UI Builds up International Academic Network at Xiamen Cultural Heritage Forum

RRI.CO.ID, Xiamen – Universitas Indonesia (UI) enhances its international academic network through the 1st International Forum on Artistic, Cultural and Memorial Heritage in Xiamen, China, which discussed cultural heritage preservation and efforts to return cultural objects to their communities of origin. The forum, themed “Objects, Spaces and Memory Cultures in Asia and Europe,” was jointly organized with Xiamen University, the University of Hamburg, and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and brought together more than 30 participants from several countries across Asia and Europe.

The forum addressed a number of issues, including cultural heritage preservation, the removal of cultural objects, cultural appropriation, repatriation, and restitution. Participants noted that the return of cultural objects involves more than their physical transfer. It can also be part of efforts to acknowledge historical injustices and restore the connection between cultural heritage and its communities of origin.

Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Universitas Indonesia, Untung Yuwono, said the collaboration with Xiamen University provided an opportunity to bring Indonesia’s perspectives into international discussions on cultural heritage, memory, and identity.

“We hope this collaboration will not stop at the forum, but continue through joint research and publications, academic exchanges, and other meaningful and sustainable initiatives,” Untung said in a statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.

Indonesian participants in the forum included former Director General of Culture Hilmar Farid, UI Professor of Archaeology Irmawati Marwoto, Benteng Heritage Museum founder Udaya Halim, and UI archaeologist Tondi Mirzano Siregar.

Hilmar Farid emphasized that cultural heritage encompasses not only objects, but also history, knowledge, memory, and community identity. He said the return of cultural objects should serve as a starting point for reconnecting communities with the knowledge and history associated with them.

Meanwhile, Irmawati said repatriation should be accompanied by efforts to reconnect cultural heritage with its original places and communities. She also affirmed the importance of strengthening museum capacity throughout the process.

Director of Xiamen University’s Center of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Liu Yue, said the forum provided a platform to deepen academic dialogue on artistic, cultural, and memorial heritage in Asia and Europe.

He expressed hope that cooperation with UI could develop into sustained joint research on cultural heritage, history, and memory.