Speaking at the Indonesian Historians Society (MSI) National Seminar and Working Meeting at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) in Bandung on Saturday (14/12/24,) Indonesia’s Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, said that he wants Indonesia to become the world’s cultural center because of the diversity of cultures, stretching from Aceh to Papua, which he described as ‘mega diversity,’ according to reporting from Antara News.
“Indonesia has extraordinary diversity. If we look at other countries with more limited cultures, it is because they are homogeneous. Even when they are heterogeneous, their diversity is not as much as ours,” he said.
Zon added that with around 1,300 ethnic groups, Indonesian society has diverse cultural expressions, a situation that has existed for a long time.
“Especially with our historical background and the melting pot in the past, where there was interaction between Indonesian culture and foreign cultures, which gave birth to cultural acculturation and assimilation,” he said.
At the seminar, which featured 90 speakers from various universities presenting research on the history and advancement of culture, Zon highlighted the challenges of digital culture, says Antara News.
He also underlined the importance of registering each cultural expression as a world heritage, saying that Indonesia has 16 intangible cultural heritages and aims to designate at least five more each year in the future.
“Not just three, but at least five every year. Single nominations are limited, but we can also be included in multinational nominations. Then, there is another one called the extension list; this also works with other countries,” the minister said.
Source: Antara News
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