Bandung Creative City: Reinvigorating the Capital of Asia-Africa

On 17 April 2015, I was invited by The Global Times, one of China's leading English-language newspapers, to speak at their annual Global Ambassador Forum.  Of course I was delighted to receive the invitation, especially because I am not ambassador.  So, I accepted the invitation in a heartbeat.

The topic of the forum was "Building Smart and Green Cities", something that I immediately realized I had no idea about.  But I have always been told by a senior colleague that when given a chance to speak, then speak.  Because speaking gets Indonesia's name on newspapers (for the right reasons), and that's part of what our job is.

The words of that senior colleague do make sense.  At least, more so than the advise of another older diplomat, who once belittled me, and said that I shouldn't speak at a forum promoting Indonesia's movie industry because I "didn't have the competency to speak about such matters".  What nonsense, I thought, and still do 'til this day.

I will take the risk of appearing cocky and assert the believe that I am an authority in Indonesian matters, here in Beijing, China.  And this is not simply because I've entertained one too many questions from Chinese people about things Indonesian.  If anything, I believe that every diplomat should have it in his hearts and minds that he or she is an Indonesian resource person wherever they are posted. Not only competent, but an authority on Indonesia.

And so, it didn't take long for me to decide on Bandung as my topic of discussion for the Global Ambassador Forum.  The choice was somewhat easy.  I've been to Bandung many times.  Bandung is increasingly becoming known for its "smart" and "green" urban development.  Bandung was also about to host the 60th Anniversary of the Asia-Africa Summit, and many in Beijing knew little about Bandung. 

Indeed, following the forum, I was interviewed by three Chinese media that wanted to do a background story for the Asia-Africa Summit.  In fact, one of the publications resulting from these interviews can still be found on the website of East China News Service (ECNS.COM).

In case some of you are interested in what I said during the Global Ambassador Forum, please continue reading below.

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Excellencies Ambassadors,
Respected members of the diplomatic corps,
Esteemed editors and journalists of Global Times,
Ladies and gentlemen,

First and foremost, I would like to thank Global Times for inviting me to speak at this forum. 

I am a loyal reader of Global Times, and therefore, it is indeed an honour for me to be here, and to talk about my country, Indonesia.

In all honesty, I am not an expert in urban development.  Nor am I an architect or landscape designer. So I am not going to speak to you in jargons that I myself don't even understand.

But as a diplomat, I do get to travel, and feel the heartbeat of many cities.  From my experience, every city has its own, unique life.  And each city’s life is always evolving along with its population.

In this vein, today I would like to talk about Bandung, which is Indonesia's third largest city, after Jakarta and Surabaya. 

Bandung is the capital of West Java Province, and boasts a population of around 7.4 million people.  Surrounded by mountains, and sitting at almost eight hundred meters above sea-level, the city's climate is generally more comfortable than that found in coastal cities across the Indonesian archipelago.

Just two hours away from Jakarta, Bandung is known as a getaway destination for residents of Indonesia's capital.  This was true even during colonial times, when Bandung frequently entertained Dutch administrators and plantation owners from Jakarta and the rest of West Java.

In 1955, Bandung hosted the Asia-Africa Conference.  Attended by leaders of Asian and African countries, the conference was the first summit ever among many new nations that had just gained independence following the Second World War.

Indonesia's President Soekarno; India's Prime Minister Nehru; China's Premier Zhou Enlai; they were all there, and they voiced out their countries' respective nation-building processes, and efforts to establish peace, stability, and prosperity for the people.

The 1955 Asia-Africa Conference would later be known as the Bandung Conference.  And the spirit of solidarity and cooperation that was born out of that conference became known as the Bandung Spirit. 

That spirit continues to live on to this day, as Asia and Africa increasingly occupy the headlines of world news. 

Such a sense of solidarity is also reflected in the participation of many leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, in the Bandung Conference's 60th anniversary commemoration, later this month. 

