KBRN, Jakarta: Four female dancers performed the Gambyong Dance in green and yellow attire. This dance is typically performed as entertainment for guests at the Mangkunegaran Palace.

The dance has been designated as a UNESCO Memory of the World. It also opened the Indonesian Documentary Heritage Awards ceremony at the National Archives Building of the Republic of Indonesia or ANRI on Wednesday (13/8/2025).

Head of National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), Mego Pinandito, stated that Indonesia has successfully registered five UNESCO Memory of the World documentary heritage sites. The five Indonesian documentary heritage sites are: the Kartini archives, the ASEAN Founding Charter/ASEAN Charter archives, the Mangkunegaran Javanese dance art archives, the Hamzah Fansuri poetry manuscripts, and the Sanghyang Siksa Kandang manuscripts.

“Based on the UNESCO General Assembly held in Paris on April 17, 2025, Indonesia has successfully registered five UNESCO Memory of the World documentary heritage sites for the first time and achieved success in all five categories,” he conveyed.

Moreover, Pinandito further explained that this designation was the result of efforts to strengthen cultural diplomacy, or what he called Archive Diplomacy. It is not just about archives, this designation confirms that this heritage can only be found in Indonesia.

“In this case, Archive Diplomacy is one of the forms of soft diplomacy carried out by Indonesia by utilizing its cultural wealth, natural resources, and various things that are unique to Indonesia. So, if we talk about dance, for example, it cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he stated.

At the same event, Head of Communication and Information Section UNESCO Jakarta Office, Ana Lomtadze, stated that each designated heritage has its own uniqueness and significant cultural and historical value, not only for Indonesia but for the entire world.

“Indeed each of these inscriptions is unique and has great cultural and historical value not only for Indonesia but for the entire world. Their diversity in terms of the themes that they cover but also the mediums through which they are preserved, paper, musical sheets, photography, lontar. This diversity is a good illustration of the memory of the world register itself,” she explained.

Finally, the Head of ANRI emphasized that this designation is not the end, but rather the beginning of ongoing efforts to propose more Indonesian documentary heritage sites. This global recognition is important for the tourism and education sectors, as well as for accelerating economic growth for the welfare of the community.