Fadli Zon urges culture to be Indonesia's national strength

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Culture Minister Fadli Zon urged the wider public to remember that Indonesia is a great nation with a wealth of culture that can be a strength of the nation. ‘We must remain aware that our nation is a great nation, a mega-diverse nation, and the differences among us must be made a source of strength rather than a threat to unity,’ Fadli said during National Awakening Day in Jakarta on Wednesday.

While attending the National Awakening Day commemoration at the National Awakening Museum, Fadli reminded that history cannot be separated from the present and the future, so it is necessary to continue the goals of the founders, pioneers, thinkers, and even the students at Stovia who fought for national independence and to realise higher aspirations.

On National Awakening Day 2026, he also inaugurated three exhibitions: the temporary painting exhibition Science SciaArt 8.0; an exhibition titled ‘Preserving Memory’, a collaboration with Joseph L. Spartz; and the activation ‘Rebahan at the Stovia Dormitory’ as a medium to introduce and reflect on the history of the Stovia school in the past.

Moreover, he urged using culture as a tool to advance national culture, in line with what is stated in the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945). Not to be missed, the Minister of Culture also expounded the article in question: ‘The state develops Indonesia’s national culture amid global civilisation by guaranteeing the people to preserve and develop their cultural values, so we make culture a strength to unite the Indonesian nation, forging its identity, and in the future becoming part of the development of the cultural economy.’