UNESCO World Heritage Designation Certificate for Yogyakarta’s Cosmological Axis Received by Multilateral Cooperation DG

Thepresidentpost.id - Jakarta, Indonesia - Director General of Multilateral Cooperation, Tri Tharyat, received a certificate of designation of Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks as a UNESCO World Heritage on 20 October 2023.

This handover was carried out by the Indonesian Ambassador to France, Andorra, Monaco/Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia to UNESCO, Mohamad Oemar. Also present on this occasion was the Deputy Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia to UNESCO, Prof. Ismunandar, as well as the Director of Social Culture and OINB, Penny D. Herasati.

The designation of Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta or the Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis was decided during the UNESCO Extended 45th Session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) Meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 10 – 25 September 2023.

Based on Criteria II (exchange of human values in the development of monumental art, urban planning, or landscape design) and Criteria III (having a unique and extraordinary testimony to cultural traditions or civilizations that are still alive or have been lost), the Yogyakarta Philosophy Axis was determined.

The international community must work together to maintain and preserve the Yogyakarta Philosophy Axis as a cultural asset of Outstanding Universal Value for humanity, as confirmed by this decision. The Yogyakarta Palace lies at the core of the Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis, an imaginary north-south axis that runs from Mount Merapi in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. This axis is evidence of the center of Javanese civilization and cultural heritage traditions that have lived and developed since the 16th century.

With this designation, Indonesia currently have a total of 10 sites that has been acknowledge by UNESCO as World Heritage sites. This number consist of six sites in the cultural heritage category (Borobudur, Prambanan, Sangiran Ancient Heritage Site, Subak Bali, Ombilin Coal Mine, and Yogyakarta Axis); and four sites in the natural heritage category (Komodo National Park, Lorentz National Park, Sumatra Tropical Rain Forest, and Ujung Kulon National Park).