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Building bridges between Indonesia and Germany through art, science
As part of a year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of Jakarta and Berlin as sister cities, an exhibition highlights personalities who have fostered exchange and mutual understanding between the two capitals in their respective fields.
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Fruitful exchange: Javanese painter Raden Saleh, seen here on a mural in Cikini, Central Jakarta, spent 25 years of his life in Europe, including in Berlin. (Katrin Figge/-)
B
erlin maintains partnerships with 17 cities from all over the world, including Jakarta. This year, the two cities celebrate their 25-year-anniversary as sister cities with a series of events.
An exhibition introducing both German and Indonesian personalities who have played significant roles in the cultural and scientific exchange between the two countries was recently held at Berlin’s Red City Hall. The exhibition’s opening was attended by Arif Havas Oegroseno, Ambassador of Indonesia to Germany and Eberhard Diepgen, who was governing mayor of Berlin at the time the partnership between the two cities was officially signed.
The exhibition features three different thematic blocks: medicine, research and art. It is organized by the German-Indonesian Association e.V. (DIV Berlin) in cooperation with the German-Indonesian Society for Medicine (DIGM) and Werner Kraus of the Center for Southeast Asian Art, Passau.
“Medicine builds bridges between people and different cultures, and therefore, it is not surprising that it was physicians and scientists who were pioneers in developing international relations with other countries 500 years ago,” said Joerg Haier, president of DIGM.
“Of course, these bridges were not always built on solid foundations,” he added. “There have been misunderstandings and there was definitely a learning process, but the field of medicine has contributed a lot to the mutual understanding between different nations. This is not a one-way street; today, we learn from one another. I can speak from my own experience because for many years, I have worked together with Indonesian colleagues.”
Physicians as well as researchers played a crucial role in the history of Indonesian-German relations, including brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, who are widely regarded as German cosmopolitans who made great strides in the field of public education, offered a new perspective on nature as well as a fresh and unbiased looked at countries outside of Europe.
