Cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy of political solutions should be put forward among Southeast Asian countries. It has been a prevalent practice that conflicts in Southeast Asia have been solved by informal rather than formal means. The mechanism of solving problems lies not on abiding laws, but on a friendly situation which would benefit parties involved in disputes. Problems concerning a formal border are a striking example of this kind of solution.
Because of its strategic location for international trade dating back to ancient times, Southeast Asia is probably the most diverse region on earth. Not only has the region as many as 700 languages, but also major religions such as Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam and Christianity color the landscape of culture of Southeast Asia. Richness in culture -- being formatted and reformatted by "local genius" -- is our strongest bind for our sense of regionalism. This idea was taken into account for the implementation of the performance of Realizing Rama organized by the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information.
The ASEAN Flagship Voyage: A performing arts tour across ASEAN (Realizing Rama) was staged at the Auditorium Gedung Perwayangan Kautaman Taman Mini Indonesia Indah on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24. The group, consisting of dancers, choreographer, composer, designer and sound designer from various countries of Southeast Asian countries, will be touring 10 cities of Southeast Asia.
Based on the Ramayana epic which India introduced during the Indianization of the region in 150 B.C. to 150 A.D., Realizing Rama is really a synthesis work of art. Although Ramayana has been depicted as sources of performing arts in myriad ways: shadow play in Java, dramatic folks ritual in Bali, masked pantomime in Thailand, spirit dances in Myanmar, folk-song dramas in Laos, Chinese derived opera in Vietnam, and the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, the underlying play's message is the same; that good spirits imbued by the God of Visnu conquer bad spirits.
Despite a good performance by beautiful and handsome dancers with a film screen as a backdrop to tell of the current crises in Southeast Asia, this performance should be played to a larger audience.
The dynamics of political life in Southeast Asia can be best followed by the interpretation of culture since we as peoples of Southeast Asia know each other culturally, not politically.
HAFIANSYAH MEGE
Jakarta