"However, Indonesian culture must be strengthened within the country before being promoted overseas."Pekanbaru, Riau Province (ANTARA News) - The six million Indonesian migrant workers (TKI) spread across 116 countries help promote Indonesian culture abroad, according to an official.
"They are actually the nation`s ambassadors who have direct contact with the communities of the countries in which they work," said Moh Jumhur Hidayat, the head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), here on Tuesday.
He made the statement while giving a lecture at the University of Riau (UNRI) in Pekanbaru, as part of his Ramadan tour to Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, and Riau Islands, starting July 24 through August 3.
Speaking at the lecture titled "Job Opportunities Overseas and Efforts to Promote Indonesian Culture Worldwide", Jumhur said the number of migrant workers in the current era of globalization was likely to rise significantly every year.
"However, Indonesian culture must be strengthened within the country before being promoted overseas," he added.
"From what I have seen, none of us has tried to promote our local culture because we are blindly following the Western culture," Jumhur pointed out.
He noted that Indonesia's migrant workers played a key role in shaping the global community's perception of the country.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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