French cultural connection with RI spans many years

French cultural connection with RI spans many years

The discovery of a treasure trove of paintings in 1991, buried
under a mound of dust in a store room at Indonesia's National
Museum, acted as a tangible reminder of the long history of
cultural ties between France and Indonesia.

The works, originally donated by French and Paris-based
artists for an exhibition in Jakarta in 1959, were painstakingly
restored by a French husband-and-wife curating team for the
Paris-Jakarta exposition in December 1992. A mesmerizing
collection of paintings and drawings by such art luminaries as
Wassily Kandinksky, Hans Arp, Sonia Delaunay and Henri Cueco
returned to its rightful place on Jakarta gallery walls.

France's cultural ties with Indonesia date back to the years
when the fledgling Southeast Asian republic took its first steps
on the world political stage. These relations have grown in
recent years and have not been restricted to the arts. The French
government actively promotes exchange of information and
knowledge through educational and training programs in science
and technology.

"One of my personal policies is mutual discovery," says French
Ambassador to Indonesia Dominique Girard. "We are trying to
develop this through various means. Indonesia is not known enough
in France and French people still have some cliches about this
country."

The arts

On the artistic front, French cultural events are organized by
four French cultural centers located in Jakarta, Bandung,
Surabaya and Yogyakarta. The centers hold French-language
classes, screen French film weeks, arrange for performances by
French artists and provide information on various facets of
French culture.

There are also 11 Alliance Francaise centers in cities across
Indonesia which are administered under the auspices of the
Indonesian government.

"Our cultural centers are among the most active and we bring
artists of all kinds here," Ambassador Girard notes, citing the
recent visit of a mime artist and the performance of a French
troupe in an Indonesian shadow puppet evening.

Indonesia also attempts to foster a greater cultural
understanding by sending dance troupes, musical groups and
cultural shows, including painting exhibitions, to French shores.

Education

Since the 1970s, France has maintained a strong cooperation
program in education and training for Indonesian students.

There are currently 350 Indonesian students in France, with
most electing to study science and technology.

Ambassador Girard emphasizes that importance is placed on
training qualified and skilled individuals, not sheer numbers of
students who study in France.

"We want to keep to this policy of training people. It is not
numbers that are important but producing quality people to work
in various sectors."

Indonesia and France also conduct mutual cooperation programs
in agriculture, forestry, oceanography and family planning
assistance. The oceanography project was first launched in 1980
and the French government provided three research vessels in
1989.

France's International Cooperation in Agricultural Research
Development signed contracts with the Indonesian government in
1993 to cooperate in forest management and preservation and
agricultural research.

Cooperation is also evident on the diplomatic level. France
and Indonesia were instrumental in effecting the peace process in
Cambodia through the signing of the Paris Agreement in 1991.
French and Indonesian troops worked side-by-side last year in the
United Nations peace-keeping units in Cambodia, an operation
Ambassador Girard describes as "fairly successful and efficient."

As France celebrates its National Day today, Ambassador Girard
is looking ahead to ways of increasing awareness about Indonesia
during the Southeast Asian nation's 50th independence anniversary
celebrations next year.

"France is involved in many projects in Indonesia but we are
not very visible, and the same is true of Indonesia in France,"
he says. "We have planned several activities for next year to
change this situation."

These articles were written by Bruce J. Emond