“I am very pleased that the Intercultural Forum for the youths was organised and the youths given the opportunity to speak their minds on this matter, which shows that you understand the importance of the subject under discussion,” Hamden said when closing the 5th Sarawak Cultural Symposium at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) here yesterday. “Now you know what role the confluence of cultures has played in making Sarawakians of different races and religions able to live in peace and harmony with one another. “Use that same concept to make sure that our people will still enjoy the same peace and prosperity in the next 45 years,” Hamden added. “I would like to acknowledge that there are many other good resolutions which have come out of the symposium which will be followed up to strengthen our solidarity as 1Sarawak, in line with the 1Malaysia concept,” he added. He said within the various communities here, there was already a confluence of cultures where the Bidayuh, Chinese, Iban, Melanau, Indian, Orang Ulu, and Malays had achieved cultural understanding and acceptance. He also said the confluence of cultures in Sarawak happened at various levels – personal, community, schools, universities and state levels. “At the personal level, each of us is the icon of culture. “Our lifestyle is influenced by our grandparents and parents and thus we become the role model for our children. “In our small way, we are able to teach our children our own culture and values if we take the effort to learn about it from our grandparents and parents. “Documentation and sharing of information such as historic events, traditions, places of origin, foods, arts, folk stories and festivals will enrich our life and our children’s knowledge about our own culture,” Hamden said. He said the symposium celebrated the confluence of cultures among the various communities here, a process that had started to bear fruits at the grassroots, state and national levels. He hoped all the delegates who were representing their respective ethnic communities and associations were able to deliver what were discussed to their respective associations and communities. The two-day symposium addressed many important issues pertaining to cultural diversity, confluence of cultures and inter-cultural bonding. The cultural symposium has forged closer relationship among the delegates and the synergy is expected to be transformed into the next cultural symposium which will be held five years from now.