He added that this is because Indonesia has a variety of cultures, stretching from Aceh to Papua, which he described as 'mega diversity.'
"Indonesia has extraordinary diversity. If we look at other countries that have more limited cultures, it is because they are homogeneous. Even when they are heterogeneous, their diversity is not as much as ours.," he explained at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday.
Zon added that with around 1,300 ethnic groups, Indonesian society has diverse cultural expressions, a situation that has existed for a long time.
"Especially with our historical background and the melting pot in the past, where there was interaction between Indonesian culture and foreign cultures, which gave birth to cultural acculturation and assimilation," he said.
At the seminar, which featured 90 speakers from various universities presenting research on the history and advancement of culture, Zon highlighted the challenges of digital culture.
He also underlined the importance of registering each cultural expression as a world heritage.
He stated that Indonesia has 16 intangible cultural heritages and aims to designate at least five more each year in the future.
"Not just three, but at least five every year. Single nominations are limited, but we can also be included in multinational nominations. Then, there is another one called the extension list; this also works together with other countries," the minister said.
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Translator: Ricky Prayoga, Katriana
Editor: Anton Santoso
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