NOW! Jakarta sat down with Abdramane Kamaté, Cultural Attaché of the French Embassy for Indonesia to discuss cultural relations between the two countries.
Cultural relations between France and Indonesia have been progressing well for quite some time now. To maintain this intimate bond, the French cultural center in Jakarta, Institut Français d’Indonésie (IFI) has appointed Abdramane Kamaté (Abou) as Cultural Attaché.
Having lived in the capital for several months, Abou is pleased to share his desire and thoughts on how to build a stronger relationship and fruitful future between France and Indonesia.
“I feel honoured to have been assigned and moved to Jakarta. It has been a fascinating and enriching experience living in a vibrant city like this”, Abou excitedly told NOW! Jakarta. “Indonesians are very friendly and helpful. I am grateful to have such a wonderful team at IFI, as they value professional ethics and integrity.”
Speaking of arts and culture, France and Indonesia stand side by side as both countries share similar cultural values and characteristics.
Indonesia is a country full of diversity and home to numerous different ethnic groups, as it is the case with France, with millions of people embracing a wide range of cultures, beliefs and traditions. With this in mind, Abou has committed to strengthening diplomatic ties between the two countries through cultural activities.
Culture has played a key role in international relations. Exchange of ideas, traditions, values and other aspects of culture or identity has thus become an important course of action to boost up diplomatic relationship and promote mutual interest between our two countries.
“A country’s cultural strength is important to determine its ability to exist on an international level and attract foreigners. My contribution here is that I am dedicated to facilitating a form of cultural exchange that can take place in fields such as creative industries, performing and visual arts, literature, conferences and debates, masterclasses and workshops. I strongly believe that these programmes are the key to a mutual understanding between the two countries. I also believe it’s the key to both our development”, the head of the cultural attaché elaborated.
Moreover, IFI will also work on the advancement of its digital repository, Mediatek, allowing visitors and students to have complete information about French culture and language via a collection of easily accessible digital database.
“Audiovisual and cinematography remain one of our main focuses,’’ Abou stated, as they are part of the three agreements in the creative and cultural sectors of the French-Indonesian Bilateral Meeting entitled the Creative Economy and Promotion of the Culture Industry in the Digital Age, which took place during the visit of French President François Hollande in 2017 in Jakarta.
Next year the embassy will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This involves a series of enticing cultural programmes which are meant to be enjoyed both by the French-Indonesian communities and other arts and culture enthusiasts.
Institut Français d'Indonésie
Jalan M.H. Thamrin No. 20
T: +62 21 2355 7900
IG: @ifi_indonesia
FB: Institut Français d'Indonésie
www.ifi-id.com
