National Museum Revitalized, Danantara Trust Enters to Help Restore Building

JAKARTA - The revitalization of the National Museum of Indonesia has begun to receive new support from the philanthropic sector. The Ministry of Culture through the Museum and Cultural Heritage signed a memorandum of understanding with the Danantara Trust Fund or Danantara Indonesia Trust at Wisma Danantara Indonesia, Jakarta, Monday, May 25.

This cooperation includes the development of the library facilities of the National Museum as a center of knowledge and cultural research. Support is also directed to revitalizing the museum building area that was affected by the fire so that it can be used again as a cultural public space.

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon welcomed the cooperation. He said the government was opening up more space for the private sector and philanthropic institutions to help strengthen the cultural infrastructure.

"Since the presence of the Ministry of Culture as a stand-alone ministry, we have also formed the Museum and Cultural Heritage Patron Council as part of an effort to involve more stakeholders, especially from the private sector," said Fadli.

According to Fadli, Indonesia has a large cultural wealth or cultural mega diversity. This potential can become the basis for the cultural economy and industry, but it is not enough to be worked on by the government alone.

"We hope that with the existence of Danantara Indonesia Trust, we can build trust and encourage more philanthropists to participate in advancing our national culture," said Fadli.

The Chairman of the Indonesian Trust Danantara, Nuraini Razak, said that collaboration with Museums and Cultural Heritage is directed to expand public access to cultural art knowledge.

"Together with the Museum and Cultural Heritage, we are starting a collaboration to strengthen public access to cultural art knowledge and a learning space that is more open to the public," said Nuraini.

He said the development of library space and public learning at the National Museum was part of an effort to open access to the public to Indonesian cultural heritage.

Danantara CEO and Danantara Indonesia Trust's Founder, Rosan Roeslani, said his agency's program focuses on education, including culture, health, and sanitation.

"We want to have a big impact on areas that we think are needed and can be prioritized for our future programs," said Rosan.

Rosan said Danantara Indonesia Trust built a professional and credible philanthropy model through cooperation with national and international partners, including the Gates Foundation.

The signing took place during the launch of the strategic partnership of Danantara Indonesia Trust with a number of partners in the fields of health, education, and culture-based learning.

The revitalization of the National Museum is important because the museum is not only a place to store collections. After the building area was affected by the fire, the public waited for the cultural space to recover, open, and work again as a center of knowledge.