This is why I have chosen to speak about Bandung.

At the beginning of the millennium, beautiful Bandung, which was previously known as the Paris of Java, had gradually taken on many unappealing "big city" traits -- traffic jams, air pollution, and garbage. 

Bandung's urban problems can be traced to poor infrastructure and uncontrolled development.  The situation had become so damaging that many locals had succumbed to the possible irrelevance of Bandung in today's modern society.

However, things have changed for the better in the last few years. 

Bandung had always been known for its people's creativity and dynamism. And it was believed that any effort to make effective changes to the city would have to rely on these characteristics. 

In a city whose population is almost 50% made of youths, it is impossible to think of Bandung lacking in creativity and dynamism.

In 2008, Bandung launched a "creative city" movement, which was aimed at harnessing the pre-existing cultural and creative industry into a more organized city-level community.  The main aim was to inject new life into a supposedly fading city.  

As ideas emerged, interchanged, and further developed within conducive discourse environments, concrete efforts began to materialize on how to make the city more livable, and more lovable.  Some of the locals even dreamt of making Bandung a world class city. 

In this way, the desire to make Bandung more habitable had come from the grassroots, from the bottom up.  The city’s upward progress was therefore positively linked to the people's increasing enthusiasm and participation.

And in 2013, efforts to reinvigorate Bandung hit the next gear, when a young, foreign-educated, local architect by the name of Ridwan Kamil was elected as Mayor. 

Kamil had stated that his vision was "to make Bandung the happiest society in Indonesia".  And he has worked hard to fulfill his promise by listening to the people, and absorbing their ideas. 

The government has since pushed for better and more integrated public transportation.  This includes a cable car program and a bike-sharing program, which is the first of its kind in Indonesia.  This is targeted at making Bandung's streets less congested and less polluted.

The citizens of Bandung have also been encouraged to change their lifestyle.  And Mayor Kamil has tried to lead by example, as demonstrated by his frequent bike rides to work.

Creativity, the lifeline of Bandung’s progress, could only surface from lively surroundings.  Therefore, a mutual symbiosis needed to be created between the people and their home. 

In this regard, the government and people of Bandung emphasized on the idea of green development, by creating new parks, and revamping old ones. 

More public spaces have also been created, to stimulate positive interactions among the local population.  For example, areas under bridges, which had previously housed criminal activities, have been shifted into outdoor movie theaters and soccer pitches.

Moreover, to ensure the sustainability of this movement, citizens are asked to become directly involved in local projects. 

For example, to refurbish the city's soccer stadium area, a design competition was launched.  And the winner's design was then adopted as the blueprint for the project.  

In other words, the citizens are asked not to only demand a better life from the government, but also to be responsible for such improvement in livelihood.  The hope is that such public involvement  would cultivate a sense of belonging, thus ensuring sustainability.

Esteemed guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

There are a number of factors that I would like to highlight in the way that Bandung has become a more livable and lovable city.

First, creativity.  Many of the changes happening in Bandung began with creative ideas. The development of forums for exchanging ideas among the local population has provided the energy for the city’s evolution.  

Second, participation.  The ability to express one’s mind has led to more Bandung people participating in public discussions.  In turn, the establishment of such forums has stimulated the emergence of new ideas, often among people who had previously been indifferent about the city's fate.

At the same time, creative ideas would only remain as ideas if the people are unwilling to convert them into concrete, tangible projects. 

This is where things are different now compared to before.  And this has much to do with a government and a leadership that is keen on materializing the people's ideas.

Therefore, third, attentive leadership.  Mayor Ridwan Kamil continues to interact with the public, not only by meeting them face-to-face, but also by making use of social media and the cyberspace. 

Through twitter, facebook, and instagram, Kamil can get first hand accounts of life in Bandung.  At the same time, Kamil uses these social media channels to report on the actions he has taken in response to popular aspirations and demands.

