The health and safety for participants, partners, committees, as well as any other parties involved, are the main priorities above all
Makassar (ANTARA) - The 9th Forum Festival of Eastern Region of Indonesia (KTI), scheduled in October this year in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), is currently officially postponed over concerns of a further spread of COVID-19.

"This biennial festival -- a celebration for innovation and developmental achievement in the region -- is necessarily to be cancelled this year as we await a change in the situational dynamics in the community," Winarni Monoarfa, chief of the festival's working group, stated here on Wednesday.

Monoarfa explained that the decision to cancel is a measure taken to contain the spread of coronavirus in society and also to support the NTT provincial government to maintain health and safety of its people during the pandemic.

"The health and safety of the participants, partners, committees, as well as any other parties involved, are the main priorities above all," Monoarfa remarked.

The Forum Festival of KTI offers a platform for people to share development solutions, especially "the smart practices" from several developmental programs and activities across the areas of Sulawesi, Maluku, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua.

"We need support and guidance from the governor and provincial government of NTT for the continuity of this festival after the situation returns to normal," Muhammad Yusran Laitupa, executive director of BaKTI Foundation that organizes this event, stated.
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Translator: Suriani Mappong, Suwanti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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