The Road To The G20 The Road to a New Normal

An Australian Representative Widji

The Road To The G20

The Road to a New Normal

Today the world is looking for a road to a new normal. Various high-level world forums are busy discussing various possibilities to build a more sustainable post-pandemic order. This includes the G20 (Group of Twenty), a forum of the world’s 20 nations with the largest economies. Indonesia, which holds this year’s G20 Presidency, will offer a new way out of the pandemic: culture road.

Cultural Discourse in the G20

As a forum that was first established in

1999 to respond to the 1998 economic crisis, the G20 tends to focus more on

economic and trade issues. However,

since the Presidency of Saudi Arabia in 2019, there has been a shared

awareness among G20 member states to pay special attention to cultural issues. This awareness was then

realised more concretely during the Italian Presidency in 2020 with the establishment of the G20 Cultural

Working Group.

Built on the first joint meeting of Ministers of Culture organised by the Saudi Presidency in 2020, and further developed during the Italian Presidency in 2021, the G20 Meeting of Ministers of Culture is a platform for the mainstreaming of culture on the development agenda. The importance of culture in promoting more sustainable development is increasingly recognized today. Good initiatives in culture can trigger multiple effects across the spectrum of society. A culture-based economy that promotes diversity and creativity is increasingly seen as a key to create new societies geared toward achieving universal and inclusive prosperity. The Indonesian Presidency is committed to this effort and will hold the third G20 Meeting of Ministers of Culture, September 12-13, 2022.

The Rome Declaration of the G20 Minister of Culture, resulting from

Lobbies for G20 -

Widji the G20 Cultural Working Group under the Italian Presidency, has committed to deepen the transformative role of culture in helping address economic, social, and ecological pressures and needs. This is confirmed by the Rome Leaders Declaration in the form of three main cultural agendas that will be pursued by the next G20 session on culture: (1) safeguarding and promoting culture, (2) supporting workers, including in the cultural field, by facilitating access to employment, social protection, digitization and business support measures, also (3) strengthening cultural cooperation between G20 countries. These three priorities are the starting point for building a new cultural approach in solving life challenges in this pandemic era.

A group photo - Widji

Imagining the New Normal

Pandemic situations reveal latent vulnerabilities in our modern lifestyles. As a result of the pandemic, this vulnerability came to surface and manifested as a

systemic disruption to the supply chain that left us wondering about our current way of life. It is increasingly realised that our current situation has raised existential risks that risk human existence on earth.

We are no longer talking about poverty, inequality, injustice, but about human survival as a species. This crisis, in other words, should be seen as an opportunity to solve the fundamental problems of modern life and create a new, better

society. To recover together, and recover stronger, we need a new, more sustainable lifestyle.

In promoting this new lifestyle, culture plays an important role. The various knowledge, institutions, cultural expressions and practices we inherited have passed the test of time and the laboratory of survival so that they continue to be brought into modern times. If these various cultural sources

are consolidated, then we will have the means to create a more sustainable lifestyle. This is the “culture road” offered by the Indonesian Presidency at the G20. If we look at our traditional culture, there

are many sustainable ways to meet all our basic needs. From processing natural fibres, natural dyes, or social cooperation-based recycling initiatives, leveraging abundant local food sources to improve global food security, to developing environmentally friendly vernacular architectures and encouraging social collaboration and inclusion. If

all this is explored and strengthened through public participation and coupled with equitable access to technology, then we will be able to see a transformation

into a new normal in our way of life: a step out of pandemics, the climate crisis, and social inequality at the global level.

Meeting of Ministers of Culture

The Indonesian government will host the “G20 Culture Ministers Meeting” in on September 12-13, 2022 main objectives: (1) building a global consensus for a sustainable new normal and (2) initiating a global recovery agenda through the establishment of a joint network of action in the field of culture.

To create a broader echoe for the

global public, a number of cultural activists and global pop culture icons who actively strive for a sustainable life based on culture will also participate to give a statement. The “Ruwatan Bumi” performance, a traditional Nusantara ritual to restore cosmic balance, will finish

their activities. Ruwatan Bumi combines elements of ritual and performing arts by involving traditional leaders, traditional

Iwan Syahril Widji Indonesian vocal art groups, and vocal artists from the members of G20

countries.

The series of activities supports the key message of the Indonesian Presidency in G20 2022, namely “Pulih Bersama, Pulih Lebih Kuat”. The way to recover together and be stronger is to take the culture road.

(Martin Suryajaya, Indonesiana)

Merdeka Belajar Widji

G20 participants Widji