3 Indonesian Documentary Heritages Enter UNESCO World Memory List

Indonesian Flag (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Three Indonesian documentary heritages are included in the list of regional registers for the MOWCAP of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This is done by the Asia Pacific World Memory of the World Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific or MOWCAP.

The three documentary heritages are the Indarung I Semen Padang archive as the first cement factory in Southeast Asia proposed by PT Semen Padang; archives of the 1887-1986 Indonesian Sugar Plantation Research Center proposed by the East Java provincial government and the Indonesian Sugar Plantation Research Center (P3GI); as well as the Tambo manuscript to Pimbel Imam Bonjol proposed by the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas) and the West Sumatra provincial government.

"The contents of PT Semen Padang are paper, photos and maps. Meanwhile, the archives of the Indonesian Sugar Plantation Research Center are in the form of paper and photos while the Tambo script Imam Bonjol is in the form of a book written on paper in 1841 by his son," said Plt. Head of the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) Imam Gunarto quoting Antara.

The decision of the three Indonesian documentary heritages was included in the MOSTCAP regional register list based on the 10th MOWCAP General Meeting which took place at Ulan Bator, Mongolia on May 6-10, 2024 which was attended directly by Imam Gunarto.

"The benefit for Indonesia is that our civilization is controlled internationally as part of world memory and can be used as international diplomacy," added Imam.

For the Indarung I Semen Padang archive as the first cement factory in Southeast Asia, according to Imam, it contains how PT Semen Padang was founded and operationalized as the first cement factory in Southeast Asia in 1920 so that it played a role in infrastructure development.

"The cement produced was not only used by the Dutch East Indies at that time, but also exported to other countries in the Asia Pacific region. Because of its role in the area, the Semen Padang archive has a historical significance of the development of infrastructure and the economy during the Dutch East Indies," said Imam.

The second archive is a sugar study in 1886 that tells the story of pests against sugarcane plants in the world at that time.

"There is international research in East Java, namely at the Indonesian Sugar Plantation Research Center to make sugar cane plants resistant to pests. The results of this research have succeeded in revitalizing the economies of various sugar-producing countries that were previously bankrupt because pests rose again in the late 19th century until the beginning of Indonesia's independence," explained Imam.

The third archive is the Tambo manuscript of Labeling Imam Bonjol which tells the story of the Padri War 1803-1837 containing anti-war teachings, reconciliation and others written by the son of Imam Bonjol.

"Indonesia submitted three nominations and all three were successfully approved to be included in the World Memory list," added Imam.

Apart from Indonesia, there are other countries that have also submitted, including China and India, which have also received three confessions, while other countries have received 1-2 confessions.

As for China, the three documentary heritages included in the Asia Pacific World Memory dProgram are archives related to traditional tea shops in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, southwest China; Huizhou community treeLINEs in Anhui Province in eastern China; and wood printing blocks stored in the Dege Sutra Printing House in Sichuan.

During the meeting, Imam Gunarto was also elected as "Vice Chair" OF MOWCAP for the 2024 2028 period.