Indonesia, Korea lead Asian countries in managing cultural archives

indonesianupdates.com_admin

3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – National Archives of the Republic Indonesia (ANRI) and Korean National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) led Asian countries in managing cultural archives for Memory of the World registration.

ANRI Head Mego Pinandito explained the cooperation is an important moment to strengthen Indonesia’s diplomacy through archives, so the world can see Indonesia’s cultural wealth, one of which is the Negarakertagama, the most meaningful archive to pass on to the younger generation.

“Through these archives, other countries can see Indonesia; and together with Korea, we will strengthen both the management and the proposals together with developed countries,” Pinandito said here on Tuesday.

He said Indonesia and Korea are already one step ahead in encouraging various Asian countries to register for the Memory of the World.

Pinandito explained the three-day training and workshop invited 19 countries from Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, and the Asia Pacific to discuss nominations of cultural archives from each country, so they are ready to be submitted to UNESCO.

“So, the discussion here takes about three days and the proposals that were still rough drafts will hopefully become nomination drafts ready to be submitted to UNESCO by the time they return home,” he said.

According to data from the National Archives, as of 2025 Indonesia had received 16 documentary heritage recognitions in the Memory of the World program, including through joint nominations with other countries.

Several collections recognized in 2025 included the founding archives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 1967-1976 and the letters and archives of Raden Ajeng Kartini documenting the struggle for gender equality.

Meanwhile, according to UNESCO data, South Korea has 20 collections in the Memory of the World international register.

The two most recent collections recognized in 2025 were the Jeju 4·3 archives and the Korean forest rehabilitation archives, which record the history of community reconciliation and post-war environmental recovery.