Local musicians must take advantage of Ambon’s designation as UNESCO’s City of Music to develop their art and contribute to the economy, an official from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has said.

“Let us utilize UNESCO’s recognition of Ambon as an opportunity for local musicians to develop themselves,” the ministry’s expert staff for bureaucracy and regulation reform department, Ari Juliano Gema, stated here on Friday.

The Ambon authorities worked hard for three years to get Ambon designated as the City of Music by UNESCO in 2019, the expert staff said.

“I laud the Ambon authorities and residents’ commitment to supporting the application process for three years as we saw Ambon successfully attain the status on its first try,” Gema added.

Ambon’s success in achieving the status has opened new possibilities for development through cooperating with other cities, particularly cities with similar UNESCO status, he noted.

“Cooperation with other cities might take the form of event cooperation or other cooperation outside the music sector, and I am convinced the designation has opened new potentials and opportunities for local musicians,” Gema remarked.

With the City of Music tag, Ambon has joined the world music community, hence local musicians have a huge opportunity to take part in national and global development, he added.

“One might ask ‘Can music play a role in economic development?’ and I say it is possible, as the city’s designation by UNESCO will open new opportunities in the global community provided we have a global outlook while developing our cooperation,” Gema explained.

The UNESCO designation would also pose new challenges for the Ambon authorities, academics, and businesses to develop their capacity to welcome international cooperation potential, he said.

“We must be ready to welcome international cooperation potential by enhancing our preparation effort to avoid under-preparedness when we received the collaboration offer,” Gema said.

Source: Antara News