BATIK AS A MEDIUM OF INDONESIA’S CULTURAL DIPLOMACY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 2010-2013

Abstract

Thesis Title: Batik as a Medium of Indonesia’s Cultural Diplomacy in the United States of America 2010 – 2013 Batik is one of Indonesia’s culture that has been internationally declared to be Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2009. Batik itself as a culture has become a part of Indonesians daily life. Since then, Indonesian government has made batik as an instrument of diplomacy to promote the national culture abroad, perceiving batik as a soft power that belongs to the country. Batik is believed to be able to represent the country as it has become the national identity of the nation, showing the beauty of Indonesian culture, and attracting foreign public. Therefore, the government continuously done cultural diplomacy initiatives with the use of batik as a medium to promote Indonesia’s culture, but also as an attempt to globalize and preserve batik as a cultural heritage that belongs to the country. Cultural diplomacy with the use of batik as a medium took place in various countries, including the United States of America. Batik has been used to promote Indonesian culture in the United States. United States itself has become the main destination of national batik export from Indonesia. Such achievement cannot be separated from the government’s initiatives in promoting batik through various programs in the United States. Qualitative research methodology is used in this research to analyze secondary data from books, journals, publications, and report. From this research, it can be seen that the practice of cultural diplomacy with the use of batik towards United States of America has not only generates the enthusiasm and appreciation of Indonesian culture, precisely batik, but also generates admiration that led to demand of batik within the country which can be seen from the national batik export from Indonesia towards the United States.