Screenshot of iWareBatik website homepage.

 

Puspita Ayu Permatasari is a PhD candidate in Communication Studies and Technology for Cultural Heritage and Tourism in Univesity della Svizzera italiana (USI) Lugano, Switzerland. This multi-linguist researcher goes on to learn about the language and story of batik and coordinated a batik application and website project, iWareBatik.

In this episode of aNERDspective (our NERD talk show where we converse with amazing friends about their textile adventure and perspectives), we talked to and laughed with Ayu about her research, the journey of developing this application and her obsession with K-pop that inspires part of the project.  

Note: Full video in is available on IG TV and this transcript has been edited for reading format.

Tony Sugiarta: Welcome Ayu, to another episode of aNERDspective. We are so excited to be talking to you about your latest release of the iWareBatik app. I have been telling everyone that I am so excited to talk to you today because that is something that I have been wanting to do myself, to collect all the different batik motifs and introduce that to the rest of the world.

First of all, how are you? How are you doing in this pandemic situation?

Puspita Ayu Permatasari: I am pretty good, I am fine here. In Switzerland, there is a partial lockdown but it is not necessarily “locked down” (but) in the sense that we need to comply with the COVID protocol, that we have to wear a mask. At USI (Università della Svizzera Italiana), they impose two obligations. Students, who were obliged to attend courses, they need to work at home. For researchers like me, I can still go to the university but bearing with the protocol and everything. So, it is not as hard as other countries, but in Switzerland we can still go to other regions and cities. In the public transportation, we need to always wear a mask.

Great. So, probably the question is how did you land up in Switzerland?

I did my Bachelor in University of Indonesia in Department of Chinese Studies and then I did my Master program in the Management of Wealth Heritage Sites and Tourism in University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne. At that time, I met the director of USI UNESCO Chair in Information & Communication Technology (ICT) to develop and to promote sustainable tourism at World Heritage Sites. At that time, I was wondering if I can join the internship at the USI UNESCO Chair in Switzerland to deepen my knowledge about how to preserve heritage, focusing on intangible heritage which, at that time, my topic, was batik.

By knowing how to manage cultural heritage, focusing on intangible culture and heritage, I would love to know how we can strategically promote or preserve through digital technology. As a result, I did my Master in 2014-2016. During two years of this Master program, I did an internship at UNESCO Paris, as a management representative for UNESCO in Paris for the first year. In the second year, I went to Switzerland to join the internship at the USI UNESCO Chair. Having these two experiences get me enlightened. After my Master thesis, I went to Indonesia to see the application of my Master thesis program. At that time, I took the title, ”How to Build Sustainable Culture Tourism by Developing Batik Villages in Madura Island”. I went to Madura Island.

But, I was thinking, “Okay, if I did not manage to combine (culture tourism with) technology, maybe some other areas in Indonesia might need some assistance to promote their creative industry, which is (referring to) batik.”

So, I apply my research on how to create digital technology to preserve intangible culture heritage and tourism focusing Indonesian batik which was inscribed into Intangible Heritage of the UNESCO in 2009. In 2017, I came back to Lugano, where I did my internship for the first time at USI UNESCO Chair, at Università della Svizzera italiana.

How do you get interested in Batik?

It is pretty simple. My grandmother was the last descendant of the Royal Family of Sumenep Kingdom. She still adapts and complies with every ritual. When I was a child, at 7-8 years old, I was looking at my grandmother wearing a batik in such a sophisticated way. I was wondering, “Okay, why does this textile feel so sacred to my grandmother?”

It is not that I am directly interested in batik. But after I did my Bachelor in Chinese studies, I had to memorize 4,000 kanji. I was thinking, maybe all the patterns that my grandmother was wearing have all the connection and with some meanings. From then on, I went to Madura Island, I visited all 4 cities – Bangkalan, Sampang, Pamekasan, and Sumenep, to know the batik authentic villages from centuries that are still live until today.

You do not really need to know about batik, I did not know about how it was made, but then, faith directs me to meet all the producers. I learn from the scratch – how to put the wax on top of the cloth, and (to see) if that is actually authentic or fake batik. I was like, “why was he asking that?” I did not know how to differentiate the authentic and the fake one. You can imagine how little my knowledge about batik was when I started my Master thesis. But with love, (you) can always find a way to deepen knowledge on something we are interested in. 

