Category: Lifestyle

The 2022 Blangkon Festival being held at Loji Gandrung, Solo, Central Java, on September 9-11, 2022, aims to attract the younger generation to develop an admiration for Javanese culture and become a touristic attraction.

“Actually, we hope that this would be an annual event. Our idealism is that young people love blangkon (traditional Javanese headgear),” Chairperson of the Surakarta City Tourism Awareness Group Mintorogo remarked at the opening of the festival in Solo on Friday.

At the festival, his side encouraged youngsters to admire the Javanese culture by inviting them to perform the opening dance. Mintorogo expects that they would develop an inclination to wear blangkon on several occasions.

His side also strives to educate on the philosophy behind wearing blangkon that complements the Javanese traditional clothing.

“Blangkon is philosophically worn to bind the mind, emotion, and spirituality. With blangkon, we cohere ourselves to our creator. Although Solo’s and Yogyakarta’s version of blangkon is different, the philosophy is generally the same,” he remarked.

To study further the philosophy, the 2022 Blangkon Festival will hold a talk show that presents a royal family member Kanjeng Gusti Pengeran Haryo (KGPH) Puger, who is one of the sons of Pakubuwono XII, the former monarch ruler of Surakarta Sunanate.

On the same occasion, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo lauded the festival. According to him, blangkon can show the age, status, and position of the person wearing it.

“You can know people by the blangkon they wear. Some are thin, some are big, and it can show the age and position,” he remarked.

Pranowo expressed hope that this activity would be developed in the following years, such as holding a blangkon competition. Thus, the Blangkon Festival can increase the people’s creativity and attract more youngsters to wear it.

Source: Antara News

Cultural consolidation, especially through the implementation of the Cultural Personnel Consolidation Week (Pekat Budaya), is aimed at ensuring that the earth remains sustainable, the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry has said.

“This consolidation week is not just a meeting for exchanging ideas but also for affirming the commitment that culture is actually (meant) to ensure the sustainability of the earth,” director general of culture at the ministry, Hilmar Farid, said in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday after opening the Pekat Budaya forum at Karangrejo Village Economic Center, Borobudur sub-district.

The Pekat Budaya is being held from September 8–10, 2022, in three villages in Borobudur area, namely Karangrejo, Karanganyar, and Wanurejo.

The Cultural Personnel Consolidation Week is being held to support the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Culture, which will be held on September 12 and 13 in the Borobudur Temple area.

“Looking at culture, it has always been about the human relationship with nature. From (this forum), it reminds us of the importance of including that nature connection in conversations about culture,” Farid said.

Pekat Budaya is a supporting event held by the Directorate General of Culture that features a variety of cultural activities such as seminars, informal discussions, workshops, exhibitions, and performances.

It is also a platform for stakeholders and cultural players to conduct a dialogue with each other and give their views on “Culture for Sustainable Living.” It also brings together representatives from each cultural initiative for sustainable living.

“How to produce a lesson on how different cultures in different ecosystems can have one commitment to ensure that the earth remains sustainable by using all tools, be it expression, organization, or practices,” Farid said.

Pekat Budaya is expected to result in the formulation of key messages for the “Borobudur Mandate,” which will be shared at the G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting on September 13.

Source: Antara News

South Lampung The Krakatau Festival, one of the largest tourism events in Lampung, has passed the curation process for the 2022 Kharisma Event Nusantara program.

Krakatau Festival, whose peak event is scheduled on August 27, 2022, at Kharisma Event Nusantara 2022, was said by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno.

“This Krakatau Festival is included in the Kharisma Event Nusantara 2022. It is not easy to participate in and get curated, beating many other tourism events,” Uno said in South Lampung on Saturday.

Tourism activities included in the Kharisma Event Nusantara 2022 are the best events that have been curated by the team with great care, he added.

“The history of Mount Krakatau is very interesting, it has natural beauty, the potential of Lampung’s unique cultural customs, and this is truly a very stunning potential for every tourist who has the opportunity to witness it or participate in the Krakatau Festival,” the minister said.

Source: Antara News

The ideology of radicalism and terrorism destroys the civilization and culture

Jakarta Preserving and bolstering cultural and traditional values is an effective method in preventing terrorism in the country, National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Head Commissioner Boy Rafli Amar noted in a written statement on Friday.

“We believe that preserving the nation’s cultural and traditional values is an effective method to fend off and limit the mobility of radical terrorism,” he stated.

The diversity of culture essentially symbolizes Indonesia’s pluralism, or Bhineka Tunggal Ika. The diversity of culture is like the richness of colors that creates a beautiful and harmonious combination.

Meanwhile, terrorists’ ideology aims to eradicate the country’s cultural values that produce this diversity, he pointed out.

Source: Antara News

Arts and culture are two mediums that can be used to disseminate information on moderate religious outlook and religious teachings, according to the Religious Affairs Ministry’s director general of Muslim Community Guidance, Kamaruddin Amin.

“Arts and cultural approaches have been proven to provide goodness and common benefit,” Amin stated while opening the Islamic Arts and Culture Potentials Exploration workshop here, Tuesday.

The director general pointed out that arts and culture are the instruments to spread messages on virtue, harmony, and peace, which are consistent with the nature of Islam as a blessing for the universe.

Proselytization, through the arts and cultural mediums, will be accepted more easily by residents, as art is a universal language, he remarked.

“Arts is the universal language that can (serve as a) bridge (between) different religions, cultures, and ethnic groups. Everyone is fond of art in spite of differences in sensitivity levels and instincts,” Amin noted.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s arts, culture, and religious broadcasting sub-directorate head, Sayid Alwi Fahmi, underlined arts and culture as a strategic medium for proselytization.

