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Jagantara 2.0 celebrates Indonesia’s diverse heritage
Creative approach key toward instilling sense of belonging among youth: Organizer.
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he Indonesian Cultural Heritage (WBI) Foundation held on Saturday an event dubbed Jagantara 2.0, geared towards celebrating and preserving Indonesia’s richly diverse culture.
WBI Foundation chairwoman Yanti Airlangga said Jagantara was held in Jakarta to encourage the country’s youth to play their part in preserving Indonesian culture.
To this end, those attending Jagantara were required to wear traditional Indonesian clothing and the event also hosted a number of cultural performances from regions across the country, including East Java’s Reog Ponorogo dance.
“As much as possible, wherever we go, the nation’s culture must still be embedded in us,” Yanti, who is the wife of Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto, said in a press release on Sunday.
“[We required guests to wear traditional clothes] so that traditional clothing can become more recognized and popular, especially among the country’s younger generation.”
In his speech during the event, minister Airlangga highlighted that the culture industry was part of the tourism industry and the creative economy, and that Indonesia’s rich culture could be a strong foundation for economic growth.
The culture industry, he said, could help “foster respect for diverse cultural backgrounds and promote tolerance and inclusiveness between different social groups,” as well as provide great economic benefits for the people, as quoted from the press release.
Airlangga, who is chairman of the Golkar Party, called on everyone, especially the younger generation, to play a part in preserving Indonesia’s cultural heritage.
A number of the country’s top musical artists and bands, including Reza Artamevia, Titi DJ and Dewa 19, whose recent performance in Medan, North Sumatra, was attended by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, held performances during the event.
Also present in the Jagantara 2.0 was former tourism and creative economy minister Wishnutama, famous Indonesian songwriter Guruh Soekarnoputra who is brother to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) matron Megawati Soekarnoputri, and Didit Prabowo, son of Gerindra chairman and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.
Aside from the country’s own cultures and traditions, Jagantara also saw cultural performances from other countries, including the Japanese taiko percussion performance and the South Korean Gyobangchum dance.
“We believe creative approach is key toward preserving Indonesian culture and instilling a sense of belonging among the youth,” said Jagantara organizer Gista Putri, who is also one of the WBI founders.
Established in November 2021, the WBI foundation aims at preserving culture, building a sense of love of the nation particularly among the youth, and supporting the work of artists and cultural actors.
Among 10 founders of the foundation are politician Meutya Hafid, Gista Putri, who is an actress and the wife of Wishnutama, as well as a number of businesspeople and an actor. The foundation held a previous rendition of the Jagantara event in August last year. (dds)