And fourth, a sense of belonging.  By allowing the public to participate in the governance of Bandung, a sense of responsibility has been nurtured.  This is something that is important in making the people more connected to their home, to their own livelihood.

Of course, in spite of the progress that I have outlined here, there remains much room for improvement if Bandung is to become a world-class city. 

However, if we speak to any people from Bandung today, then I can assure you that you would feel a strong sense of optimism oozing from them.  A sense of optimism in their capacity to make positive, long term changes.

History will always dictate Bandung as the capital of Asia-Africa.  But, by making Bandung a creative city, the local people have successfully breathe a new, reinvigorated life into their beloved city.  

In doing so, Bandung, like the Asian-African cooperation, have progressively changed with the times.

Reinvigorating the Museum of Asia Africa

In 2005, during the 50th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference, leaders from the two continents established a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) that was meant to “reinvigorate” the Bandung Spirit that had in the past influenced the downfall of colonialism in Asia and Africa. Nevertheless, the reinvigoration of the Bandung Spirit has proven to be difficult. 

Fingers are often pointed at our African brothers, accusing them of being incapable of sustaining this partnership. However, as one walked through the dilapidated walls of the Museum of the Asian-African Conference, one cannot but feel that maybe we in Indonesia are also to blame for this. We have failed to raise awareness of Indonesia’s relations with Asian and African countries, notwithstanding our supposed efforts to implement the NAASP.

There is a need to shift the thinking that underlie the museum’s existence. Efforts to create a shrine commemorating Indonesia’s achievements during the Asian-African Conference in 1955 may be admirable; yet, this would only go so far in making people truly understand current events and conditions. As foreign policymakers, it is essential that what is learned from the past be geared towards sustaining present policies as well as designing an agenda for future course of actions. 

In most cases, museums reflect a positivist view of the world as entirely ordered and rule-governed. Objects and information are provided in an ordered fashion for the visitors to follow “as it is”. In contrast, a constructivist view argues that learning involves people in the active construction of mental representations of the world. In other words, what we learn and understand is relative and provisional, and that history is understood within the context of today.

The Museum of the Asian-African Conference provides an admirable exhibition of Indonesia’s past diplomatic glory. However, in presenting solely this exhibition, it has become detached from Indonesia’s contemporary relations with Asian and African countries. The process of learning in the museum is static, and does not provide room for discovering how the past relates with the present, let alone the future. What good does this then do in our efforts to engage the public in supporting our foreign policy and diplomacy today?

Museums have the ability to influence people through the process of learning. By considering both the basis for our organization of exhibits and our theory of learning, we can develop a museum that can respond to the dispositions and interests of the visitors and maximize the potential for learning. In doing so, this makes the museum not only appealing for children, but also accommodating to all ages of learning. A university student trying to understand Indonesia’s foreign policy towards Africa would be able to appreciate the museum as much as an elementary school finding out for the first time where Bujumbura is located.

In its current form, the Museum of the Asian-African Conference serves as a memento to one of the most important episodes of Indonesia’s foreign policy. However, in order to maximize on its potentials, the museum should not teach only history, but also how history shapes things and events today. To become “interesting” and worthy of visits by the public, the museum needs to re-shape itself as an interactive center for learning on the Asian and African peoples. 

The museum needs to go beyond its current form as “the Museum of the Asian-African Conference”, and become “the Museum of Asia-Africa”.

First, the museum should revamp itself from being only a center for learning on the Asian-African Conference to being a museum that features Indonesia’s foreign policy towards the Asian and African continents. In doing so, the museum will become more relevant to the contemporary world and provide a larger space for public learning and public engagement with government policies.

Second, the museum should be geared towards developing greater public understanding of Indonesia’s foreign policy. It is important therefore for the museum to feature Asian and African countries in its exhibits. By learning more about these countries, the public would have a better picture of our efforts in engaging not only Asia and Africa, but also the developing world as a whole.