With love, you can always find a way to deepen knowledge on something we are interested in. 

You use the app as a way to communicate these intangible heritages. Probably you can share a little bit about the concept of iWareBatik, or probably you can first share with us the philosophy behind the name?

The philosophy of iWareBatik is “I am aware of batik”. In technological terms, it can be an interactive software of batik. When you listen to it, iWareBatik means you are wearing the batik. I did my Bachelor in Literature, so sometimes I try to connect the philosophy and the language. I am trying to bring awareness through stories. You can even imagine if you have downloaded the app. The listeners of this video can (take a) look at iWareBatik, on iOS and Android, they can be downloaded for free. You can try the artificial intelligence (AI) feature. It can recognise the batik motif that you take from the camera and you can also read the 124 batik storytelling inside it. So, not only the motif, but you can also see the rich wisdom inside every pattern on the app, and also on the website.

I believe 124 are what you have right now. Are you expanding on that?

Of course. Actually, we have about 5.300 batik motifs in Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke.

First of all, this app was done, thanks to the collaboration of 3 funding bodies. First is LPDP (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan, Ministry of Finance). I was awarded to continue my Doctoral study in USI Switzerland. Secondly is Asosiasi Sobat Budaya. From 2008, they try to collect or study one million cultural data movements. Until today, they are able to collect about 5,300 batik motifs that are spread across Indonesia, submitted by the volunteers in each region. The third one is the USI UNESCO Chair in ICT to develop and to promote sustainable tourism in World Heritage Sites in Università della Svizzera italiana In Lugano, Switzerland.

In order to acquire their stories, I have to research on each batik pattern. I have to coordinate with Asosiasi Sobat Budaya because they are the first player on batik and cultural documentation. I asked them if I can take some of the data and look at their database. They provide not only the motif, but also the meaning. Me, as a researcher, I also do not want to just take the meaning per se from their cultural database, there might be some other meanings. So, each of the meanings that I got from Asosiasi Sobat Budaya, I asked for their permission. This relates to the cultural property rights of Indonesia. Bear in mind that every region has a rich culture and also when we put online, there is a risk of intellectual property (infringement), and can also be inspirations to international audiences as well. I take the safest way, which means that I will only take 3 or 4 motifs which are common in one region. They are massively reproduced and people can find it easily than the other rare motifs. It is better that these motifs that have been shown internationally, at least in the public and in order (for them) to say that, “Hey, this motif is actually from Indonesia.”

We do not want to show too much because, otherwise, we will jeopardize the richness of the cultural property. The ideas as properties in the local region. We just put 3 to 4 batik motifs in our platform iWareBatik. It is just a trigger for people. I mean, (there are) 34 regions across Indonesia, with at least 4 stories. If you want to know more, you can ask your producers, or anyone. I believe in my own research, I found that in one region, like Banten, they have 50 motifs and they are all related to the history and legend in Banten Kingdom. This is only the very first preview and that is why when you look into the website www.iwarebatik.org, every motif has its passport – the name of the motif, where it is from, and copyright Indonesian batik. After reading the meaning of the motif, you can see note, 

“Note:  All contents and batik images are protected by Indonesian cultural property law….”

We make it clear in every motif. We take cultural property law very seriously because Indonesia is a society and we need to always try to respect it. Not only respect in the (sense of) behaviour in our daily life or community, but also academically or written activities, this respect should be shown, particularly in creative industries where you will find a lot of ideas from other communities. We acknowledge and we use this motif to convey the respect and also to honour the ownership of these creative ideas. 

Thank you for pointing that out. I think it is a very important message that often a lot of people forget. Even when they are sharing on Instagram or Facebook, people can just take it and copy it, for whatever reasons. That is a very important message.

I want to ask in general, as applied to batik, are there a lot of batik motifs that are being protected, or if you have any insights on that?

First of all, let us see it this way… We have a lot of international bodies and sections such as intellectual property rights governed by GI (Geographic Indicator). If you have a small-medium enterprise and you want to create a brand, you have to register your brand under intellectual property rights. We can define that protections always start from yourself first. That’s how it is. In terms of culture, the protection needs to start from the community itself. It means that in the higher layer of a protection of the property and the laws, you need to communicate with the government. The government needs to talk with the international bodies, and so on.

