Culture for Sustainable Living

Challenges facing our world today: pandemics, interstate and intrastate armed conflicts, the threat of terrorism and extremism, responsibility-sharing for refugees and displaced persons, and natural disasters. Resolving these serious challenges would require tremendous attention and energy. There is more than one way to solve all development problems. We often look for a silver bullet, a single solution for all issues, which only would create more problems than solve them. We should address development challenges in different geographical contexts by strengthening existing local potential instead of a panacea to implement anytime and anywhere. Addressing diverse issues would require the diversity of methods or, better yet, diversity as the method.

That way of thinking leads us to culture. Other cultures influence every culture in the world. Cultural diversity is not an obstacle to development; Cultural diversity forms the basis of sustainable development. Only by taking cultural diversity, culture, and context seriously can we establish regional harmony while maintaining national identity and simultaneously fostering a sense of togetherness that unites regional communities.

Culture knows no administrative boundaries because culture existed before the modern political structure and administrative boundary. The hybridization, borrowing, and adoption of cultural elements between groups across national borders is a historical fact. We also recognize the contemporary challenges and complexity of managing cultural diversity, such as climate change, migration, rapid population growth, food insecurity, land degradation, war, terror, conflict, and inequality. Culture and nature are complementary, inseparable, and interdependent, which are crucial to addressing those challenges. Creating an enabling environment is imperative to protect the diversity of cultural expressions. What we need today is the preservation of cultural heritage, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, community participation, and the protection and promotion of cultural diversity and natural ecosystems that contribute to their well-being in both local and global contexts.

By utilizing the wealth of local potential in each country, there are examples of how endogenous resources stimulate sustainable development. The focus should be on strengthening the cultural ecosystem of society: safeguarding traditional knowledge and practices and the surrounding natural environment that inspires them, creating democratic innovations with a touch of technology, and driving local economic growth through the development of utilization networks. To overcome social inequality, we need to strengthen the role of women and youths in initiatives to promote local cultures. Their pioneering work of local wisdom-based conservation and innovation will strengthen a healthy and fair knowledge production ecosystem and enhance equal access to local resources. In this respect, cultural diversity is our way of finding solutions to everyday problems.

I therefore warmly welcome the publication of Indonesiana Magazine Volume 15, published right after Indonesia successfully held the G20 Culture Ministers Meeting with the key message of “Culture for Sustainable Living.” I hope it will inspire the readers to cultivate the potential of local culture in seeking answers to today’s global challenges.

TRADITIONAL

TRADITIONAL

WORLD HERITAGE

64 Updates from the Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage

Vernacular Architetcure

68 Rumah Tuo Kampai Nan Panjang Past Lessons for the Future

Performing Art

72 Miss Tjitjih Approaching the 95 Anniversary of Sundanese Theatre th

TRADITIONAL CUISINE

76 A Sweet Taste of Kipo, a Bite of Memories

Cultural Property

80 Batanghari River The Veins of Civilization

Customaries

84 Cisitu Customary Forest Sustainable Forest, Prosperous Community

HISTORY

88 Awaken the Dragon in Glodok Chinatown

Museum

92 Using Wayang Beber to Spread Messages

Personage

96 Melati Suryodarmo: From Indonesia to the World

Portraits Gallery

102 Maluku Village Opening Ritual Celebrating Patriotism, Renewing Ourselves