Culture Minister Fadli Zon encouraged young Indonesians to conserve the cultural identity of the country and use it as a source of inspiration in their creative endeavors, and that culture gives moral guidance, character, and wisdom in making decisions.
At a graduation address in Universitas Nasional on 15th November, Fadli Zon mentioned that the Indonesian cultural values of deliberation, tolerance, mutual cooperation, and compassion can be an antithesis to division in a polarized world.
In a speech called Advanced Culture, Dignified Nation, he made the point that the youth are the first line of defense of Indonesian culture.
His statements are in line with Article 32, paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution, which states that the state should promote the national culture of Indonesia within the global civilization by guaranteeing that the nation is free to safeguard and evolve its cultural values.
This year, the ministry has provided about 28 million US dollars to fund about 2,800 community arts and culture projects in the country to enhance the cultural ecosystem in Indonesia.
He argued, “Our cultural identity is what determines our essence, character, and empowers us”; therefore, he urged graduates to exercise values like deliberation, gotong royong (mutual cooperation), and compassion, and use cultural identity as a source of power and innovativeness.
He emphasized that technology is a means of progressing humanity and not a means of detaching people from their culture.
He said that it was cultural identity that should help graduates navigate their way into the professional world and bring unity in the development of a robust, developed, and respectable Indonesia.
The minister pointed out the fact that Indonesia is composed of a rich cultural diversity, and that the nation has 1,340 ethnic groups, 718 languages, and thousands of tangible and intangible cultural resources.
He further explained that artistic culture, languages, literature, native play, local sports, local food, rituals, and manuscripts strengthen the position of Indonesia as a strong civilization in the world arena.
Fadli Zon was able to conclude that developing cultural identity in young people is important to the survival of national heritage and the creative and intellectual development in Indonesia.