I think each has its own route. What I did with iWareBatik is that we are not working for the government and I do not know if it will take a hundred years to protect all Indonesian batik motifs internationally. What I have in mind was, “ok, I am starting as a researcher. I want to create a technology that communicates and promotes batik motifs and its meaning. And where will I promote it? It will be online.” You know, an online cyber society or cyber environment has its own protection, and these (law) can be used.

If you ask me, “how about the protection of every motif?” Every region in Indonesia protects their own motifs. Once, I (got) connected with the government of one of the regions. They said, “okay, we have this motif, but we do not put it out there because this is a research software.” So, the government of every region really collaborates with the local producers to create an inventory of the motifs. It is at the governmental level.

Then, there is also this association, the Sobat Budaya Association who does not count on the government. They are an NGO (non-governmental organisation). They try to collect (information from) all the volunteers – if you have your grandmother’s jarik or textile, please take a photo and put on our database with all the meaning and all the memories about it. That is really good. What I am doing is that I am trying to connect these two entities. The government is providing a system, policy and scholarship. This protection from the central government combined with the NGO, such as Sobat Budaya Association.

What I do, before I created the team, is that I thought of protecting at least the most available batik motif of each region in Indonesia, online. That is the first idea. It means that when the publisher of a content is the first owner (or in cyber society we call it “the right holder”). iWareBatik is the right holder of 124 batik motifs content and behind these right holders, there are 3 entities that are very strong. First, Indonesian central government, represented by the scholarship that I gained from the Ministry of Finance. Secondly, is the grassroot strength, coordinated by Sobat Budaya Association, and the iWareBatik team gathered the permission to use part of this legacy. Third, USI UNESCO Chair as the international body that connects these initiatives to the UNESCO mission in general.

So, I was wondering, if we did not put Mega Mendung motif on iWareBatik, and that this is accredited to West Java, I was afraid that maybe one of our neighboring countries can claim that Mega Mendung is actually from this community and then it spreads to Indonesia. Well, it is actually vice versa. First, Mega Mendung was created by Cirebon’s King at that time and maybe at some point, it gets distributed out there. So you can imagine how complex cyber society is because the right holder is also related to the nation who produced them first.

In this way, I was lucky and we were so grateful that we obtained the support from the USI UNESCO Chair to protect 124 Indonesian batik motifs in the international platform, which is on the iWareBatik app and also the website. It is to announce to the world that at least these 124 motifs belong to Indonesia. Beyond that, it is reserved in local governmental or our national database. In this case, through research and through innovation, we can prevent something from harming the protection of their cultural property law itself.

At least, these 124 are something that people know about and the app aims to introduce, to trigger and to spark people’s curiosity about batik, so they can explore further. How long have you been working for this app?

For the app, it is only, not only actually, two years. In the first year, we are focusing on the research. I have to do the benchmarking. Surprisingly, when I started my PhD, I was thinking that batik is not well communicated online. There are some websites but they unstructured. It was an initiative that, in our theoretical communication technology point of view, needs to be defined. There are gaps.

Since 2017 to 2019, I did three research. First of all, how batik is communicated online and it became a journal.

The second one, how batik is presented on the mobile app. Surprisingly, I thought that batik might only have 2 or 3 mobile apps in 2017. But then, in 2018, I was astonished because there are 164 mobile apps about batik in many categories. Maybe 70% of the mobile apps are just about a person thinking, “Okay, I will give you (one)”. Maybe it was a computer science students who are asked to create a mobile app and they just try to create one about batik. So, about 70% of the 164 mobile apps were just catalogues of people wearing batik for men and women. When you download the app, you can only look at the pictures without having any explanation. Then, there were only 20 qualitative mobile app on batik which were somehow a little bit bookish because a lot of information was put out there in Wikipedia’s style of writing. This is good, at least, that gives an anchor as a researcher on how to refine it. I was asked by my professor, “So, how do you make it? We have 164 competitors. How can you make it?”

*laughter* Yes, that would be my next question.

