Indonesia\u2019s election to the Intergovernmental Committee for the\nSafeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) UNESCO for the\n2026\u20132030 period is a significant achievement in cultural diplomacy this\nyear. This position places Indonesia at the global decision-making table\nregarding the future of intangible cultural heritage. Indonesia\npossesses 2,727 national intangible cultural heritage elements and 16\nelements inscribed by UNESCO. However, this cultural wealth does not\nautomatically guarantee its sustainability. Cultural heritage will only\nremain alive if it continues to be practised, understood, and passed\ndown from generation to generation. This spirit underpins the 2003\nConvention on Intangible Cultural Heritage. In this context, the younger\ngeneration plays a crucial role and simultaneously represents the\nprimary challenge in ensuring the continuity of cultural heritage.<\/p>\n
According to Indonesian population data as of 15 June 2026, Gen Z\nconstitutes the largest demographic group, with 64.04 million people out\nof a total population of 289.98 million, or approximately 22 per cent.\nIf Gen Alpha and Gen Beta are included, more than 126 million\nIndonesians belong to the post-millennial generation. They are not\nmerely cultural heirs but the future primary custodians of Indonesia\u2019s\ncultural ecosystem over the next two to three decades. They are the ones\nreceiving the baton for preserving Indonesia\u2019s intangible cultural\nheritage. However, this generation lives in a vastly different cultural\nlandscape. Cultural transmission no longer occurs solely in studios,\nfamilies, schools, indigenous communities, or performance spaces. It\nalso takes place on mobile phone screens, short videos, music platforms,\ngames, digital archives, and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
For Gen Z, this digital connectivity is even sharper. A survey\ncompiled by Katadata shows that Instagram was used by 83 per cent of\nIndonesian Gen Z at the end of 2025. TikTok is also highly dominant,\nespecially among female Gen Z, with 84 per cent of women and 69 per cent\nof men using it. YouTube usage is relatively balanced, at 69 per cent\nfor women and 71 per cent for men. Facebook and X remain present but are\nno longer the primary spaces for most young people. Access duration is\nalso significant. A survey summarised by GoodStats indicates that 31 per\ncent of Gen Z access social media for 4\u20136 hours per day, 24 per cent for\n3\u20134 hours, and 17 per cent for 2\u20133 hours. Only 5 per cent of Gen Z use\nsocial media for less than one hour per day. This means that for many\nyoung Indonesians, the digital space is not an addition to social life;\nit has become the primary space for forming identity, taste, memory, and\ncultural imagination.<\/p>\n
The implication is clear. If cultural heritage policy continues to\nview the younger generation merely as an audience for traditional\nperformances, Indonesia will lose the most critical field of\ntransmission. Today\u2019s youth encounter batik through fashion and digital\ndesign, gamelan through cross-genre collaborations, traditional cuisine\nthrough short videos, regional languages through memes, and cultural\nrituals through online documentation. These new methods do not\nnecessarily signify a dilution of culture. On the contrary, in many\ncases, they serve as a closer and more relevant entry point for the\nyounger generation to recognise, understand, and then appreciate\ncultural heritage. A 2025 study by Cheng Yi, Jing Huang, and Liping Song\non the dissemination of intangible cultural heritage through digital\nexperiences confirms that young people are more likely to engage with\ncontent presented dynamically and interactively. This finding is\nimportant because it shows that what is needed is not merely\ndigitisation, but dynamic, interactive digital cultural experiences that\nremain rooted in the community context.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Indonesia\u2019s focus on the ICH Committee must pay attention\nto two interrelated agendas: the younger generation and digital\ntransformation. Firstly, cultural education needs to be strengthened as\ninfrastructure, not merely a curriculum supplement. Schools,\nuniversities, studios, museums, indigenous communities, artists, and\ncreative industry players must be connected in a more open transmission\necosystem. Gen Z must be given space not only to learn traditions but\nalso to interpret and develop them responsibly. Secondly, digital\ntransformation must be managed ethically. Artificial intelligence,\ndigital platforms, and algorithms now determine which culture is\nvisible, who benefits, and which expressions are submerged. Without fair\ngovernance, technology can narrow cultural diversity, extract community\nknowledge, and turn living heritage into mere content. Indonesia carries\nthe vision of \u2018Living Heritage, Shared Future\u2019. This vision is\nappropriate if translated into concrete policies: participatory digital\ninventories, community-based documentation, ethical cultural data\ngovernance, youth involvement in decision-making, and regulations\nensuring that technology serves culture, not the other way around.\nIndonesia\u2019s election to the ICH Committee is a mandate. As a country\nwith mega-cultural diversity and a large young population, Indonesia has\nthe opportunity to offer a new direction for cultural preservation that\nis human-centred, driven by the younger generation, and supported by\ntechnology that is inclusive, transparent, and respectful of cultural\ndiversity.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/young-generation-and-the-future-of-indonesias-cultural-heritage-1782888923", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }