JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadli Zon encourages the birth of more community-based cultural spaces in various regions. Spaces like this are considered important to cultivate writers, thinkers, artists, culturalists, as well as connecting culture with village life and nature.
This was conveyed by Fadli when visiting the Yasnaya Polyana Training Center in Banyumas Regency, Central Java, Saturday, June 27.
Yasnaya Polyana Training Center is known as a space for the development of philosophy, literature, organic agriculture, and residency programs. During the visit, Fadli also witnessed the Ngéngér Tani 2026 Residency program with the theme of Village Life Literacy: Advocacy of Culture for Village People.
The program received support from the Ministry of Culture through the Indonesian Raya Fund.
"We hope that cultural enclaves, pockets of culture like Yasnaya Polyana, will grow more in all of Indonesia," said Fadli.
According to Fadli, cultural spaces such as Yasnaya Polyana can be a place of incubation for writers, thinkers, literary scholars, artists, and culturalists. He considers this model interesting because it does not separate culture from nature and organic agriculture.
Fadli also mentioned the name Yasnaya Polyana reminded him of a region of the same name in Russia, which is known as the residence and museum of the writer Leo Tolstoy. He had visited the place about thirty years ago.
According to Fadli, the cross-country inspiration shows that literature and culture can transcend the boundaries of space and time, and then grow again in a different form in Indonesia.
"We can collaborate further. We will support so that places that are cultural spaces like this can continue to grow and be sustainable," he said.
The founder of the Yasnaya Polyana Training Center, Ashoka Siahaan, said culture should be seen as a civilization strategy, not just a ceremonial activity.
According to Ashoka, the current cultural challenges require strengthening values, ideologies, and collective awareness so that the nation does not lose its identity in the midst of global influences.
"In the future, what we must delve into is cultural politics so that we are eling lan waspodo, eling from within, vigilant against outside influences," said Ashoka.
The visit is part of the Ministry of Culture's efforts to expand cooperation with communities and cultural spaces in the region. The goal is to strengthen the cultural ecosystem that grows from the community, not only from the official government stage.
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