So, from 2019 until July 2020, we are working hard on developing the website. 95% (of it) were done by me. I am designing it, I did the visual, layout, research that connects everything. In parallel, we also worked on the mobile app. We have been assisted by the USI UNESCO Chair, as they provided and dedicated a software engineer for the mobile app.

The artificial intelligence was kind of a blessing in disguise, because when I started my PhD in 2017, Lugano is not as well known as Zurich among the Indonesian society. I was in Lugano and I thought that I was the only Indonesian, but there was apparently an Indonesian, he is from Bandung. He studied computer science, Master of Computer Science and focusing on AI. So, from the preliminary (conversation), I was asking him, if you need a thesis project and if you do not mind, maybe you can work on this AI. 6 months later, he was like, “okay, I think it was a good idea.” So, the artificial intelligence was submitted under the iWareBatik team. That was really a blessing in disguise, maybe God knows it all and at the grassroots level, and how it turns out (to be) a lucky point where me, as a PhD candidate meet a Master student in Computer Science, in the USI UNESCO Chair, and create iWareBatik (together). 

Yes, definitely a very interconnected world, like all Indonesians all over the world, right? So, to your professor’s question: what makes iWareBatik different from the other 160+ apps?

I did another research on UNESCO properties in Indonesia and became a Q1 journal (ed.: the first quartile ranking of academic research paper in each area of specialisation). At that time, I did not think that this paper would be accepted. I submitted the paper just out of curiosity, for UNESCO properties in Indonesia. There are 18 properties, 9 tangible heritages (such as Borobudur, Prambanan) and then 9 intangible cultural heritages. I did my research in 2019 and for 4 months, I collected 322 mobile apps focusing on these intangible cultural heritages. (Out of) 322 mobile apps, 164 are for batik and the rest are for the remaining heritages. There are some 10 other mobile apps that I collected which are very creative and very communicative in terms of user experience. I put a benchmark, note down some advantages and some services that they put on the mobile that makes me happy as a user. This became a good analysis and was put on the paper. I just submitted my journal and it turns out that this journal is a Q1 journal and they accepted mine, so, I was like, “Wow, thank God!”

Sometimes, as a researcher, you just need to go with your own gut, try your best to get to know something until you get to know something more, right? Then, my professor asked me how can we refine the applications that have been out there. So, I just create all these bars, another world map of batik application. (For example,) these guys are talking about textiles, these guys are talking about fashion, these guys are talking about augmented reality, etc. We can combine it and merging it (with aims of the) stakeholders since research was started in 2014. So, I have these interviews with the government and with the Indonesian Embassy in Bern, how they would like to use the app to communicate with the public, for cultural diplomacy, and everything. We combine everything (including) the other with a very complex thinking behind it. The professor was kind of, “Oh my God, can you imagine there are 34 regions?”

Yeah, you are talking about Indonesia, just like Europe. I think about how to manage every region in Indonesia that look like a country in Europe. It was mostly spontaneous and intuitive, but sometimes I just take my gut to do one thing and contact all the other, the rest of the iWareBatik team. It is kind of an iterative process. At first, we only have 5 people, the 2 directors who are my supervisors, me, a software engineer and co-mobile app and artificial intelligence. Along the way, we contacted more people to help us. At the end of the iWareBatik project, we gathered 13 members who have contributed with their skills, like two scriptwriters who refine my words. Maybe sometimes I’m too bookish in describing the meaning of the motifs. So, they try to readapt the English language that I put into something that is more interesting in the literature. 

I saw from your website that you have a cross-continental team, cross-cultural team. Do you work with the batik makers directly in designs?

I went to Sragen, Madura Island, some batik villages in Indonesia back then in 2018. Actually I wanted to go back to Indonesia in 2020 but the COVID situation does not allow it. At least I have myself work in batik villages and at that time, I was collecting all the information from a tourist point of view. So I just collected everything, like how they dry the textile and how they rear the child while painting the batik. I take all of the notes, videos, tapes, everything. I did not know what will happen after that, but then God was very kind and He gave me some ideas to make all of these scraps into something more meaningful, which is iWareBatik. 

Those definitely come in handy now.

Yes, and then they become like an artifact for me.

