Yogyakarta (4/10) – National Batik Day is an Indonesian national holiday commemorating the designation of batik as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on October 2, 2009. President Suharto initially introduced batik to the worldwide community when attending a United Nations convention. On September 4, 2008, the office of the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare, representing the Government of Indonesia and the Indonesian batik community, registered Indonesian batik for intangible cultural heritage (ICH) status through the UNESCO office in Jakarta.
The application for batik for UNESCO’s Humanitarian Heritage for Oral and Intangible Culture was officially accepted on January 9, 2009, and batik was confirmed on October 2, 2009, at the fourth session of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Abu Dhabi. During the summit, batik was officially recognized by UNESCO as a Humanitarian Heritage of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Culture. To raise public awareness of efforts to maintain and enhance Indonesian batik, the Indonesian government issued Presidential Decree No. 33 of 2009, which established National Batik Day.
To celebrate the national batik holiday, students of the International Program of Government Affairs and Administration, University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (IGOV UMY) use batik during teaching and learning activities, this activity is carried out to preserve the cultural heritage of Indonesia which we should be proud of.
“Yes, our purpose is to agree to wear batik together so that we can instill a sense of pride that we have a heritage that we must continue to preserve. In addition, we also celebrate the national batik day,” said Salsa Della Guitara P. IGOVers Batch 2021
In addition, batik is well known abroad and it is recognized that batik is a relic from Indonesia. Therefore, as Indonesian citizens, we must be proud of the heritage products of our own country. (ARP)
