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