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UNESCO names Ambon 'city of music' — just like Liverpool
Maluku’s capital of Ambon finally got what it deserves
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aluku’s capital of Ambon finally got what it deserves. UNESCO has named Ambon, best known for producing some of Indonesia’s top musicians and singers, as a “city of music” to mark World Cities Day on Oct. 31.
Ambon is one of 66 cities around the globe included this year in UNESCO’s Network of Creative Cities for their own unique cultural signatures.
The total number of member cities, chosen because they each have a unique cultural signature, is now 246. The latest additions include Angouleme in France as a city of literature and Aregua in Paraguay as a city of crafts and
folk art.
Ambon, as a city of music, now holds the same status as Liverpool in England and Kansas City in the United States.
The network brings together cities according to their creative developments, whether in music, arts and folk crafts, design, cinema, literature, digital arts or gastronomy. Through the network, city members have the opportunity to engage in peer learning and collaborative projects to fully capitalize on their creative assets.
UNESCO general director Audrey Azoulay said that the appointed cities have their own ways of making culture a pillar of their communities and not merely an accessory.
“This favors political and social innovation and is particularly important for the young generations,” Azoulay as quoted on the UNESCO website.
Previously, the Ambon administration and Indonesia's Creative Economy Agency nominated Maluku's capital to become one of UNESCO’s cities of music.
As part of the campaign, they also formed an agency, the Ambon Music Office, which they tasked to draft a strategy for the campaign.
On the official campaign website, amboncityofmusic.id, the city claims to have 534 musicians, 780 choirs, 94 studios and 177 musical groups.
As part of its effort to win the recognition, the city administration recently officiated two buildings to support music-related activities. They are a music studio at Pattimura University and an ethnic music assembly hall on the campus of Ambon Islam State University.
Located in the eastern part of the archipelago, Ambon often grabbed headlines for a string of religious and communal conflicts that occured there in the 1990s and 2000s.
However, the city — and Maluku in general — is also known as the home town of many of Indonesia’s top musicians and singers, such as Melky Goeslaw, Harvey Malaiholo, Ruth Sahanaya and Andre Hehanusa.
Maluku boasts a plethora of unique traditional musical instruments, including the tahuri (a flute made from a conch shell) and the tifa drum.
Ambon city administration officials and musicians said they were thrilled by UNESCO’s recognition.
Ambon Deputy Mayor Syarif Halder thanked all who worked for and supported the campaign.
The special status, he said, should be seen as a motivation for the city administration and the people to further support musical activities in Ambon.
“We still need to do many things. We still need to equip the city with other facilities supporting this city of music,” the deputy mayor said in a statement released on Oct. 31.
Rony Loppies, the director of the Ambon Music Office, said the city needed to do much work as UNESCO would review the status every two years.
“We still need to develop the ecosystem of music in this city. Therefore, it needs the cooperation of every related stakeholder. We hope music can be a leading sector for Ambon,” Rony said.
Ambonese singer-songwriter Glenn Fredly called the UNESCO designation a “new blessing and hope for the city, which was recently hit by an earthquake”.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Ambon in late September, killing 41 people and injuring 228 others. The disaster damaged 12,000 houses and displaced 100,000 residents, according to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.
“This long and difficult journey can happen because of the collaboration and modesty of many parties,” Glenn wrote in his official Instagram account, @glennfredly309, on Oct. 31.
“This should provide momentum for the revival of the nation’s music, which will start from the eastern part of Indonesia.”
