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Puan looks to bolster cultural preservation via digitization
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani is looking at digitizing the conservation of Indonesian culture and heritage through the work being done at the Google Cultural Institute.
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Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani is pictured on Monday at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris, France, during her working visit to the UNESCO Executive Board session. (Ministry of Human Development and Culture/-)
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oordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani paid a visit on Monday to the Google Cultural Institute in Paris, France, to observe the ongoing collaboration between the tech giant and cultural organizations in preserving and promoting cultural heritage through the digital medium.
A press release from her office stated that the visit was part of the coordinating minister's working visit in her capacity as head of the Indonesian delegation to the 204th session of UNESCO's Executive Board on Apr. 4-17 at the world cultural body's Paris headquarters.
Puan stated her appreciation for Google Cultural Institute’s efforts in digitally archiving cultural heritage items while also stressing the need to secure intellectual property rights to protect artworks.
“We need an affirmation program to accelerate the digital publication of Indonesian art and cultural property, so any work of Indonesian art can be uploaded to the Google Cultural Institute and protected,” said Puan.
She added that such cooperation would not only protect Indonesia's arts, literature and cultural artifacts, but it would also promote them to the world.
“The younger generation and students can learn the philosophy behind these artistic and cultural works, for instance, the many traditional dances of Indonesia,” she said.
Puan was welcomed on her visit by Google Cultural Institute director Laurent Gaveau and policy manager Claire Marie Foulquire.
Foulguire said the institute had over 300 partners in 44 countries, including Indonesia. It had also published a digital archive of one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Indonesia, the Borobudur Temple Complex and the history of the temple's relief and stupa.
Indonesia had also contributed to Google Art and Culture through Indonesian resident artists and several IT experts.
The Google Cultural Institute, founded in 2011, is a non-profit organization that partners with cultural foundations and institutions around the world. It aims to create digital archives of works of art and cultural heritage from every country that will be accessible to the global public. (wng)
