Promoting Objects of Advancement of Culture

Collaboration between Local Government and Communities

Indonesia is a country rich in nature and culture. It is no wonder that the former UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture

(ADG Culture)

Francesco Bandarin said to the then Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud) Muhadjir Effendy that Indonesia is a “superpower” country in terms of culture. This statement was conveyed during a meeting on the sidelines of the 39th UNESCO General Assembly which took place at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, in November 2017. This is based on the fact that Indonesia has so much natural and cultural diversity.

Indonesia has 17 thousand islands spread across 38 provinces (including 4 newly established provinces in Papua in 2022), 416 regencies, 98 cities, 7,094 sub-districts, 74,957 villages and 8,490 sub-districts (as of 2019). With this extraordinary potential, how is the governance of culture in Indonesia and what is the role of the local government in developing and utilizing cultural potential or objects of advancement of culture in their area? These are the challenges that have been addressed in the Law Number 5 of 2017 concerning the Advancement of Culture.

The Advancement of Culture, Our Shared Responsibility

Based on Law No. 5/2017, it is clear that the Advancement of Culture is under the coordination of the Minister of Education and Culture since this is part of the effort to improve cultural resilience and Indonesian cultural contribution to the development of world civilizations through cultural protection, development, utilization, and empowerment. The principles of the advancement of culture are tolerance, diversity, locality, interterritorial, participation and benefits, sustainability, freedom of expression, integration, equality and mutual cooperation – as mandated in Law no. 5/2017 Article 3.

The aims of the advancement of culture are very noble namely to provide direction in the course of national development, including developing the nation’s virtue, enriching cultural diversity, strengthening the nation’s unity and integrity, educating the nation’s image, achieving a civil society, improving people’s welfare, preserving the nation’s cultural heritage, and contributing to the enrichment of the world’s civilization as stated in Law no. 5/2017 Article 4.

The technical implementation of the Advancement of Culture is a shared responsibility between the government and society, both individuals and communities. The local governments play an important role in the management of objects for the advancement of culture. This role is set in stages from the district, provincial and national levels. This is in line with the Law on the Advancement of Culture regarding the responsibility of regency/municipal government in identifying cultural potential in their regions by developing the Pokok Pikiran Kebudayaan Daerah-PPKD (Culture White Papers) as a reference for the advancement of culture.

PPKD (Culture White Papers)

The advancement of culture is guided by the Regency/municipal Culture White Papers, Provincial Culture White Papers, Cultural Strategy, and the Master Plan for the Advancement of Culture as stipulated in Law no. 5/2017 Article 8. Culture White

Papers are the basis for the advancement of culture that have been prepared in stages starting from the regency/ municipal level and then to the provincial and national levels as the core materials for developing Cultural Strategy which then will become the core materials for the Master Plan for the Advancement of Culture (UU No. 5/2017 Article 10).

Regency/municipal Culture White Papers describes the current condition of the objects of the advancement of culture, cultural human resources, cultural organizations, cultural institutions, infrastructure, potential problems for the advancement of culture, and analysis of and recommendations for implementing the advancement of culture in each regency/municipality (see Law No. 5/2017 Article 11 paragraph 2).

The latest data – compiled by the Center for Cultural Data and Information, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology – shows the dynamics in the preparation of Culture White Papers from 514 regencies/municipalities with the following details:

Year 2018 : 301

Year 2019 : 59

Year 2020 : 32

Year 2021 : 19

Year 2022 : 18

The data states that out of a total of 429 existing regencies/municipalities, 79 regencies/municipalities have not yet drafted their Culture White Paper, including DKI Jakarta Province which consists of 6 (six) municipalities. It should be noted that the Culture White Paper is a crucial matter that must be prepared by districts/cities as part of commitment and seriousness in advancing culture. A commitment that must be renewed from time to time as a policy basis and priority setting in advancing culture in each regency/city.

Good Practices for the Advancement of Culture at Local Level

The advancement of culture at the local level requires a strong commitment both from the government and the community. Creativity, hard work, networking, and financing are required so that programs and activities could be implemented with broad and sustainable impact, while contributing to cultural preservation and improving the general welfare. In addition, there is a need for collective awareness to pass on the objects of advancement of culture especially to the younger generation.

