Minister of Culture Says Culture Must Be Indonesia's Strength, Not Just a Heritage

Fadli Zon opened the National Children's Cultural and Works at Sebelas Maret University (UNS), Thursday, March 26, 2026. (IST)

SURAKARTA - Minister of Culture (Menbud) Fadli Zon opened the National Children's Cultural and Works at Sebelas Maret University (UNS), Thursday, March 26, 2026, with a message, culture should not stop as a heritage, but must be transformed into Indonesia's strategic strength in the midst of global competition.

The event at the G.P.H. Auditorium Haryo Mataram was the culmination of the great reunion of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences of UNS in the context of the 50th Anniversary of UNS. The series of activities includes wayang beber tani, archive exhibition, kris, manuscripts, museum collections, student art degrees, to exhibitions of alumni UMKM and New Entrepreneurship Students.

In his cultural oration, Menbud Fadli emphasized that the advancement of culture is a constitutional mandate. "The state promotes the national culture of Indonesia in the midst of world civilization, by ensuring the community in maintaining and developing its cultural values," he said.

According to Menbud Fadli, Indonesia has a very large cultural wealth, from thousands of ethnic groups, hundreds of regional languages, oral traditions, manuscripts, rituals, traditional knowledge, to culinary. This wealth, must be read as a strategic capital of the nation, not just a symbolic pride.

He also highlighted Indonesia's position as a nation with an ancient civilization strengthened by various archaeological findings, including the world's oldest prehistoric paintings. Therefore, in the midst of globalization and digital transformation, culture must be able to adapt without losing its roots.

For Fadli, the digitization of culture is not enough to stop at documentation. Digital must be a tool to bring cultural heritage to life, expand access, and strengthen Indonesian cultural diplomacy. "Therefore, our task is not to choose between tradition and digital, but to make digital civilized for tradition, and to make technology a space for education, cooperation, and protection of culture," he said.

He also emphasized that culture needed to be strengthened as a soft power and economic driver. Indonesia, according to him, has a great opportunity to build an "Indonesian wave" if its cultural wealth is managed seriously, protected, and brought into popular and digital spaces.

Therefore, Fadli highlighted three things that must be improved, namely digital cultural literacy, protection of cultural actors in the digital economic ecosystem, and strengthening of archives and cultural databases. He also emphasized the importance of working together between campuses, communities, and governments to encourage research-based and technological cultural innovation.

Closing his remarks, Fadli reminded that cultural progress will not come from working alone. "We can only achieve cultural progress if we work together, with the awareness that culture is the main strength and capital of the nation in the future," he said.

UNS Rector Hartono said culture was the foundation of education at his campus. UNS FIB Dean Dwi Susanto added that this activity was designed as a space for cross-generational collaboration that brought together the campus, alumni, community, and society. The opening of the event was marked by the beating of a gong by the Minister of Culture together with the leadership of UNS and the present figures.