If anyone ask why Indonesian people think that batik producers, in some cases, have a low wages. How about the well-being and everything? We cannot say the well-being in terms of material and capital point of view because there is also social capital. Social point of view where they work as a group, as a family and they distribute all the resources into the people, not only the (immediate) family but also extended to the village and the community. As a result, we see that people are just happy with what they are doing and they are sufficient.

But, we as people who are more able to coordinate at the higher level, for example, at international level or national level, need to help them to be visible. With the visibility, people can buy more batik and how to get (to) more batik producers by giving awareness to the potential consumers that batik is a very precious textile heritage. And you should always buy the authentic batik, which means that you have to connect with the local producers and they will offer you the reasonable batik price.

So iWareBatik has two missions of helping the capacity building of the producers in that they know what they are drawing. (For example,) when they are drawing “Gurda”, they know that in their heart that this Gurda has a sacred meaning and they can have a self-satisfaction of knowing what they are doing is meaningful. The second dimension is the consumer. As a consumer, they are very picky, they have to be informed well on what kind of products that suits our expectations. That is why iWareBatik presents at least as a helper, or you can be said like a facilitator, on how to get the better knowledge on batik, both for producers and the consumers.

Definitely agree, it is part of our mission here at aNERDgallery to educate the consumers so they know who made them and what is the history or the value behind each creation. And I would like to go back to one of your earlier research about how batik is being presented on the internet? How is it being portrayed? And do you have any messages for batik advocates, how can we present batik better to the consumer? 

We did the research on 100 websites in Indonesian language and 100 websites in English language. In the paper you will see the discrepancies between how international websites actually present or communicate batik on their homepage or webpage.

First, they highlight that batik is beautiful and it has cultural and philosophical meaning. They also try visit the batik villages and try making batik themselves. These are three focal points on websites that are managed or created by non-Indonesian or foreigners. And then, the fourth point is how to differentiate fake batik. So, as tourists, they are afraid of being trapped by malicious producers who sell them fake batik. These are four main concerns. One is that batik is an aesthetically beautiful visual art. Second is that philosophical and sociocultural meaning. The third one is how they can visit the batik villages to try making batik themselves. The fourth is how to differentiate the fake batik. So, a hundred web pages in English mostly cover these four dimensions.

It was also a surprise for me because webpages in Indonesian language are a little bit different. The first is that they like batik from the aesthetical point of view. Second is that batik is for fashion, like you can wear batik to many “kondangan”, or wedding invitations. The third is that you can buy batik as a souvenir and the fourth is that batik has philosophical meanings. Indonesian webpages are mostly concerning batik as aesthetically pleasing, its usage in fashion, in tourism and then the last one is the essence of why the batik is recognized and its philosophical meanings. So, this is a complex issue. It means that there is a gap in the mindset on Indonesian people treating batik. In reality, since Indonesian people wear batik every day and every time, they do not really see the connection on why such heritage becomes the focal point in our nation. 

Yeah, they only care when our neighboring countries, like Singapore or Malaysia, start saying that they have a batik culture and all the keyboard warriors started to defend Indonesia batik.

Yes, something like that. That is why I am designing this iWear batik app. I have to design the communication structure, how it is presented, how it is actually engaging or triggering the people who read at least one of the motifs or at least the goal of the app to actually engage themselves into the preservation mission of the app. We clearly define that we are aiming to safeguard because these words are so powerful that you are not misleading people who read that we are aiming to ‘promote’ because promote can be anything. In the business point of view, promote can mean there is economic transaction. But, our app is trying to create awareness and help in safeguarding. It means so clearly that all intentions related to the economical point of view are averted. We do not say that we do not help the batik producers. We help batik producers in terms of visibility and, for instance, I try to put in a blog about a single producer that has a long history and if you are interested you can directly connect to this person. All these related content needs to be in line with what UNESCO has stated in the first place, which is to raise the awareness (of batik), not to bring on the brand itself. 

Going to the users, how are their responses so far?

It is really good. Today, I think we got almost 14,000 visitors on our website. This is since three months ago, 17 August 2020 until today (ed.: interview was conducted in December 2020). It is 14,000 in the world. So, this is very good and then our app breakthrough 1000 downloads and it has been the most downloaded apps for Batik for Education. This is very surprising because at that time I was having a gimmick like challenging (ed.: teasing) myself: now, we are creating batik (app) in Indonesia, it seems like we are creating an app for a pasta or pizza in Italy. 

