The two-day ASEAN Mini Festival, themed "Festival of ASEAN Cultural Expressions," aimed to showcase the regional identity of ASEAN to the world, opened at the Airport Mall, Brunei on Wednesday.

In the opening remarks, minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair, said "ASEAN countries shared many similarities and common roots in their traditional games. The common traditional games and other traditional games in ASEAN can easily foster transnational cultural understanding which can become an effective vehicle to regional political, economic and cultural integration thus the realization of the ASEAN Community by 2015. Traditional games can be seen as added value in terms of cultural comprehension and mutual tolerance both within the community of nations and between them."

About 40 participants from ASEAN including Brunei participated in the Mini festival which showcases the various traditional games of each ASEAN country. The Mini Festival will provide opportunities to experience the wealth of arts and culture found around the ASEAN region as well as in fostering regional development.

It also promotes effective cooperation in the fields of culture and information for the purpose of enhancing awareness of understanding of the people about the unique history of the ASEAN region by experiencing the cultural similarities and differences through traditional games between and amongst ASEAN member states.

The Mini Festival is the flagship project to highlight the Bali Declaration on ASEAN Unity in cultural Diversity: Towards Strengthening ASEAN community, which was endorsed in 2011.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2014)