14 December Officially Designated as National History Day

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia officially designated December 14 as National History Day through the Decree of the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 206/M/2025 which was signed on December 8, 2025. This determination was made on the proposal of the Indonesian Historical Society (MSI).

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon emphasized that the establishment of History Day aims to strengthen the collective historical awareness of the nation with an Indonesia-centric approach. "History Day refers to the National History Seminar which took place on December 14-17, 1957 at Gadjah Mada University. At that time, Indonesia began to write its own history with a national perspective," said Fadli Zon at the Soft Launching of the book History of Indonesia: National Dynamics in Global Currents, Sunday (14/12).

December 14 was chosen because it coincided with the implementation of the first Indonesian History Seminar on December 14-18, 1957 at UGM, Yogyakarta. This forum became a milestone for Indonesian historians to break free from a colonial-centric perspective and build a national historiography based on the experience of the nation itself.

This awareness then developed and gave birth to the six-volume Indonesian National History in 1975, which to this day is the main reference for writing Indonesian history.

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Director General of Cultural and Traditional Protection Restu Gunawan stated that the establishment of History Day is a form of the state's presence in maintaining collective memory. "History is the foundation. Losing history means losing national direction," he said.

According to Restu, History Day also confirms the commitment of the Ministry of Culture - as an independent ministry - in the government of President Prabowo Subianto to recognize strategic historical events.

In the midst of the heavy flow of global information and digital disruption, History Day is expected to be an educational momentum so that the public, especially the younger generation, has a critical, research-based understanding of history, and is not easily distorted.