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Papuan tree kangaroo, bird of paradise chosen as 2020 National Games mascots
The 20th National Games will be opened on Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. in 2020.
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The National Games (PON) XX logo and Drawa, the 'cenderawasih' (bird of paradise) mascot. (Courtesy of /Papua Province)
T
he Papuan gold-mantled tree kangaroo and the famous cenderawasih (bird of paradise) have been chosen as the mascots for the 2020 National Games (PON), to be held next year in Papua.
Papua Governor Lukas Enembe unveiled the logo and the mascots of the 20th PON on Thursday, explaining that the logo depicted the Papua Bangkit (Papua Rises Up) Stadium with three circles in red, yellow and blue above it. The circles represent achievement, sportsmanship and solidarity.
“The three circles represent the three [interlocking] rings of the National Sports Council [KONI] logo as the head of sporting achievement in Indonesia,” Papua Youth and Sports Agency acting head Alex Kapisa said during the launch.
In addition to the circles and the stadium, Kapisa explained that the three triangles in the logo represented the abundant natural resources in Papua. Meanwhile, the Papuan motif inside the triangles represents the region’s cultural diversity.
The mascots have been named Kangpho and Drawa.
“Kangpho, the golden-mantled tree-kangaroo is a very popular endangered animal in Papua. This species lives around the Mamberamo Foja area,” Kapisa said.
He went on to say that the cenderawasih represented spirit, warmth and excitement.
“The number of wings, tails, toes and talons of both [mascots] represents PON XX 2020, which is planned to be opened at 8 p.m. on the 20th day of the 10th month in 2020,” said the event chairman Yunus Wonda. On a 24-hour clock, 8 p.m. is the 20th hour.
PON XX 2020 will be held in several regencies in Papua, including Jayapura, Mimika and Biak Numfor.
Yunus expressed optimism that preparations and construction of facilities would be completed on time.
“There is still one year to boost the preparations and we are working on it,” Wonda said. (sau)
