Minister of Culture encourages joint nomination of Semana Santa and film cooperation with Mexico - Georgia

JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadli Zon opened new opportunities for Indonesian cultural diplomacy through the plan to jointly nominate the Semana Santa tradition and strengthening cooperation in film with Mexico and Georgia.

This step is considered strategic to expand the recognition of Indonesian culture at the global level, not just a ceremonial agenda.

In a dialogue with the Mexican Ambassador to Indonesia, Fransisco de la Torre Galindo at the Ministry of Culture Building, Tuesday, January 20, Fadli highlighted the similarities between the Semana Santa tradition in Larantuka, Flores, with the Easter celebration in Latin America. The similarities were considered worthy of being submitted as a joint nomination for Intangible Cultural Heritage to UNESCO, both as a new proposal and an expansion of cross-country registration.

"The commonality of cross-national traditions is a concrete space for collaboration. This is not only about recognition, but also a living cultural diplomacy," said Fadli.

Galindo emphasized that community-based culture in Mexico has proven effective in building dialogue and mutual understanding between countries.

In the same place, Fadli also held a dialogue with the Ambassador of Georgia to Indonesia, Tornike Nozadze. He assessed that the Indonesian-Georgian cultural cooperation had not been optimally utilized, even though the memorandum of understanding was available. The focus is directed at the film industry as the most realistic and impactful entry point.

Georgia proposed reciprocal film screenings, festival participation, to joint production with collaborative funding schemes. The Georgian National Film Center expressed readiness for inter-agency technical cooperation. In addition to films, Georgia offers exchanges of traditional art groups, including polyphonic singing recognized by UNESCO.

"I believe people-to-people contact through culture is much more effective than just geographical or academic acquaintance," said the Georgian Ambassador.

Menbud Fadli also agreed that the film realm could be the most effective medium to start cooperation. He said, "We can start through film screenings, participation in festivals, and gradually lead to the development of scenarios and joint production. We can further explore joint funding schemes and matching funds."