Third, by raising the public’s awareness on the plight of Asian and African countries, the museum should further efforts by the Department of Foreign Affairs to raise not only public interest in Indonesia’s foreign policy and diplomacy, but also public participation. In a sense, it is about time that the museum be perceived as a channel for extending Indonesia’s foreign policy and total diplomacy goals.

To develop the museum into a center for learning on Asia and Africa, particularly on Indonesia’s relations with countries in these two continents, more exhibits are needed on Asian and African cultures, history, and geography. The exhibits need to encompass materials concerning countries beyond those that participated in the 1955 Conference; the exhibits need to reflect the success of the Bandung Spirit in influencing the birth of new countries in Asia and Africa.

Children shall remain one of the most important target audience. As such, programs have to be designed to ensure children’s interest in the materials being presented in the museum. Games and questionnaires could ensure that the children travel to every part of the museum and allow them to carry out their learning process at pace and using directions they desire individually.

By getting children to learn early about their brothers and sisters from afar, the museum could very well create an impact in these children’s lives, which could be beneficial for the country in furthering efforts in people-to-people diplomacy in years to come. At the same time, games and questionnaires could also be of interest to adults, thus opening the possibility for learning at all ages.

There is also a need to continuously engage visitors even once they have departed the museum. For example, the website for the museum, could be re-designed to contain materials that would provoke the people to want to know more about the museum, its exhibits, and anything related to Asia and Africa. The website could contain information, quizzes, and other features that would lead people to want to re-visit the museum, or if not, learn more about the issues as a whole. 

Another example is to make souvenirs available that could create some form of lasting attachment between the museum and its visitors. Indeed, much of most souvenirs these days are simply made to satisfy the public’s consumerist appetite. Nonetheless, if looked from a broader perspective, souvenirs could become means of public diplomacy. It could promote the museum as an interesting place to visit and a center for Asian-African learning. It could also contain educational materials on the Asian-African Conference and related contemporary issues.

Indeed, to set such a reinvigoration of the Museum of Asia-Africa in motion would not be cheap. Funds will be required not only to renovate the building in order to accommodate new exhibits, but also to bring in new exhibits, develop interactive programs, re-design the museum’s website, and create a line of souvenir and merchandising. Resorting to government funds is the option most suitable considering that the project is an attempt to enrich the Indonesian society’s knowledge as well as for the government to further its public diplomacy goals. Yet, the Government has its limitations.

An alternative resource for funds would be the private sector. However, private control could mean that the Government would have to relinquish full control over the museum. As well, if the museum were privatized, then there is a chance that financial profits and losses would dominate its development, and not education and knowledge.

The soundest solution would be to create a foundation comprising of elements of the Government (both central and provincial), civil society (particularly among educators and the academia), and the business sector. Within such a foundation, the Central Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs would remain at the helm of decision making related to the museum. Inputs from the provincial government, the civil society and financial contributions from businesses would complete a line up of actors that could take up such a mandate.

In 1955, Bandung became the capital of Asia and Africa. It is our responsibility to ensure that Bandung will continue as such. This will not happen if the museum only highlights past events. The museum must be able to allow its visitors to make connections between past and present. The museum must actualize its potential in creating and nurturing the public’s interest and knowledge in events and facts in Asia and Africa. The museum must maximize its capacity in conducting public diplomacy and enhancing understanding on Indonesia’s foreign policy.

Realizing this goal would require a concerted effort among all stakeholders. It would also require careful planning, and most importantly, continuity. 

Some smaller steps could be taken in anticipation of the start of such a project. One of these first steps could be by changing the hours of the museum so that it opens on Saturdays and Sundays. Museums anywhere else opens on Saturdays and Sundays. Somehow, it is just too difficult to imagine the Museum of Asia-Africa evolving into a center for learning if it was closed on the days when people are most likely to make a trip there.