Saman Dance Officially Recognized by Unesco as World Heritage

UNESCOofficially recognized Aceh’s traditional Saman Dance as an intangible elementof world cultural heritage during a session in Bali on Thursday.

The decision was announced during the sixth session of UNESCO’sIntergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible CulturalHeritage, taking place in Bali from Nov. 22 to 29.

“The UNESCO secretariat, and then NGOs and experts, have checked the documents[on Saman Dance], and we proposed them to the session in Bali this morning,“ Tourismand Creative Economy Ministry spokesman I Gusti Ngurah Putra said in a pressstatement on Thursday.

“And thank God [Saman] was declared as having met the requirements. Saman hasbeen officially included in the list of intangible cultural heritage, whichneeds UNESCO’s urgent protection,” he added, as quoted by Antara.

Indonesia proposed the UNESCO listing of the Saman Dance in March 2010.

Indonesia hosting UNESCO meeting on cultural heritage

Indonesiais hosting the 6th session of the UNESCO Committee for the Safeguarding ofIntangible Cultural Heritage at Nusa Dua, Bali, on Nov 22-29.

Indonesia has been elected by acclamation as chief of the committee and host ofthe meeting by 24 would-be host countries at the committee`s fifth session inNairobi, Kenya, in November 2010, the deputy for cultural affairs to theeducation and culture minister, Wiendu Nuryanti, said in a press conferencehere on Tuesday.

"Indonesia sees intangible cultural heritage as a strategic issue andIndonesia itself has a wide range of cultural heritage," she said.

Indonesian Music Via Bali to the World

IndonesianMusic Expo 2011(IMEX) to be held on the Peninsula at Nusa Dua, Bali November7-14, 2011

(11/6/2011) The originator of the idea for the Indonesia Music Expo 2011(Imex), Franki Raden, told a press conference in Bali on Friday, November 4,2011, that Imex is intended to serve as an inspiration for traditionalmusicians to help them express themselves in the challenging internationalmusic market.

“At this point in time, Indonesian music, especially traditional ethnic music,is known internationally, but few from this sector have managed to penetratethe international market,” explained Raden. Raden is proud that his countryIndonesia has a rich variety of music and cultures, with each area of Indonesiapossesing a distinctive style of music.

“The richness of Indonesian music, from Sabang to Merauke, if counted for itsvarieties is equal to Africa, Latin America and Europe. For this reason, Imexwants to give the widest opportunity to our musical heroes to win the hearts ofthe international music buyers,” said Raden.

Franki Raden is a nationally known music critic. He is also planning to publisha guide to Indonesian music for international distribution.

Solo keroncong Festival 2011

Thousandsof spectators crowded the Solo Keroncong Festival 2011 in Ngarsopuro, right infront of the Triwindu Market in Solo.
They were mesmerized as Endah Laras, a traditional singer from Solo, presented“Gemes” (Carried away), a song in the langgam or Javanese-style of keroncong,which is long known as Portuguese-tinged Indonesian music.

The song, written by Anjar Any and popularized in the 1970s by keroncongmaestro Waldjinah, was jovially and temptingly sung by Endah that evening,testimony to the fact that keroncong is not always slow and soothing music.

Endah was not alone in adding color to keroncong during the festival. Earlier,the Zakaria Keroncong Orchestra offered a humorous piece entitled “Pakne Thole”(Boy’s dad). Presented in a duet, the old Javanese song triggered roars oflaughter after being modified into an intensely expressive and almosttheatrical composition for the stage, leading to calls to repeat theperformance.

On the first day of the festival, Congrock from Semarang appeared with a blendof keroncong and rock music to suit the taste of the youth in the audience,making the show more attractive and less monotonous, while stirring the crowdsto dancing and shouting. The notion that keroncong is for retirees was alsodispelled as “Rumah Kita” (Our house), a song from the rock band Godbless,spurred people to sing along in the keroncong style and wave like rock musicfans do at concerts.

“Through such music, we’re trying to offer and introduce keroncong to theyounger generation. Keroncong will survive unless it’s monotonous, so thereshould be [new] creations. We can’t force today’s youth to enjoy keroncong inthe style of olden times,” said Marco Manardi, Congrock’s leader.

Indonesia poised to become global home of batik

Batiklovers must not miss this upcoming event - a World Batik Summit to be held atthe Jakarta Convention Center, from September 28 to October 2, 2011.

To be organized by the Indonesian Batik Foundation (YBI) in cooperation withthe government, the Batik Summit will consist of two main events: the WorldBatik Exhibition (WBE) and the World Batik Conference (WBC).

The World Batik Summit (WBS) themed "Indonesia: Global Home of Batik"will be officially opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according toOrganizing Committee Chairwoman of the World Batik Exhibition Murniati Widodoin Jakarta on Friday (Sept. 23).

The biennial World Batik Exhibition will have three themes, namely:"Multi-Partnership: Bringing Batik To The World", "Batik`sContribution to the Creative Economy", and "Batik as a CulturalHeritage: Conservation and Modernization".

"Up to now, 641 people from a number of countries have already registeredfor participation in the summit. It is double the figure last year,"Murniati said, adding that the number of participants might reach over 700.

The WBE is designed to become a promotion forum for batik producers,practitioners, craftsmen, and businessmen.

The organizing committee of the World Batik Summit (WBS) hopes to record Rp22billion worth of transactions during the five-day event.

"We hope to achieve an increase in the value of transactions compared totwo years ago when the figure was Rp18 billion,"