Indonesia: Bandung to hold Asia-Africa Festival on July 29

Bandung, The Gulf Observer: The Bandung city government will hold the Asia-Africa Festival on July 29 after two years of absence due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, acting Bandung Mayor Ema Sumarna said.

This annual event will take place on Asia Africa Street where the historic building President Soekarno had used as the venue of the Asia-Africa Conference on April 18-24, 1955 is located.

“The Bandung administration will showcase the city’s potentials in this one-day festival. Hopefully, four or five countries will also participate in the event. May it be successful,” Sumarna said in a statement that ANTARA quoted here Sunday.

The city government has coordinated with local police to ensure that the road traffic can be managed well during the event that will take place from 02:00 p.m.to 06:00 p.m.local time, he said.

Both the city government and the police have agreed on a traffic diversion in anticipation of congestion during the event, he added.

Meanwhile, Head of the Bandung City Culture and Tourism Office’s Cultural and Art Products Division Ratnarahayu Pitriyati said four countries had so far confirmed their participation in this year’s Asia Africa Festival.

“Other countries still wait for the Foreign Ministry’s invitations. We are making our utmost efforts to make the event that is again held after two-year disruption of COVID-19 successful,” she said.

Some 250 people from 13 communities would join a parade on Jalan Asia Afrika, one of the busiest streets in downtown Bandung. During the parade, they would wear traditional dress of the Asia African countries, she said.

According to Pitriyati, six districts/cities have also confirmed their willingness to participate in the festival that would hopefully help refresh locals’ memories of the historic event of the Asia Africa Conference that had produced the Ten Principles of Bandung or Dasasila Bandung.

Last year, the historic moment of the 1955 Bandung Conference was commemorated through an international conference of People’s Consultative Assemblies of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members.

The international conference was held on October 24-26, 2022. On October 25, the delegates reminisced about the Asia Africa Conference by walking together on Jalan Asia Afrika.

They walked for 100 meters from Savoy Homann Hotel to the Merdeka Building that hosted the international conference.