US Embassy Supports 'Koleksi Jakarta' as a Form of Respect for Indonesian Culture

The United States Embassy has stated that its support for the ‘Koleksi Jakarta’ digital platform is a form of respect for Indonesian cultural identity as well as an effort to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. ‘The US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) supports the preservation of various cultural heritage, including historic buildings, archaeological sites, museum collections as we are doing here, paintings, manuscripts, and endangered native languages,’ said US Embassy Spokesperson Jamie Ravetz in Jakarta on Tuesday. According to Jamie, the support for the digital platform aims to strengthen partnerships through collaboration with various institutions, including museums and organisations, and to enhance people-to-people connections that form the foundation of cooperation and bilateral relations between the two countries. In addition to supporting the digital platform, Jamie conveyed that the AFCP also supports the preservation of regional languages in Indonesia to prevent their extinction, as well as assisting efforts to preserve Indonesian culinary traditions. ‘We are also doing something quite new in supporting culinary traditions through an organisation called Nusa Gastronomy, which supports Indonesian culinary traditions,’ Jamie said. He noted that the organisation has rescued recipes that were popular hundreds of years ago and is working to revive these recipes through a cookbook. When asked about future AFCP projects in Indonesia, Jamie responded that they are currently awaiting results. Jamie explained that AFCP receives proposals for cultural preservation funding annually, and Indonesia competes with other countries for approval of this funding. ‘We compete globally. Projects in Indonesia compete with projects submitted by embassies around the world. We are currently waiting for the results,’ Jamie stated. The DKI Jakarta Culture Office and Southeast Asia Museum Services (SEAMS), supported by the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), officially launched the ‘Koleksi Jakarta’ digital platform at the Jakarta History Museum on Tuesday. Head of the DKI Jakarta Culture Office, Mochamad Miftahulloh Tamary, said the collaboration demonstrates that cultural preservation is a shared responsibility and expressed appreciation for the assistance from AFCP and SEAMS. He stated that his office will continuously evaluate the ‘Koleksi Jakarta’ digital platform project to ensure it runs smoothly and does not stop at the launch phase. ‘This means that if there are updates, we can update it so the public can know the latest conditions… Of course, we will also continue to ask for input and direction when there are things we cannot do alone,’ Miftahulloh said. ‘We are trying to make this system accessible to everyone. So we have included accessibility functions in the website so that all groups can enjoy it,’ he added. The ‘Koleksi Jakarta’ platform features over 1,400 digital collection objects and more than 1,500 catalogue objects from 11 museums, allowing the public, researchers, educators, students, and cultural observers to discover, study, and explore Jakarta’s cultural heritage anytime and from anywhere. The platform is the result of the ‘Koleksi Kita’ programme, which has been running since 2024. Through this programme, thousands of museum collections have been inventoried, catalogued, and digitised to strengthen collection management and increase public access to cultural knowledge.