inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, plans to create an Indonesia Waves movement to support the economic growth of the creative industry.
According to him, Indonesian culture is a soft power that can be the most effective diplomatic tool on the global stage.
He expressed this during a discussion titled "Sawala Budaya: Synergy in Strengthening Indonesian Cultural Diplomacy" with Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (LBBP) at the National Museum of Indonesia. This discussion was initiated to strengthen Indonesian cultural diplomacy on the global stage.
"We want to create Indonesian waves that can support economic growth in the creative industry. Indonesia is a megadiverse country, and this megadiversity is our strength as soft power," he said, Saturday (11/8/2025).
To achieve this, he is also pushing for joint nomination and extension of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. This step aims to strengthen Indonesia's position on the international stage through cultural diplomacy.
"For the extension list, yesterday we registered an Indonesian musical instrument, the Kolintang, which is similar to the Balafon in West Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Ivory Coast," he explained.
He also added that besides the Kolintang, other cultural heritages have also been registered. One of them is the kebaya, which was registered with five other countries: Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
"Going forward, we will also strive to expand the list with a number of countries, including the countries you represent," he said to the audience.
He further expressed his commitment to protecting, developing, and utilizing culture by formulating three policy priorities: first, protection of culture and traditions; second, diplomacy, promotion, and cooperation; and third, development, utilization, and fostering of culture.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ambassador to Syria, Lukman Hakim Siregar, acknowledged the shared responsibility of bringing Indonesian culture to the world.
According to him, one effort that can be done is through scholarship collaboration, as has been done by several other ministries.
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