Are those numbers globally or just specifically in Indonesia?

Globally. It is really wonderful that people look at (ed.: noted) first of all, that the design is pleasing. We have calibrated every design structure, maybe changed 100 times for the design themes. I did it myself so I was really having a hard one year period and I just had a recovery from the tiredness in September and October, so now I am good. 

One of the features is definitely the AI feature. When I downloaded it myself and I used it, I was pointing at an elephant and it turns out as a bird, the merak. 

We have the categories only for eight motifs. Artificial intelligence is a unique creature. To create a creature of an elephant, for instance, to point out an elephant motif, inside the brain of our artificial intelligence, we have to insert 100 batik motifs in order that the system can point out that this is an elephant. In any case, you can just take a selfie and your face will resemble any (patterns and) meanings, which is also good.

We had a very big debate on our team. I can confess that because my artificial intelligence software engineer is very perfectionist. How we can satisfy the user if they point at a leaves or flowers and then the motif becomes something else. As an architect, I say that this is the point of interaction. If they get lost in a desert, there is no batik and they only have their face, mountain or sand, they can still learn about batik by taking a selfie on the camera. Then, their faces are associated to kawung motive, which is good. It is something that you can remember because every batik motif has good meaning. None of the batik motif has a derogative meaning. 

This is the point of interaction. If they get lost in a desert, there is no batik and they only have their face, mountain or sand, they can still learn about batik by taking a selfie on the camera.

It is very fun, especially the percentages, like how many percent similar to this motif, looks like a DNA test. 

That is the point of interaction. 

Definitely we are not aiming at accuracy, but as you pointed out it is more of a fun interaction so that people can learn about batik, which is equally important than getting accuracy. Can you share some of the challenges that you have while developing this app?

Of course, there are a lot of challenges. This app was realised thanks to the support and funding from the USI UNESCO Chair. Also to fund the server, they have to pay hundreds of Euros every month to make this alive. It was really make or break period when I was struggling that if with my scholarship, they cannot maintain the server but can only fund me as a person, as the researcher. USI UNESCO Chair has to think about if we have to launch this. That is the very first challenge.

The second one, I think, you need to have 100 percent of confidence and 200 percent of prayers on this app. I am not saying it needs 100 percent skills because we are creating an app for something that is already popular in the country where everyone lives on it. How can you become a magician here? Our first mindset at the time was that iWareBatik reignites people’s passion towards batik intangible cultural heritage. That is my tag line that has been promoted by my supervisor to the world. We are creating an app to reignite people’s passion. I know people are already passionate, but to reignite it again, it takes a lot of efforts.

The third one is the design. At least myself, as a representative of young adults. I like K-pop myself, so Korean pop gives me a lot of inspiration on how to design a better visual on apps. When you are studying in Europe, or maybe in Switzerland, all the apps are very neat, structured. In French we call it “carré”, really like base and lines. This is the real challenge. We cannot just communicate something that is rigid to things that are related to culture. I need to reinvent and to have a cross-cultural approach, having a very good structure and very neat visual design that Swiss apps are all presenting, with something that is more enticing or triggering like a Korean pop. I took six months for “visual layout meditation”. In Indonesian language we call it bertapa. I looked at many BTS (ed.: a Korean pop music group) videos. When I was bored with the music, I just turned it off and then I just saw the colours. It takes a lot of time to redesign.

The design process is not easy because when we design one element and we have 1,000 posts, we have to design the first 200. When these 200 have already gotten the final design, but once you change one element, you have to revisit these 200 to change everything. This is not practical at all because the information structure inside the app and the architecture are not connected to each other. It is because we have a lot of teams. When you see the website and application, you can see the thematic meanings and these thematic meanings are not related to each other. It is an independent menu in the website and app. As a website engineer, if I have to do desaturation design and then re-apply everything to another 1,000 posts. It is a huge work considering the server sometimes is down, so I have to really look at my laptop (status) bar, having popcorn and all the snacks available to make it happen. 

I feel you. Well, I am building a simple website and I understand the pain when you change something and you want to apply to the other. I saw your website there are so many elements that are interlinked together. I can imagine the pain. Talking about the ICT, how do you see the direct practical impact to the art of batik itself or the direct impact to the artisans?

