"Currently, we are developing a digitalization asset management platform," the ministry's culture protection director Irini Dewi Wanti said during a discussion on ‘Mind, Heart, and Work for Cultural Advancement’ here on Wednesday.
The digital platform will contain the name, description, value, and location of cultural heritages, she informed.
"Currently, it is hard to detect cultural heritage objects. However, the presence of the platform will make it easy to detect their existence," she said.
She also underlined the importance of active participation from the people, government institutions, and the private sector in gathering cultural heritage data.
"If the people own a cultural heritage object, do not hesitate to report it to the local culture office," Wanti said.
"Later, the regional government will conduct an evaluation to determine whether the object is a cultural heritage or not," she added.
If an object is a cultural heritage, then the regional government can submit it to the ministry for an inspection to determine whether it can be included in the national cultural heritage category, she added.
The effort to preserve cultural inheritance and cultural advancement necessitates synergy from stakeholders, she said.
This can be achieved by carrying out four strategic efforts involving protection, development, utilization, and guidance, as mandated by Law No. 5 of 2017 on Cultural Advancement, she added.
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Data collection on cultural heritage objects within the nation must be done because Indonesia has an extraordinary cultural richness, she remarked.
"If the data is not recorded, how can we know that we have all of that richness," she said.
Based on the law, there is a protection that must be extended to cultural heritage objects. However, before the protection effort can be carried out, data collection must be done first, she added.
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Translator: Indriani, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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