Speaking to the press here on Tuesday, the mayor noted that since she took office, she had dreamt of the second-largest city in Indonesia having several libraries and museums.
"When I took office, I had a dream to have not only one but a thousand libraries in Surabaya. To date, Surabaya has 1,498 libraries," she noted.
Rismaharini was inspired to build thousands of libraries and various museums in the city in line with her aspiration to ensure that the younger generations do not forget the history.
Moreover, Surabaya is known as a city of heroes, and the younger generations should understand the history, she added.
Rismaharini, along with the city`s veterans, routinely held a school of nationalism in which they enlightened the younger generations about the city`s historical sites.
"I myself also still study (the historical sites)," she stated.
The mayor was surprised to be awarded the Purwakalagrha medal during the Indonesia Museum Awards 2018 event held at the National Library in Jakarta on Sunday (Oct 14). The medals were bestowed upon officials in recognition of their concern for museums.
"Frankly speaking, I was shocked when I was named a recipient of the award as I have done nothing," she remarked.
Executive Chief of the Indonesia Museum Awards 2018 Musiana Yudhawasthi, who is also the founder of Jelajah Community, noted that Rismaharini deserved the award for her concrete contributions to the development of libraries in Surabaya.
She remarked that Rismaharini had also dreamt of transforming Surabaya into a city of a thousand museums after it was dubbed a city of a million parks.
"Risma has targeted to build new museums in Surabaya every year by teaming up with many sides, including government and private institutions, particularly those having buildings and historical items," she added.
Reporting by Abdul Hakim
EDITED BY INE
Reporter: Suharto
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
