From Preservation to Innovation: How Indonesia Is Turning Cultural Heritage Into a Driver of National Identity and Creative Growth

Editor's Note: At a time when countries across Asia are exploring how culture can contribute to sustainable development, Indonesia is working to position cultural heritage not only as a symbol of history, but also as a long-term national resource for innovation, education, and economic growth.

Herry Jogaswara, head of the Research Organization for Archaeology, Language, and Literature under Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), shared Indonesia’s experience in building a more integrated cultural heritage research ecosystem.

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Across Asia today, cultural heritage is increasingly being discussed not only as a matter of preservation, but also as a strategic resource for education, innovation, tourism, and sustainable development. In Indonesia, we are trying to strengthen the connection between cultural heritage research, national identity, and the creative economy.

As the world’s largest archipelagic country, Indonesia possesses extraordinary cultural diversity. We have more than 17,000 islands, over 1,300 ethnic groups, and more than 700 regional languages. For centuries, migration and cultural exchange involving China, India, the Middle East, and Europe have shaped Indonesia into a deeply plural and interconnected society.

This diversity is reflected in both our tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Beyond monuments and archaeological sites, our heritage also includes oral traditions, manuscripts, rituals, traditional knowledge, local technologies, languages, arts, and community practices that continue to live within society today.

Because of this, cultural heritage in Indonesia is not only about protecting the past. It is also about strengthening cultural confidence, maintaining social cohesion, and creating new opportunities for future generations.

In recent years, Indonesia has worked to build a more integrated research ecosystem through the establishment of the National Research and Innovation Agency, or BRIN. Founded in 2021, BRIN consolidated research resources that had previously been spread across ministries and institutions. The goal was to create a more collaborative, efficient, and nationally coordinated research system.

Within BRIN, the Research Organization for Archaeology, Language, and Literature—known as Arbastra—focuses specifically on cultural heritage research. Our work covers archaeology, manuscript studies, linguistic preservation, religious heritage, and intangible cultural heritage.

One important principle in Indonesia’s current approach is recognizing that research plays an “upstream” role within the broader cultural ecosystem. Researchers generate knowledge through excavation, documentation, field studies, preservation, and interpretation. That knowledge can then support policymaking, tourism, education, digital innovation, and creative industries.

For this reason, we increasingly encourage collaboration among researchers, local governments, universities, communities, and industry practitioners.

In Indonesia, cultural policy and economic development are no longer viewed as separate agendas. Our Law on Cultural Advancement clearly states that culture should contribute to building a society that is politically sovereign, economically self-reliant, and culturally distinctive.

I believe this principle is particularly important in today’s rapidly changing world. Cultural heritage should not be treated only as a symbolic legacy or museum object. It should become part of contemporary life and contribute to social and economic resilience.

This perspective has influenced the development of Indonesia’s creative economy. Today, more than 27 million Indonesians work in creative sectors such as tourism, fashion, crafts, culinary industries, digital content, design, publishing, music, and performing arts.

At the same time, researchers are being encouraged to think beyond academic publication alone. Research must also create public value.

Since 2022, hundreds of research projects related to archaeology, language, literature, and religious heritage have been conducted in Indonesia. Some support government policymaking, while others are being translated into applications for tourism, education, digital archives, and creative industries.

To strengthen this connection, BRIN launched the “BRIN Goes to Industry” initiative, which brings researchers together with entrepreneurs, designers, tourism operators, and digital creators. Recent programs have focused on textiles, gastronomy, digital creation, health traditions, and tourism development.

One lesson we continue to learn is that storytelling matters. Research findings cannot remain confined within academic circles if we want society to engage with cultural heritage more meaningfully. We must communicate knowledge in ways that people can experience emotionally and connect with in everyday life.

This can already be seen at Borobudur Temple, one of Indonesia’s most important cultural heritage sites and the world’s largest Buddhist temple. Borobudur is not only an archaeological monument. Its reliefs preserve knowledge about ancient lifestyles, flora, fauna, music, spirituality, and maritime culture.

At the same time, Borobudur has become an important driver of tourism and local economic activity. In 2025 alone, the temple complex welcomed approximately 1.7 million visitors.

For Indonesia, sites like Borobudur demonstrate that cultural heritage can simultaneously strengthen historical awareness, support local livelihoods, and deepen international cultural exchange.

We are also exploring how new technologies can contribute to cultural preservation. Within BRIN, collaborations involving artificial intelligence, digital linguistic corpora, archaeological mapping, and textile documentation are becoming increasingly important.

As societies continue to transform rapidly, digital preservation and knowledge-sharing will play a larger role in protecting cultural memory across Southeast Asia.

In this context, cooperation between ASEAN countries and China is especially valuable. The historical relationship between Southeast Asia and China stretches back centuries through maritime trade, migration, religion, and cultural exchange. Today, these connections create opportunities for collaboration in heritage conservation, museum exchange, academic research, tourism, and creative industries.

I believe cultural heritage cooperation should move beyond ceremonial dialogue and become a long-term platform for shared learning, technological collaboration, and people-to-people exchange.

Cultural heritage should not remain frozen in museums. It should become part of innovation, education, and regional cooperation. More importantly, it should help future generations understand not only where we came from, but also how culture can contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable future.

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