About Us
Indonesian Heritage Society (IHS) is a non-profit Yayasan established in 1970 by individuals dedicated to supporting Indonesia’s cultural heritage. From the initial group of 17 people, the Yayasan has grown to include hundreds of friends and expanded to other countries. Friends of IHS have continued the legacy of our founders to promote Indonesia’s heritage, providing support to national cultural and educational institutions for the last 55 years.
Our scope of activities, originally centred on museums, has expanded since its inception to include various Study Groups, Lecture Series, as well as Explorers and Heritage Tours, which organize travel sessions in Jakarta and around Indonesia. The dynamic language groups have grown to four communities—French, Italian, Japanese, and Korean. The diverse nationalities within each of these sections allow closer social and cultural exchange.
As a cultural organization, IHS has created a solid and dynamic presence in local and international communities. Our collaboration has broadened not only with Indonesia’s national heritage bodies, but also with private museums and international organizations. These collaborations give us access to a global network of experts on Indonesia, providing a unique opportunity for our friends to gain a deeper understanding, experience, and to forge lifelong interests and friendships. We hope to welcome you to one of our activities.
Christine Kristiati
Indonesian Heritage Society President
The Museum Division has always been the core of Indonesian Heritage Society activities. The division has since expanded to include School Programs, Language Workshops, Museum Guide Training, and the Tours and Projects Section. The intensive Museum Training Program—conducted in collaboration with mentors and curators from the Museum Nasional Indonesia (MNI)—runs for three months and is the cornerstone of our Museum Tours. Our guides offer multilingual tours five times a week at the MNI, and we also accommodate special requests from the public.
This division has grown in both size and scope since 2005. It provides a framework for volunteers to pursue specific interests and engages participants in discussing and exchanging ideas, as well as discovering and experiencing all aspects of Indonesia’s heritage through its 12 sub-sections. The lecture series include evening, morning, and online sessions. The various Study Groups are flexible, allowing members to form groups based on topics of their choice. The multinational language sections bring together like-minded people to share interests and experiences, with activities conducted in their respective languages.
The Communication Division manages the daily operations of IHS social media and the weekly e-newsletters. It develops the organisation’s branding guidelines and creates and updates publicity-material templates to maintain a consistent IHS identity. The division also engages with the public and media partners for information management and strategic promotion of IHS and its activities. In addition to various events organised throughout the year, this division is responsible for two of IHS’s main annual events: Selamat Datang in September and Blue Lotus in May.
This division is the technical engine of IHS activities. It is responsible for converting IHS’s overall information into digital systems. It oversees internal communication within IHS through its management of the IHS Library, the IT systems for email and Zoom, and the operation of the IHS website. The division also supports local arts and crafts by marketing their products internally and at public venues.
Meet our section committee members!
Board of Management
Corrado Nai
Claudia Prawirakoesoemah
Corrado Nai
Rima Sjoekri
Syandra Kwan
Rima Sjoekri
Claudia Prawirakoesoemah
Syandra Kwan
Section Committee Volunteers
Co-Chairs Museums Section
Museum
We partner with museums and educational institutions to promote knowledge and appreciation of Indonesian cultural heritage.
- Museum Projects: Support museums with needs such as document translation.
- Language Workshops: Offer language classes for museum staff.
- School Programs: Engage students at international schools with talks on Indonesia.
- Museum Tours: Provide free public tours at Museum Nasional and partners in multiple languages.
- Museum Training: Conduct intensive guide training in English, Japanese, and Korean.
- Museum Tours & Training
- Language Workshops
- Museum Projects
- School Programs
Silena Griffin
Museum Tours Co-Chair
Yuliani Tedja
Museum Training Co-Chair
Stephanie Tantri
Museum Training Co-Chair
Borbála Csete
Museum Projects Co-Chair
Wine Amanda
Language Workshops Co-Chair
Vacant Language Workshops
Language Workshops Co-Chair
Mutiara Patmosantjojo
School Programs Co-Chair
Co-Chairs Community Section
- Evening Lectures: A series of lectures presented to the public twice a year highlighting Indonesian culture and art.
- Explorers: Small groups get together weekly to discover Jakarta through tours and adventures.
- Rumahku: Morning talks are held monthly, in private homes, where attendees also socialize over tea, coffee, and snacks.
- Study Groups: Groups meet on selected topics to learn about the history, art and culture of this country.
- Heritage Tours: These small group tours with a cultural focus offer registered Friends the opportunity to travel to some of the most fascinating parts of Indonesia.
- Foreign Language Sections: All French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean-speaking members are welcome to join these groups which provide many different activities.
- Evening Lectures
- Explorers
- Heritage Tours
- Study Groups
- Rumahku
- Foreign Language
Evening Lectures Co-Chair
Evening Lectures Co-Chair
Sameera Anand
Explorers Co-Chair
Junie Ho
Explorers Co-Chair
Griselda Merrie
Heritage Tours Co-Chair
Nick Hughes
Study Groups Co-Chair
Mike Nicholson
Study Groups Co-Chair
See Mun Leong-Suparno
Rumahku Co-Chair
Theresa Loidl
Rumahku Co-Chair
Vacant Chinese Speaking Section
Chinese Section Co-Chair
Francesca Caso
Italian Section Co-Chair
Co-Chairs Communication Section
- Events: This section organizes the general meetings and social functions that take place throughout the Heritage Society season.
- Public Relations: The PR team dispatch and promote information about the Heritage Society for the public.
- Publishing: Indonesian Heritage Society publications include Newsletter – quarterly newsletter, annual calendars, notecards, books.
- Events
- Public Relations
- Publishing
Neysa Radmilla
Events Co-Chair
Vacant Events Position
Events Co-Chair
Public Relations Co-Chair
Public Relations Co-Chair
Yuliana Arisandy
Public Relations Co-Chair
Firly Alvita
Publishing Co-Chair
Publishing Co-Chair
Publishing Co-Chair
Co-Chairs Operations Section
- Library: Provides registered Friends with access to an outstanding collection of works on varied aspects of Indonesian life and culture.
- Registration: Coordinates registration for the Heritage Society and represents the organization to the community at large.
- Sales: The Sales team co-ordinates the sale of Heritage Society’s calendar, books and range of stationary items.
- Information Technology: Maintains and provides information on the Heritage Society website and weekly E-newsletter on the various activities of the society and upcoming events.
- IT
- Library
- Registration
- Sales
Vacant IT Position
IT Co-Chair
Vacant IT Position
IT Co-Chair
Nida
Library Admin
Yesnita
Finance Admin
Library Co-Chair
Library Co-Chair
Vacant Registration Position
Registration Co-Chair
Vacant Sales Position
Donations and Merchandises Co-Chair
