Timor-Leste border festival ends with call for cultural dialogue
Indonesian delegations attended the event in Kom, where officials highlighted reconciliation and links between communities across maritime borders.
Cultural exchange and reconciliation were the focus as Timor-Leste’s government closed the 2026 Border Festival in Kom, in Lautem municipality. Delegations representing East Nusa Tenggara province and Southwest Maluku regency in Indonesia took part.
The Lautem municipal authority worked with the Secretariat of State for Art and Culture and Centro Nacional Chega! to organise the event. Jorge Soares Cristóvão, secretary of state for art and culture, said the exchanges aimed to strengthen cooperation and encourage dialogue among communities along the border.
Cristóvão said Lautem’s selection reflected the importance of maritime boundaries as well as land borders. He noted that more than 30 participants had travelled from Kisar in Southwest Maluku, describing their attendance as an indication of interest in future collaboration with Timor-Leste.
Hugo Maria Fernandes, executive director of Centro Nacional Chega!, said memory and history underpinned the festival’s cultural programme. A seminar contribution from António Fonseca explored local knowledge of protecting and valuing land, sea, water and forests.
Lautem municipal authority president Melio de Jesus pointed to historical, cultural and family connections with nearby Indonesian island communities. He said the events of 1999 had divided families and communities, and described reconciliation and peacebuilding as continuing collective responsibilities.
