PHNOM PENH: Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Pheung Sakona, expressed her desire to see private companies support Cambodian cultural and artistic events in order to promote the Kingdom’s arts into a higher level. The Minister’s remarks were made during the "Memorial Night 2021" held on Sunday night.

The “Memorial Night” celebrates the inclusion of Cambodia’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the World Heritage List and in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, this year particularly celebrating the 3rd anniversary of the inclusion of Wat Svay Andet, the Cambodian traditional puppet theatre performance.

"I hope that private companies will continue to support and cooperate with the Memorial Night every year, as well as other cultural events organized by the Ministry. As a common effort for Khmer cultural arts to be more prominent and brilliant on both national and international stages.” Said Minister Phoeung Sakona.

She has recalled when Wat Svay Andet has been chosen as part of UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage of Humanity list on 28 of November, in Mauritius. Therefore, November is an important month for cultural heritage, especially because most of the cultural heritage sites of UNESCO heritage are registered during this period.

In 2019, the first Memorial Night event held at the Terrace of the Elephants in the Angkor area was proudly supported by a large number of spectators, both at venue and in TV and social media. The second Memorial Night, scheduled for 2020, has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, as said by the Minister, the Memorial Night has been possible because the artists have ddicated their best for the occurrence of the event, along with the support of governmental partners and private companies.