We have a lot of stakeholders. First of all, from the Indonesian Embassy in Bern, they communicated this app to the Secretarial Cabinet of Indonesia, the Presidential Committee in Indonesia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is also adapted by all the embassies of Indonesia in the world. Sometimes I got the call to be invited to the Cultural House of Berlin which was organized by Indonesian Embassy in Berlin. It was really well-welcomed by Indonesian diaspora in the world. I also get good feedback by the Indonesian Embassy in London. And thanks to the huge visibility of the website and the app, iWareBatik becomes one of the chosen projects of Swiss Digital Days presented in 2020. Swiss Digital Days is the most prestigious event for digital technology in Switzerland. They choose at least the five biggest technology projects in each region.

In a more social level, we are creating an Instagram account, @iwearbatik, and we launch, at least every two months, a talk show program with Indonesian students and we take turns to get some inspiration from Indonesian people who are interested in preserving the heritage. So far, there are a lot of small-medium enterprises that connect with us through Instagram. They say thank you because we have put the meaning of the batik that they have created. So they are now more facilitated in promoting their products to the consumers. They are free to use any of iWareBatik materials, just (need to) quoting the source of the website.

That is really great to hear, at least the direct impact on how it can help the artisans. Another thing that you pointed out is to touch the Indonesian diaspora. We have a lot of fans in Indonesia, we have a lot of fans overseas, our foreign friends. The Indonesian diaspora who are abroad are very encouraging to have them respond to the app.

I think not only Indonesian diaspora, but also Indonesian students associations are the ambassador’s groups, the informal ambassadors. We have informal ambassadors and you, Tony, are also an ambassador.

Before we sum up, what is next for iWearBatik? 

For the features, we are still focusing on documenting every scientific process behind iWareBatik so we will produce three journals this year, 2020. Of course, we are still engaging our colleagues in Indonesia and Indonesia students in the world to create activities related to batik awareness. So we have these two plans, the scientific documentation plan and the awareness plans. The third, in terms of the app itself, it will remain the same, but we will still put some news, events and new updates on the blogs and stories. We will not create any other features because, for now, the AI really serve the needs of the people well.

What we think is necessary is our engagement plan. We are not only engaging young people, but also local producers. I am trying to coordinate with some friends and volunteers to provide assistance for the children of the local producers to get some scholarship. With this scholarship, (it is hoped that) they can be more motivated to continue the batik work. We are trying to give the contribution. Let’s see these three main goals that have to be fulfilled in 2021. In 2022 (and onwards), it will be a longitudinal research or an ongoing research for my career.

Before we close off, do you have any final thoughts to sum up this whole conversation today?

The message will be: please download the iWareBatik app as it is free in Android and iOS. It will spark some ideas because we have 124 batik stories and you can also play with the Artificial Intelligence. Maybe you can take a selfie on it, or you can test anybody with it, you can always get a result. Whatever the result is the good result because the point is the interaction. So, try to interact with batik in a different way using the iWareBatik Artificial Intelligence recognition tool. Do not forget to visit the website www.iwarebatik.org too. There, in one section, you will find the evolution of the batik motifs from the 10th Century to the 20th century.

To summarise our talk today, we are human and continuous learning is the rights of all cultured people. Do not stop learning. While we are learning, we can also help other people to learn. From the cultural point of view, I hope that you always preserve and respect the batik motifs, batik meanings, batik textile and try to find and buy the authentic batik. One dollar of your contribution to buy that authentic batik will help the ongoing preservation of this textile heritage. Not only that, you can also help them to raise the education of their children. They depend on the salary and the revenue of the batik that they produce so that the children can get benefit from a higher or a better education thanks to your contribution. 

All right, very well sum up and thank you once again for dropping by. You have definitely give a different perspective on how we can use ICT information communication technology in preserving our heritage and culture and how we cherish them.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of aNERDspective. Check out the previous episode on IGTV and our gallery and store if you would like a piece of Indonesia for your home or wardrobe. You may also check out iWareBatik website and Instagram for the iWareBatik updates.

Photo credit: Puspita Ayu Permatasari and iWareBatik, unless stated otherwise.