Minister of Youth and Sports, Dito Ariotedjo, seized the opportunity at the global sports initiative event ‘Securing the Legacy: Debriefing from Paris 2024 for Future Major Sporting Events Marking’ in New York’s United Nations Headquarters to advocate for pencak silat as a significant cultural heritage of Indonesia. He emphasized how pencak silat transcends mere martial arts, embodying essential values such as discipline, resilience, and peace. As UNESCO recognizes it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, pencak silat imparts practitioners with skills to defend and protect, thereby promoting harmony and peace.
Minister Dito underlined Indonesia’s perspective on pencak silat as a symbol of global resilience and ongoing efforts to raise its international profile, potentially even including it in the Olympics. He believes that sports, particularly pencak silat, exemplify principles of security resilience and can significantly contribute to nation-building, social cohesion, and conflict resolution. Indonesia showed support for the UN Office for Combating Terrorism’s Global Sports Programme, committing to leverage both traditional and modern sports to empower youth and enhance resilience.
Furthermore, lessons learned from the 2024 Paris Olympics underscored the crucial importance of robust security infrastructure and preparedness for major sporting events. Minister Dito emphasized the necessity for innovative security frameworks, intelligence collaboration, and global partnerships to adeptly manage security challenges. Indonesia aims to bolster public-private partnerships, elevate sports safety standards, and cultivate international cooperation to combat violent extremism through sports initiatives.
President Prabowo Subianto’s ambitious vision of bringing pencak silat to the Olympics received mention, accompanied by a call for collective support from all stakeholders. The emphasis remains on preserving pencak silat as a significant part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage and striving for its inclusion in the Olympics. These initiatives to promote pencak silat align harmoniously with Indonesia’s dedication to fostering collaboration for peace and unity through sports. The country’s unwavering commitment to promoting sports as a symbol of peace and resilience exemplifies a shared objective of ensuring a safe and inclusive sporting environment worldwide.
