creative Economy Sustainability Framework, which serves as a platform for ASEAN policymakers, academia, and practitioners to discuss the way forward in developing cultural and creative industries (CCIs) within the framework of a regional creative economy unique to ASEAN developments.

Others are the ASEAN-Korea Music Festival (ROUND 2025), a landmark event co-organised by Malaysia and South Korea in collaboration with Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) World, the Melaka Declaration on Cultural Heritage Value Creation Workshop and the Best of ASEAN Performing Arts (BoAPA) 2025.

The event was attended by 11 SOCA leaders from ASEAN Member States (AMS) and Timor Leste as an observer country.

-- BERNAMA