Trail of Civilizations
Encyclopedia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
under the auspices of the governor of Central Java and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Climax of the event was a ballet performance in front of the temple of Borobudur
Borobudur
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...
.
Along with the Indonesian hosts the Director of the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
office for Asia and the Pacific in Jakarta as well as the ministers of tourism of the predominantly Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia, i.e., Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
were present.
The symposium has led to the "Borobudur Declaration" which is aimed to foster cooperation and the preservation of cultural heritage among six ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
The Trail of Civilization itself has become the biennale event and held again in 26 July 2008 in Borobudur. Present in the Trail of Civilization 2008 was the director of UNESCO, the ministers of tourism of six ASEAN countries, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono AC , is an Indonesian politician and retired Army general officer who has been President of Indonesia since 2004....
.
Background
Following a series of destructive natural events and the terror attacks in Bali, tourism in large parts had virtually come to a standstill. Even in Bali, a relatively small island that traditionally attracts large numbers of visitors, the crisis was evident at a first glance. Outside Bali, even on the neighbouring islands of Java and LombokLombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
, there were only a handful of western visitors, even at the most famous destinations such as the temples of Prambanan, Borobudur, and the volcanic range of Mount Bromo.
In an attempt to revive tourism in Indonesia, and, in particular, encourage visitors to see the unique monuments of Central Java, the symposium was planned to take place in mid-2006. However, the event itself had to be postponed two times because of yet more natural disasters, i.e. the devastating earthquake on 27 May 2006 in Central Java itself, and a second time after a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
hit the coast of Java on 17 July of the same year.
The international tourism slump of Borobudur has made Indonesian Ministry of Tourism to look elsewhere for joint cooperation as well as the new source of international visitors. Other than traditional market of Indonesian tourism such as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, USA, and European visitors, the Buddhist nations of Southeast Asia such as Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
is considered to become the potential market.
Taking into account the deeply rooted cultural links among Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam dating back to the first millennium. These Southeast Asian nations shared Hindu-Buddhist culture, civilization and archaeological heritages, such as Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
, Borobudur
Borobudur
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...
, Bagan
Bagan
Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
, Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya (city)
Ayutthaya city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River. The city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri and proclaimed it the capital of his kingdom, often referred to as the Ayutthaya...
, Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...
, and Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
.
The Borobudur declaration
BOROBUDUR DECLARATION
We, the Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister and Chairman of National Tourism Administration of Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, the Minister for Hotels and Tourism of the Union of Myanmar, the Minister of Tourism and Sports of The Royal Kingdom of Thailand, and the Chairman of the National Administration of Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam;
Taking into account the deeply rooted cultural links among Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam dating back to the first millennium;
Taking note that the fact those Cultural Heritage links have remained hidden as time passing by, whereas they can serve as dynamic reference point and positive instrument for fostering peace and friendship among the countries;
Convincing that tourism can be a vehicle for satisfying the growing thirst for knowledge and first-hand experience of the cultural heritage among international travelers;
Recognizing that the Cultural Heritage has recorded the trail of civilization of our countries for centuries;
Confident that the responsibility to preserve Cultural Heritage lies in hands of the present generation for the future generations benefit;
Inspired by the need to strengthen cooperation and partnership in cultural tourism among our countries and the need to capitalize in our common heritage values;
Bearing in mind that the commitment made by the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to promoting the preservation of Cultural Heritage through sustainable cultural tourism;
Do hereby declare that :
- Affirm the important relationship between cultural heritage and tourism in shaping the trail of civilization and in fostering peace and friendship among countries;
- Confirm to the revitalization of our Cultural Heritage, both tangible and intangible, and the promotion of its values through sustainable cultural tourism;
- Further confirm to developing human resource, and exploring as well as undertaking a comprehensive study of the existing richness of Cultural Heritage in the six countries and its interlinkages, for joint promotion in cultural tourism regionally and internationally;
- Agree to strengthen cooperation and partnership, and encourage the implementation of all necessary policies and mechanisms to facilitate the regional travel among our countries; and
- Further agree to create a conducive business environment to attract private investment in tourism development related to the Cultural Heritage, with due respect to the preservation principles.
The Plan of Actions attached constitutes as an integral part of this Declaration.
Borobudur Declaration .
On 28 August 2006 the symposium took place in Borobudur Archaeological park. A massive presence of security forces safeguarded the venue, fortunately, it was positioned in a way to provide maximum security and at the same time being virtually invisible temple itself, maintaining the serene atmosphere of the site and the surrounding gardens. Along with internal meetings of the ministers and their key staff, a reception was held on the evening of that day, celebrating the launch of a new book "The Restoration of Borobudur", published by the UNESCO.
The symposium has produced the declaration called "Borobudur Declaration" signed by ministers of tourism of six ASEAN countries:
- Lay Prohas, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia
- Jero Wacik, Minister for Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia
- Somphong Mongkhonvilay, the National Tourism Administration of Lao Peoples Democratic Republic
- Major General Soe Naing, Minister for Hotels and Tourism of the Union of Myanmar
- Boontham Pigulsri, Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Royal Kingdom of Thailand
- Dr. Pham Tu, National Administration of Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
The ballet performance
Titled "Mahakarya Borobudur" and directed by PT Taman Wisata, the ballet was choreographed to feature traditional Javanese dancing, music and costumes. However, unlike many dance performances which are held on an almost daily basis in neighbouring Yogyakarta, and PrambananPrambanan
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer...
, this was neither just a display of traditional dancing nor a performance of the well-known Hindu epics, the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, or the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. In four scenes, the history of the construction of the Borobudur Temple was shown. In a final climax, the Borobudur temple itself, situated immediately behind the ballet stage, was floodlit and became an integral part of the performance.
Unlike routine Ramayana ballet performance of Prambanan temple stage, the Mahakarya Borobudur ballet performance is only scheduled to be performed several times a year, usually performed around the Vesak
Vesak
Vesākha is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, and Indonesia...
day.
Reception
The immediate feedback from participants and visitors was absolutely positive. However, very few (if any) foreign correspondents were present at the event, hence there was no reflection in the international news media. With the exception of the invited guests from neighbouring countries, there were few foreign visitors at all and those who were had mostly learned of the event by chance, either in Yogyakarta, or Borobudur. There is little evidence that the event resulted in an increasing interest in visiting Java.On the other hand, the symposium and the ballet performance were a viable example of the determination of Indonesian officials and citizens alike to care for their cultural heritage in the face of adversity and to present themselves as welcoming hosts to their international visitors. The series of events prior to the symposium, which had to be postponed twice, may highlight this determination. For participants and visitors alike this evening was a virtually unique opportunity to experience the splendours of Javanese dancing and the world heritage monument of Borobudur in a symbiosis that created lasting impressions.