The two-week festival will bring together participants from Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Kanaks of New Caledonia.
Head of the Culture Division in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Dennis Marita, said the size of the contingent to represent the country is yet to be determined.
He said this will depend on the amount of funding the Government will provide.
Mr Marita said this year’s festival will be slightly different compared to past festivals.
“The festival will be held at four different locations in New Caledonia,” Mr Marita said.
“These are in the southern, northern, capital Noumea and in the Loyalty Islands.
“Organisers decided to do this in order to present the different Melanesian cultures to the Kanaks of New Caledonia.
“In fact New Caledonia wants to educate its citizens of the different Melanesian cultures that exist and to strengthen the people’s relations with their Melanesian brothers and sisters,” he said.
Mr Marita said they are looking at sending four different cultural groups to represent the country.
“We already have a number of groups registered to attend the festival but we are yet to final this because we want to be sure of the funds we will get from the government.”
The Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festive is held every four years.
The first festival was held in 1998 in Honiara.
This year’s theme for is “Our Identity Lies Ahead of Us”.
By JENNIFER KAKAI
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