PAPUA GOVT TO SET UP CULTURAL LABORATORY

Jayapura, May 19 (ANTARA) - The Papua provincial administration through the Culture and Tourism Office is planning to set up a cultural laboratory in the province this year.

Local Culture and Tourism Office spokesman Masmur said here on Tuesday such a laboratory was needed in Papua because Indonesia's easternmost province had cultural diversity but it was being gradually eroded by foreign influences.

"An immediate solution to save Papua's cultural diversity needs to be found. Otherwise, it will sooner or latter disappear and the next generation in the province will no longer know nothing about it," Masmur said.

He said one of the ways to save Papua's cultures was to build a laboratory to store all data and information about the region's local cultures.

"If such a laboratory is set up in Papua, it will later become the center of research and tourism for all parties who want to know the culture of Papua," Masmur said.

He added that most of the cultures such as ethnic languages and folklore in Papua were verbal ones and therefore they had to be documented.

"If the younger generation continues to adopt foreign culture, they will in the long run forget their own ethnic languages and customs ," Masmur said.

He expressed hope that with the presence of a cultural laboratory in Papua, the local people would remain aware of and respect their own culture.

"Even foreign people come to Papua to do research on our cultures. Therefore it is time for the local people to respect their own cultures," Masmur said.