UNESCO has praised Indonesia's cultural policy

Jakarta (ANTARA) -
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has praised Indonesia's cultural policy during the 7th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Parties to the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, held in Paris.

UNESCO noted that Indonesia has shown extraordinary progress in the cultural field by implementing the UNESCO Convention 2005, which it ratified in 2012.

Prof Aman Wirakartakusumah of the Indonesian delegation told a press conference in Jakarta on Friday that in the four-yearly reports, the Indonesian delegation pointed out those programs the government carried out in the cultural field, taking note of the enactment of Law No. 5 of 2017 concerning the promotion of culture.

"Our law, namely Law No. 5 of 2017, which serves as a foundation for our country and culture, is one of the significant acts to maintain the state and nation," he said.

UNESCO also lauded the Indonesian government's policy in establishing the Creative Economy Board (Bekraft). The presence of Bekraft showed that the Indonesian government has seen other potentials to develop the state economy through creative industries.

The government also plans to measure the cultural development index. To that end, the Education and Culture Ministry, in collaboration with the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and other relevant ministries, has prepared a system to measure welfare and education levels, as well as indicators of other social progress.

Meanwhile, Director General of Culture of the Education and Culture Ministry, Hilmar Farid, said Indonesia is considered capable of setting an example for other countries in the cultural field, and in providing evidence to parties that still doubt the benefit of investing in the cultural field.

(INE)