IMAGINE Summer School - ICTs to promote sustainable heritage tourism in Indonesia
Institutional Communication Service
29 August 2022
Promoting sustainable heritage tourism in Indonesia. This was the aim of the 2022 edition of the USI UNESCO Chair Summer School which took place from 16 to 23 August in Indonesia. The Summer School, entitled IMAGINE - ICTs to promote sustainable heritage tourism in Indonesia, was held in collaboration with the Trisakti School of Tourism.
28 participants from seven countries (Indonesia, Italy, Peru, Serbia, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States) had the opportunity to get closer to elements of Indonesia's rich cultural heritage. Through lectures, visits to world heritage sites, meetings with academic and creative industry experts, the students reflected on how digital media can be implemented to promote sustainable tourism and give a better understanding of heritage.
One of the central themes of the Summer School was the textile heritage of Batik, which was designated by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009 and to which the USI UNESCO Chair has dedicated the #iWareBatik project, coordinated by Dr. Puspita Ayu Permatasari, who recently completed her PhD at USI.
The week was marked by visits to several sites in Jakarta, Bogor, Solo and Yogyakarta: the temple complexes of Prambanan and Borobudur Temple; two royal palaces - Mangkunegaran and Yogyakarta, the Bogor Botanical Garden and the Zoological Museum, as well as workshops, businesses and museums, such as the Tekstil Museum, the Nasional Museum, the Danar Hadi Museum and the Radya Pustaka Museum.
The participants were greeted with a video message by Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Dr. H. Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, who praised the activities promoted by the Summer School and hoped that, through this project, there would be activities to support sustainable tourism in Indonesia.
The participants were also greeted by the president of Trisakti School of Tourism Fetty Asmaniati and Moe Chiba, Programme Specialist and Head of Culture Unit UNESCO Office in Jakarta.
Prof. Lorenzo Cantoni, Director of the USI UNESCO Chair and scientific coordinator of the Summer School, emphasised how "the UNESCO Chair's summer/winter schools, which began in 2014, have offered the world of research and those working in the field of tourism and heritage very valuable opportunities for dialogue, in-depth study, and knowledge of different places and cultures. To date, the Chair has established nine schools, in Switzerland (2), Italy (2), China, Finland, Namibia, Cyprus and Indonesia. These schools have also been an opportunity to create a dense network of collaborations, which has recently resulted in the publication of a Handbook on Heritage, Sustainable Tourism and Digital Media, edited by Dr. Silvia De Ascaniis, coordinator of the Chair, and Prof. L. Cantoni himself.
