Traditional Indonesian batik is a hand-crafted textile crafted from dye-resist, which has been passed down for generations in Java and other parts of Indonesia since the nineteenth century.
As the batik community observed that the younger generation's interest in batik was waning, it felt the need to increase efforts to guarantee the survival of batik cultural heritage. The purpose of the program is therefore to increase awareness among the younger generation of the cultural heritage of Indonesian batik, including its history, cultural values, and traditional skills. In areas such as Pekalongan City, a law called No. 20 of 2003 allows the inclusion of batik culture in curricula as 'local content. The Batik Museum and the city's educational authorities initiated the program in 2005, and it continues to expand to neighboring Batang, Pemalang, and Tegal districts.
Pekalongan Batik Museum is located in Pekalongan, Central Java. It houses an extensive collection of old batik from the 1900s to the present day, both from the coastal areas, inland areas, and other regions in Indonesia such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua. This museum even has clothing types woven with batik techniques from other countries. Besides its showcases a variety of batik collections, Pekalongan Batik Museum also serves as a training center and learning center.
In addition to teaching batik to students and educating general visitors on batik culture, the museum offers training programs/workshops for batik to the community, schools, and institutions. They provide complete information on the history of Pekalongan batik including written and stamped batik, tools, and materials used in batik, as well as the batik process. All of this was undertaken to preserve the culture of batik in accordance with the commitment of the Pekalongan Batik Museum to continue to preserve this noble heritage.
However, the program's effectiveness has been demonstrated through evaluations, and it aims to (a) safeguard intangible cultural heritage and ensure its transmission to the next generation, and (b) Ensure the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage by incorporating Indonesian Batik as local content within the curricula of all levels of formal education, as early as elementary, junior, senior, and vocational schools and (c) also able to increase awareness locally, nationally, and hopefully internationally about the value of intangible cultural heritage. Currently, batiks are also available for sale in the museum so visitors can buy them during their visit. A regular exhibition is held every four months with a different theme each.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/BSP/education-and-training-in-indonesian-batik-intangible-cultural-heritage-for-elementary-junior-senior-vocational-school-and-polytechnic-students-in-collaboration-with-the-batik-museum-in-pekalongan-00318) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik) (http://tourism.pekalongankota.go.id/destinasi/19-Museum%20Batik)