"Documentation is essential because there are various local wisdom about disasters that can inspire us to mitigate and address it," agency head Laksana Tri Handoko stated here on Tuesday (February 27).
Handoko noted that since 2022, BRIN has been carrying out a local wisdom acquisition program to document and distribute local knowledge information as a literacy source for the public.
The program is expected to ensure that every natural and cultural resource in Indonesia will be preserved and conserved accurately and sustainably for future generations through credible and innovative documentation, he explained.
The agency head highlighted the story of Aceh's Simeulue Island locals who survived the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004, due to their local knowledge about the disaster.
The knowledge, known locally as smong, has been passed down for generations in Simeulue Island and instilled in them since a young age, he noted.
As exemplified by the residents in Simeulue Island, Handoko said, disaster mitigation, early detection, and awareness should be taught from a younger age.
"This is something that we need to spread and become an inspiration that we should teach, perhaps, in schools," Handoko emphasized.
Handoko also explained that BRIN provides financial incentives for every acquisition of local knowledge information.
Financial incentives from a minimum of Rp6 million (US$383) to a maximum of Rp20 million (US$1,279) will be disbursed for each local knowledge information in the written form accepted and acquired by the agency, he stated.
BRIN will also disburse a minimum of Rp5 million (US$319) to a maximum of Rp20 million for each fiction or creative documentary film accepted and acquired, he added.
"We purchase the copyright and release it to the public domain. Hence, the film or the book will be accessible to the public free of charge," Handoko stated.
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Translator: Sugiharto P, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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