“Islam holds arts and culture in high esteem. The spread of Islam from the past to the present still relies on arts and culture, which are an effective medium for proselytization,” the sub-directorate head remarked.

The Islamic Arts and Culture Potentials Exploration workshop is attended by students from various universities in the Greater Jakarta Region that are expected to participate by contributing arts and cultural content, with high esteem to religious moderation values.

Cultural practitioners, artists, and digital media practitioners are among the speakers that will address participants during the three-day workshop.

Source: Antara News

West Sulawesi provincial government improves the preparation for the traditional boat festival Sandeq that will be held on September 9, 2022.

“Every West Sulawesi’s regional instrument organization (OPD) is urged to be more active and improve the entire preparation for West Sulawesi’s Sandeq Festival,” West Sulawesi’s Acting Governor Akmal Malik noted here Saturday.

OPDs in West Sulawesi are also requested to continue to provide their input to improve West Sulawesi’s Sandeq Festival.

According to Malik, there is an agreement with Minister of Youth and Sports Zainuddin Amali that the Sandeq Festival in West Sulawesi should be held along with the commemoration of national sports day (Haornas).

“West Sulawesi Government had formulated various steps to organize the two events, namely Haornas and Sandeq Festival,” he informed.

West Sulawesi government will meet with Deputy Mayor of Balikpapan Rahman Mas’ud over the implementation of Sandeq Festival that will travel through Makassar Strait from West Sulawesi to Nusantara Capital City (IKN), Kalimantan.

Sandeq Festival is held to deliver message across Indonesia that West Sulawesi government supports the development of Nusantara through Sandeq culture.

“A total of thirty four Sandeq boats will travel to Kalimantan as a symbol wrapped in West Sulawesi culture that 34 provinces in Indonesia are ready to support the acceleration of IKN development,” Malik remarked.

The Sandeq Festival is held using funds from sponsors as well as the private sector, and it does not use the regional budget, he informed.

This is because West Sulawesi government is keen to have everyone be ready to organize and make Sandeq Festival a success as the pride of West Sulawesi residents, he explained.

Sandeq Festival’s route will begin from Silopo Cape, Polman District, heading to Somba and Deking area in Majene, Majene District, as far as 170 kilometers.

The boats will then head toward Kalimantan and will be accompanied by the military to maintain the safety of people who drive the traditional boats.

Source: Antara News

The Pontianak city government, West Kalimantan Province, has organized the Malay arts and cultural festival “Kampong Melayu Benua Melayu Laut” along the banks of the Kapuas River featuring dances and music from local groups and communities.

The festival aims to preserve the city’s rich Malay culture and introduce it to young people, head of the Pontianak Education and Cultural Office, Sri Sujiarti, said in Pontianak on Saturday.

“As the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has started to include artists (as art teachers) in schools, that would be extracurricular (for students). In Pontianak city, we prepare them in 16 schools, and they will be evaluated every year,” she added.

Malay dance and music from Pontianak city have the potential to be showcased on the national and international stages, Sujiarti said.

Similar festivals are regularly held three to four times a year, and this is the first time the festival has been held by the riverside, she added.

Other cultural festivals include the Meriam Karbit Festival, Arakan Pengantin (procession of sending the groom to the bride’s house in Malay Pontianak culture), Cap Go Meh or the 15th night of the Chinese calendar’s first month, and tribal ritual Gawai Dayak to show gratitude for harvested crops.

“Every year, we apply for the establishment of cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage. We also inventory cultural data in Pontianak city to the central government,” Sujiarti informed.

On July 30-31, 2022, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno will attend ‘Kampong Melayu Benua Melayu Laut’ festival to consider Kampong Melayu’s (Malay village’s) inclusion in the list of 50 best participants for the 2022 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI).

Sujiarti said that efforts to support the assessment have covered the aspects of safety, order, cleanliness, coolness (temperature), beauty, and hospitality.

Source: Antara News

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan expressed optimism of Indonesia’s target of becoming a hub of the world’s Muslim fashion being achieved by 2024 as mandated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

“We support every effort to enliven Muslim fashion trends and modest fashion. Our goal is clear, which is to make Indonesia the center of the world’s Muslim fashion in 2024,” Hasan stated here, Friday.

The Trade Ministry will support Indonesian Muslim fashion exports through various trade cooperation schemes with partner countries, he remarked.

Hasan made the statement while receiving representatives from the organizers of Indonesia Modest Fashion Week (IMFW).

To this end, the public is invited to increasingly echo Muslim fashion trends in the domestic market to help the Muslim fashion industry and Indonesia’s modest fashion to reach a wider market, Hasan noted.

The minister also supports the implementation of the 2022 IMFW event and will mobilize 46 foreign trade representative offices to promote the event to attract more participants and buyers.

Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia is ranked 13th as the Muslim clothing exporter in 2021.

Indonesia’s exports of Muslim clothing in 2021 amounted to US$4.68 billion, an increase of 12.49 percent as compared to only US$4.16 billion in 2020.

Meanwhile, the export value of Muslim clothing during the January-May 2022 period had reached US$2.35 billion, an increase of 41.42 percent as compared to US$1.66 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2020.

The main export destinations for Indonesian Muslim clothing are the United States, Japan, Germany, Korea, and Canada, Hasan stated.

Moreover, the demand for halal products has continued to rise. By 2024, Muslim fashion is projected to contribute 6.04 percent to the global halal industry, whose value had reached US$311 billion.

“Our domestic Muslim fashion products are of good quality. These products have the potential and are able to compete with Muslim fashion products and modest fashion from other countries,” he concluded.

Source: Antara News