Commitment to advancing culture stems from institutional governance as administrator of the cultural sector. Data collected up to November 2021 shows that out of 34 provinces, only 7 provinces have dedicated cultural offices, namely West Sumatra, DKI Jakarta, Riau, Bali, Riau Islands, North Sulawesi and Yogyakarta Special Region. This is in line with Law no. 23/2014 on Regional Government which states that governors and regents or mayors can establish a Regional Apparatus Organization to manage important regional affairs, including culture.

Meanwhile, regencies/cities that already have offices dedicated for culture are Sawahlunto City, Buton Regency, East Belitung Regency, East Kutai Regency, and Makassar City. These regency/municipal offices are focused on sustainably managing objects of advancement of culture and paying more attention to programmes and activities in the cultural sector which are supported by funding from the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget or other funds from various sources.

East Belitung Regency is committed to developing spices and maritime affairs, building a maritime museum as a support for the revitalization of spice culture and organizing the ‘Jelajah Pesona Jalur Rempah-JPJR’ (Explore the Spice Routes) festival. Whereas, the ‘Pesta Kesenian Bali-PKB’ (Bali Arts Festival) has been organized by the government of Bali Province for decades. PKB is managed systemically with good programs, organizing mechanisms, networks and funding support. PKB has become one of the most awaited annual agenda which involves all components of Balinese society. The two local governments above are good examples of efforts for the advancement of culture which resulted from the collaboration between the local government and the community.

Nonetheless, local governments that do not have their dedicated cultural office also have commitment for culture. Some of these local governments are enthusiastic in raising their cultural potential and wisdom in ways that are more creative and accepted by society. They also develop their network and create more fun and unique contemporary activities that could be of interest to the community.

Their commitment is demonstrated by organizing various cultural preservation activities, involving the community, networking with various stakeholders, and communicating with the central government in terms of program advocacy and development. This is very positive, considering that networking with various parties will increase media exposure and result in broader impact than working in silo. Therefore, it is very important to build a strong working network between government agencies and the communities, both individuals and groups, to synergize the efforts for the advancement of culture at the local level.

The local objects of advancement of culture must be sustained in ways that are creative and involving all elements in society. Gotong royong (mutual cooperation) is the core in developing programs, securing funding and implementing activities for the advancement of culture. In addition, synergy, mutual support, and commitment of local governments are the main keys in advancing culture throughout Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke, from Miangas to Rote Island.

Salam Budaya

(Yayuk Sri Budi R, Associate Cultural Administrator, Head of Working Group for Cultural Development, Directorate of Cultural Development and Utilization, MoECRT)

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Ngarak Barong is one of Bekasi‛s traditional heritage. There will be a parade. The objective of this tradition is maintaining good relationship (silaturahmi)

Fruits and dishes will be presented on the rugs and we will gather to eat together (Bebaritan).

Hi Guys! We are from Bekasi and will have an exciting program today. Come and join us! So you know that Bekasi is proud of its culture

EEAA..TT DAH!!

Mpok, we are moving too slow. We need to speed up if we want to arrive soon in Bekasi.

Today is a special day. We – from Bekasi – have an assignment to collect the natural resources from our region. These naturally grown resources will later be cooked by the ladies for our special dishes today.

Is

This is what happened if you play too much with layangan koangan. You haven‛t even touch your social science book! Bekasi is located in West Java on the eastern border of Jakarta.

I will help with the make up and traditional attire for the young people from our village this afternoon. Do you know that I am an award winning make up artist?

What are you making, encang?

Our region has a potential for high quality rice commodity. There are also plenty of natural resources in the rivers and lakes. You could catch a fish easily in this area.

Well, little brother…

We are going to organise “Ngarak Barong” this afternoon. It as a tradition to celebrate Lebaran organised by the Betawi community within 2 weeks after the end of Ramadhan month. It is going to be exciting

I could not wait to cook Betawi traditional food. I can guarantee that it is going to be delicious!

This Barong Mask will be used for the Ngarak Barong tradition this afternoon.

In the past, this kind of mask was used in the ritual to repel disease outbreaks and crops diseases. A Barong should look like a giant scary creature. Today, Barong is part of the cultural heritage preservation in Bekasi.

Could we join the Ngarak Barong, Cang?

Yes, surely!

Alright…

Let‛s start our tradition. We will start the Ngarak Barong while maintaining silaturahmi.