Dr Jacob L Simet
Chief Executive Director
National Cultural Commission

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Organisation Profile

The National Cultural Commission is a Statutory Organisation under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Under the same Ministry are the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (PNGTPA) and the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery.

The National Cultural Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 1994. The significance and importance of the National Cultural Commission Act falls directly under the preamble of the National Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea which states;
We the people of Papua New Guinea -United in one Nation - Pay homage to the Memory of our ancestors, the source of our strength and origin of our combined heritage.- Acknowledge the worthy customs and traditional wisdom of our people, which have come down to us from generation to generation.- Pledge ourselves to guard and pass on to those who come after us, our noble traditions and Christian principle that are now ours.

The above preamble acknowledge the significance of Papua New Guinea's cultures, its importance in social, political and economic sectors. Given this preamble, the National Cultural Commission is empowered by an Act of Parliament in 1994 as the principal agency to be responsible for cultural affairs of Papua New Guinea.

Current Status
At the end of 2007, the National Cultural Commission (N.C.C) will be in its 13th year of existence, having been established in 1994 by an Act of Parliament. As the organization responsible for cultural matters at the national level, the Commission succeeded the former Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) and earlier, the National Cultural Council. The N.C.C. Act which formalized the formation of the Commission was gazetted on the 15th November, 1994. Since then the Commission focused on the immediate task of capacity building.

Since its inception in 1994, the Commission has continued to pursue its functions as set down under Section 4 of the National Cultural Commission Act of 1994.

These functions are;

(a) to assist and facilitate, preserve, protect, develop and promote the traditional cultures of the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea; and (b) to encourage the development, promotion and protection of the contemporary cultures of Papua New Guinea; and (c) to facilitate the marketing of selected and approved aspects of the cultures of Papua New Guinea; and (d) to co-ordinate with related Government and Non-Government Agencies on cultural matters; and (e) to co-ordinate cultural activities with Provincial cultural bodies; (f) to liaise with Non-Government ogranization on cultural matters; and (g) to liaise with international cultural organisations.

The Divisions and Institutions of the Commission have the functions of maintenance and management of the cultural resources of Papua New Guinea, for the benefit of those of us of the present and for those who come after us in the future. The cultural maintenance and management by the National Cultural Commission can be broken down into four main performance areas namely; preservation, protection, development and promotion of both the traditional and modern cultures of Papua New Guinea.

The programs and activities of the National Cultural Commission and its associated institutions all work towards serving the above stated functions. The Commission's cultural institutions each has specific objectives to pursue.

The cultural institutions are: the National Film Institute, the National Performing Arts Troupe and the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies.