Oration In GREEN Lecture, Menbud: Polemic Of Indonesian Human Culture: New World And New Culture

JAKARTA The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Fadli Zon, was present as a keynote speaker at the GREEN Lecture event held by the GREAT Institute at The Sultan Hotel and Residence, Jakarta. By carrying the theme Polemic of Indonesian Human Culture: New World and New Culture, This forum is a strategic arena to re-explore the roots and directions of Indonesian culture in the midst of the increasingly rapid global shocks and changes.

Starting his oration, Menbud Fadli quoted what was conveyed by an intellectual, journalist, and great writer, Mochtar Lubis, who gave a speech at Taman Ismail Marzuki 1977 on six Indonesian human characteristics. Menbud Fadli also re-uplifted the cultural polemics that had colored Indonesia's cultural journey since the 1930s, including the monumental work of Nugroho Notosusanto and cultural dynamics involving big figures, such as Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, HB Jassin, and Sanusi Pane.

The speech and policy at that time then led to a big polemic of culture. This policy opens up space for fundamental questions about the future of Indonesian people, including the direction of culture that should have been pursued by this nation. Polemic is part of the dialectic. Behind the debate, new creativity and synthesis were born. What is dangerous is that if we are too silent, there is no polemic, there is no progress," said Menbud Fadli.

Furthermore, Menbud Fadli emphasized two important things in Indonesian identification reinvening efforts, namely first, Indonesia is a nation rich in diversity and second, Indonesia as the oldest civilization in the world. Regarding diversity, Indonesia is not only a country with cultural diversity, but is categorized as a mega-diversity culture. With more than 2,200 nationally recorded unobject cultural heritages and 16 registered at UNESCO, Indonesia's potential as the epicenter of world culture is still very large," he said.

Regarding the oldest civilization, continued Menbud Fadli, according to archaeological data, more than 60% of Homo Erekus findings in the world come from Indonesia. The oldest cave painting in the world, over 51,000 years old, was discovered in Maros and the Sangkulirang karst area, East Kalimantan, which is estimated to be around 40,000 years old. This proves that Indonesia has been the center of civilization since prehistoric times," explained Menbud Fadli.

On this occasion, Menbud Fadli also announced a program to write national history from an Indonesian point of view, which is currently being worked on by 112 historians. In addition, the Ministry of Culture has initiated a repatriation program for cultural objects from abroad, including 18,000 artifacts from the Netherlands, as well as crisis and manuscript.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the GREAT Institute, Syahganda Nainggolan, said that the GREEN Lecture discussion was held to carry out in-depth reflections on the identity and civilization of Indonesia. Syahganda revealed that before independence, the nation's founders often had serious conversations about national identity, what kind of nation are we really about, what kind of human beings are. He encouraged the re-organization of the Cultural Congress.

This forum also presents a number of national figures from various fields that enrich the current and future Indonesian cultural perspectives. The speakers included the Chairman of Commission X DPR RI, Hetifah Sjaifudian; Sociologist and writer, Okky Madasari; Ubud Writers and Readers Festival founder, Janet DeNefe; ITB Humanica Study Activist, Alfathri Adlin; Physicologist, Muhammad Misbahudin; and Geopolitical Observer and GREAT Institute Policy Observer, Hanief Adrian.

Closing his oration, Menbud Fadli said under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto, the Ministry of Culture is committed to ensuring that Indonesia's cultural heritage is preserved and utilized optimally to strengthen national identity, glue and unify the nation, as well as enrich the world's civilization. "Let us all play an active role in preserving culture to build a more advanced, creative, and competitive Indonesia. We must not be spectators in this global current. We must be actors, who not only survive but also contribute to world civilization through typical Indonesian culture: open but rooted, modern but soulful, global but still local," he concluded.