BRIN and Ministry of Culture Collaborate to Advance Civilisation Research and Language Digitalisation
The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Ministry of Culture (Kemenbud) are collaborating to advance cultural research, ranging from uncovering traces of Nusantara civilisation to developing digitalisation of regional languages.
BRIN Director Arif Satria stated that through this collaboration, BRIN will investigate potential traces of Nusantara civilisation believed to date back 1.8 million years. Should this be scientifically proven, Indonesia would have significant strategic meaning in terms of geography and civilisation.
He explained that Indonesia’s position lies between the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions and represents a meeting point of various major world civilisations. With approximately 708 languages, roughly 10 per cent of which are spoken in Indonesia, and 1,340 ethnic groups, the estimated age of Nusantara civilisation of 1.8 million years represents a valuable asset that could strengthen Indonesia’s position as a crucial hub in global civilisation dynamics.
“This is BRIN’s responsibility, with our Research Organisation for Archaeology, Language and Literature (Arbastra). Our task is to prove these hypotheses. Our archaeological researchers at BRIN are now working hard to uncover the finest works of our people from ancient times,” Arif said in a written statement on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
He made the statement following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday (10 March 2026).
Furthermore, Arif stated that in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), future challenges also relate to language digitalisation. He explained that AI accuracy rates are still influenced by the language used.
Arif noted that when using English, accuracy can reach approximately 80 per cent. However, when using Indonesian, the figure drops to around 60 per cent, and when using regional languages, it is only approximately 42 per cent.
According to him, this situation demonstrates the need to strengthen digitalisation of Indonesian and regional languages to ensure greater recognition within AI systems. This simultaneously represents a challenge for BRIN to promote integration of various regional languages into the global digital ecosystem.
“Hopefully, through cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, we can build our confidence that our rich social diversity will become our model to colour and inspire the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Culture Fadli Zon emphasised that Article 32, paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution mandates the state to advance Indonesian national culture within global civilisation, whilst guaranteeing society’s ability to preserve and develop its cultural values.
“I believe the state in question is not just the Ministry of Culture, but all of us, from the central government, provinces, cities, to the lowest levels, as well as the private sector—all have the obligation to advance Indonesian national culture within global civilisation,” he stated.
Therefore, cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and BRIN, along with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Ministry of Creative Economy and Creative Economy Agency, Ministry of Forestry, and the Jakarta Provincial Government, is important for combining various resources and data to ensure optimal management of cultural wealth in the digital era.
“These cultural assets then need to be developed in terms of Intellectual Property (IP), which we have not yet done much or maximised at all. With BRIN, I believe there are many new research findings that have been announced recently,” Fadli concluded.