500 Students Explore Prambanan Temple Heritage to Mark National Children's Day
SLEMAN — As many as 500 pupils from 27 schools in the area surrounding Prambanan Temple were invited to get to know the nation’s cultural heritage during the commemoration of National Children’s Day (HAN) 2026 at the Prambanan Temple complex in Sleman on Wednesday (22 July 2026). The event, held by InJourney Group, carried the theme ‘Realise Dreams, Preserve Indonesia’.
Herdy Harman, Director of Human Resources and Digital at InJourney, said the commemoration of National Children’s Day should not merely be an annual ceremony. According to him, every significant occasion ought to be filled with activities that provide meaning and reflection.
He explained that the event was part of InJourney Group’s community care programme as well as a form of concern for society on the occasion of National Children’s Day. He said the choice of Prambanan Temple as the venue had a special purpose: to introduce children to the roots of the nation’s culture from an early age.
“We deliberately held this at Prambanan Temple because one of the aims we want to champion is ensuring that these children, as the future hope of Indonesia, can get to know their culture and the character of the nation through this cultural heritage,” Herdy said in an interview on the sidelines of the event at Prambanan Temple on Wednesday (22 July 2026).
Beyond entertainment, the hundreds of children were invited to learn about and interact directly with various cultural aspects of the Prambanan Temple area. The series of activities also included educational sessions, ranging from batik-making and ecoprinting to an introduction to the values of cultural heritage preservation.
He believed that introduction was the first step towards fostering children’s love of culture, since, in his view, a person cannot love something without first knowing it.
The children would also be taken on a tour of the temple complex to learn more about the history, civilisation and philosophical values embodied in the heritage site. “One of the things we are championing is how our children get to know cultural heritage, so that they can come to love it more. Our hope is that as they grow up, they will continue to spread this ‘love virus’ for culture and heritage, so that these treasures continue to be cared for,” he said.
“Later, the children will be invited to walk around the temple, to learn more about how the civilisation of that time was built and its philosophical values. We hope they can enjoy themselves while learning about our culture, particularly batik-making later on,” he added.