To This Day, National Cultural Heritage Reaches 228 Sites

JAKARTA - Cultural heritage is a historical heritage that has important value for a nation. Its existence reflects the journey of civilization and cultural identity that must be preserved.

Cultural heritage includes not only historical buildings, but also traditions, arts, and cultural heritage such as pantun. Preservation of cultural heritage is a shared responsibility so that the nation's cultural wealth does not disappear in the midst of modernization.

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon revealed that until now, the number of national cultural heritages that have been recorded has reached 228 sites.

"Based on data compiled by the Ministry of Culture, there are 228 cultural heritages that already have national rankings. However, this number is still much smaller than the total potential cultural heritage in Indonesia," said Fadli at an international seminar on the Nusantara pantun as quoted by ANTARA.

In addition, Fadli also conveyed that the number of intangible cultural heritages set at the national level reached around 2,213, while 16 of them had received recognition from UNESCO.

One of the newest is Reog Ponorogo, as well as a joint nomination application for kebaya and kolintang music. Previously, pantun had also been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2020.

As a form of commitment in maintaining cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture continues to make efforts to preserve, including in terms of oral culture such as pantun. One of the strategies carried out is to collaborate with various communities and associations so that this tradition remains alive and well known by the younger generation.

Pantun itself is a form of cultural expression that contains local moral values and wisdom. Therefore, the preservation of pantun is not only the responsibility of the government but also the wider community so that its existence does not fade along with the times.

In today's digital era, the preservation of rhymes can also be done through the use of technology. For example, making rhymes with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as introducing rhymes through social media and various other digital platforms.

"Digital technology provides many opportunities for us to preserve rhymes, especially for the younger generation who are familiar with social media. The various platforms available can be used to disseminate rhymes to remain relevant in everyday life," said Fadli.

However, he stressed the importance of maintaining rhymes in traditional forms. However, on the other hand, adaptation to the times is also needed so that this culture remains easy to reach by various levels of society.

Through this effort, it is hoped that cultural heritage and cultural heritage such as pantun can continue to be sustainable and become an inseparable part of the identity of the Indonesian nation.