Jakarta, November 8, 2021 – Indonesia's cultural diversity spreads from Sabang to Merauke and is owned by almost every region. Among this diversity, there is one culture that has also become globally recognized, Wayang (shadow puppet). On November 7, 2003, UNESCO recognized wayang kulit as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity which was later designated as National Shadow Puppet Day. PT Bank Central Asia, Tbk (BCA) through Bakti BCA program also supports the development of Wayang in Indonesia.
In the commemoration of the National Shadow Puppet Day, BCA holds a breakthrough program, one of them is for public, especially young generation. The 2021 Wayang Youth Festival is a form of program presented this year in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology and Sampan Bujana Sentra. The opening ceremony of this festival was attended virtually by President Director of BCA Jahja Setiaatmadja, Commissioner of BCA Cyrillus Harinowo, Executive Vice President CSR of BCA Inge Setiawati, Director of Cultural Development and Utilization, Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology Restu Gunawan, Director of Sampan Bujana Sentra Uniek Sampan Hismanto, Professional Comic Artist Ario Anindito and the Indonesian National Wayang Secretariat (SENAWANGI) Irwan Riyadi on Monday (08/11). On this occasion, the event was also attended by the entire judges of this event, the Asia Wangi community and several artists.
The 2021 Wayang Youth Festival brings heroic wayang figures. Registration for this festival is open starting from today until November 28, 2021. To foster the spirit of the Indonesian Wayang campaign, BCA together with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology and Sampan Bujana Sentra held a Wayang Dance Drama and Wayang Comic Strip competition conducted online and open to people of all ages. In the later event, the committee will provide workshops regarding themes and materials for competition purpose to brief participants. This event involves several judges, experts in wayang, dance drama and comics, to choose which works of art have a high value.
“BCA is always committed to be the part of the preservation of cultural arts, especially wayang. Since 2012, BCA has developed various educational programs for Wayang. We invite young generation to take part in the competition to make wayang comics and wayang dance drama as well as to preserve wayang in a contemporary way,” said Jahja.
“BCA has a noble mission and goal in developing wayang in Indonesia. Through this activity, we want to inspire the spirit of creativity, especially in the nation’s cultural art activities, namely wayang. We try to hold wayang preservation program consistently as an effort to maintain Indonesian Wayang as a World Masterpiece Heritage designated by UNESCO," said Cyrillus.
BCA together with Sampan Bujana Sentra also pay attention to health protocols in holding this competition event, especially for wayang dance drama competition. All competitions, both registration and result submission, are held online to avoid direct contact. We encourage participants/performers to implement health protocol during the practice until video recording finished.
“We welcome BCA's efforts to celebrate and preserve wayang culture as a world heritage, especially to invite young generation to participate in the 2021 Wayang Youth Festival. I hope that BCA and community forums, especially Sampan Bujana Sentra (SBS) will promote and spread wayang values so that the outstanding universal value of wayang that has been recognized as the world cultural heritage can continue to pass down to the young generation as the guidance and performance for all of us.” Director of Development and Utilization of Culture, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Restu Gunawan said
“Hopefully with this event, young generation of our nation will recognize and love their culture that other nations don't have and something that we should be proud of and pass down to our children in the future so that our nation's culture will never become extinct. By loving our culture, we build national identity and sustain the nation's strength,” said Uniek, the youngest daughter of a cultural figure, the late Sampan Hismanto.
Through “BCA untuk Wayang Indonesia’’ educational program for young generation, BCA hopes to increase young generation's understanding of the exemplary values embodied in wayang art culture for wayang preservation purpose in the future. Various events that have been successfully held including 'Wayang for Student' and 'Wayang Day'. This event also succeeded in gathering almost a total of 14,000 participants from various cities from 2012-2019.
“We hope that this event brings and provides motivation for young generation to raise awareness of wayang. If it doesn't start now, then the extinction of this culture might happen. Let's be passionate to preserve wayang as the world's masterpiece heritage," Inge concluded.
BCA holds Wayang Youth Festival 2021 – In the commemoration of the 2021 National Shadow Puppet Day, BCA and Sampan Bujana Sentra holds the 2021 Wayang Youth Festival announced today through virtual press conference attended by Commissioner of BCA Cyrillus Harinowo (bottom right), CSR Executive Vice President of BCA Inge Setiawati (bottom left), Director of Sampan Bujana Sentra Uniek Sampan Hismanto (top right) and Arie Dagienks as the judge and moderator of the event (top left) on Monday (11/08). The 2021 Wayang Youth Festival is open for registration starting from today until November 28, 2021.
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About PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (as of 30 September 2021)
BCA is one of the leading commercial banks in Indonesia with the core business of transaction banking. BCA also offers a full range of financial services in consumer, SME, commercial and corporate segments. As of September 2021, BCA has the privilege of serving more than 26 million customer accounts, processing around 46 million of daily transactions through a network of 1,237 branches; 17,913 ATMs as well as the 24-hour internet & mobile banking systems; supported by 24/7 Halo BCA contact center. BCA’s presence is complemented by a number of subsidiaries focusing on vehicle financing, sharia banking, securities, general and life insurance, digital bank, remittance as well as venture capital business. BCA is committed to building lasting relationship with customers, putting people first, and making positive impact on society at large. With more than 25,000 employees, BCA's vision is to be the bank of choice and a major pillar of the Indonesia economy.
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About Sampan Bujana Sentra (SBS)
Sampan Bujana Sentra (SBS) was founded by the late Mr. KRT Sampan Hismanto S. Budyo Setyo Tondodiningrat who played the role of Father Semar in TVRI's Ria Jenaka in the 80s and brought together Indonesian Traditional Dance & Music Artists in the Indonesian Young Artists Association (HSMI) since in the 60s and it is now continued by their children of the deceased and other artists in order to continue together to preserve the noble Indonesian Culture. The deceased had founded WOPA (Wayang Orang Panggung Amatir) around 1989, where every year WOPA Competition is held joined by participants not only from Jakarta but also from several regions in Central Java & East Java.
