Excellencies,
        Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen I am very much delighted to welcome all of you, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, to this launching of the Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship Programme.

May I also commend all participants for your great interest in Indonesian art and culture, which is why you are here. I promise you that your high expectations about the variety and exuberance of Indonesian culture will be more than satisfied.

As to why Indonesia has organized and sponsored this programme, perhaps a bit of recent history is called for: In 2000, Indonesia spearheaded the formation of Southwest Pacific Dialogue out of a desire to maximise the potentials of this subregion for the benefit of our peoples.

The fact that we share a specific geographic area presents a wide range of opportunities that we can tap, as well as challenges that we can more effectively address through concerted efforts. On that consideration, the Southwest Pacific Dialogue became a reality and during its first ministerial meeting, in Yogyakarta on 5 October 2002, it was decided, among other things, that we should intensify our cooperation in the areas of education and culture through people-to-people contact.

This idea became a concrete undertaking in the form of the Cultural Scholarship Programme of the Southwest Pacific Dialogue, which was carried out in Indonesia last year. The Southwest Pacific Dialogue Ministerial Meeting held in the margins of the UN General Assembly last year assessed the Programme as an outright success, one worth sustaining. Indonesia was, of course, exceedingly gratified by that appraisal.

We have been so encouraged by the enthusiastic response to the Programme that we have decided to expand it altogether to include the ASEAN countries that are not participants to the Southwest Pacific Dialogue, as well as a number of other countries of the Pacific region. We have thus increased the number of participants from 15 to 28. And since it is no longer exclusively a Southwest Pacific Dialogue affair, we have renamed it the Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship Programme.

That all the ASEAN countries are represented in this Programme is of more than passing significance. It is very much in line with the aims and purposes of ASEAN as enshrined in the 1967 Bangkok Declaration. It is very much in line with the commitment to develop an awareness of regional identity and exert all efforts to create a strong ASEAN community as stated in the 1976 Bali Concord. And it is very much in line with the ASEAN Leaders' pledge at the Ninth ASEAN Summit in Bali last year "to achieve an ASEAN Community by the year 2020."

That Community would rest on the three pillars: an ASEAN Security Community, an ASEAN Economic Community and an ASEAN Sociocultural Community. The shaping of the ASEAN Sociocultural community will entail substantial investments in human resources development, particularly basic and higher education.

It will also require greater social cohesiveness among the members of the ASEAN family. That means boosting cultural exchanges and people-to-people contact among the ASEAN countries. Hence, this programme is of fundamental relevance to the goal of attaining an ASEAN Sociocultural Community.
At the same time, we in Indonesia remain committed to expanding and intensifying our politico-security, economic and cultural relations with the countries of the Pacific, including those that are not participants to the SWPD. This expanded Cultural Scholarship Programme also serves that purpose very well.

Although the Programme has been designed as an in-depth learning experience, I assure the participants: you are going to have a good time. You will undertake various art and cultural activities in Bali, Bandung and Yogyakarta. You will learn to play traditional musical instruments such as the gamelan Bali, the gamelan Jawa and the bamboo instrument called angklung. You will try your hand at batik printing and traditional Balinese woodcarving. Going through the paces of Indonesian dances, you will know what amazing grace lies hidden in yourselves and, of course, you are not going to lose weight on a steady diet of Indonesian cuisines and delicacies.

But the most meaningful experience will be your getting to live with the Indonesian people, sharing the richness of their language, sharing their daily routines and the broad range of ideas and feelings with which they respond to the joys and challenges of their workaday lives. I am quite sure that the sharing will be a two-way process: you can give to the Indonesians you come into contact with a glimpse of the wealth of your own cultures and traditions during the three months that you are our guests.

This Programme is therefore a process of mutual enrichment, the importance of which can never be overstated. Culture, after all, is fundamental to the life of society. It is the source of our strength and our ability to prevail over the vicissitudes of life. It is also what makes us truly human.
When individuals forget the culture into which they were born, or refuse to respect the culture in which they have come to live, they part ways with their own humanity. Those who carried out the terrorist attacks in Bali in October 2002, in Jakarta in August last year and, again, in Jakarta very recently, are benighted individuals who have placed themselves beyond the pales of Indonesian culture-a culture that cherishes mutual tolerance and harmony. They have adopted a counter-culture of bloodshed and the murder of innocents.

Indeed, the enhancement of our cultural relations will serve us in good stead as we confront not only terrorism but also an array of other threats and challenges, including those in the economic sphere. For, as we reinforce our connections and our sympathies with one another, we also improve the coordination of our policies and actions. From the commingling of our cultures, we can draw the strength and wisdom that we need to overcome our shared problems.

And, indeed, as cultural exchange becomes a more frequently used tool of diplomacy, we can look forward to a world where the infinite diversity of cultures has been tied up together by a common thread: a culture of peace and cooperation.
Much is therefore at stake in your attendance to this Programme. Benefits will be gained by your respective countries, by our region and by humankind in the learning experience that you will undergo and enjoy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before concluding, I wish to make one note on the tragic day of 9 September, just last Thursday - when a barbaric terrorist attack took place in Jakarta. We mourn the death of innocent civilians and we share the pain and anger of the victims and their families. We have received expressions of condolences, sympathy and support from governments and peoples all over the world.

Indonesia and the world condemned this terrorist act and we have strengthened our resolve to combat terrorism. We are not intimidated by this attack. Instead we are much more determined now than ever to root-out the terrorist networks and bring the perpetrators to justice-as we have done so in the previous cases. In doing so, we remain committed in strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism.

The presence of all participants of the Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship Programme here today also reflects the confidence and support to our determination in combating terrorism.

I wish you all the success in this Programme and a pleasant and memorable stay in Indonesia. And I hereby officially open the 2004 Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship Programme.

I thank you