The Jakarta Agency of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in preparation for Jakarta's 500th anniversary in 2027 with PT Relasi Aksara Sinergi or Jalin at the Jakarta Deputy Governor's Main Meeting Room, City Hall, Gambir, Central Jakarta.

Besides conducting research in the field of culture, designing and activating arts and culture, and developing human resource capacity, in this MoU, Jalin will also play a role in publishing and disseminating information regarding the preparations for Jakarta's 500th anniversary.

Jakarta Deputy Governor, Rano Karno, said that since being inaugurated, he has been assigned by Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung to prepare for Jakarta's 500th anniversary.

He admitted to having had a detailed technical discussion with the Jakarta Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda).

"Hence, a special team must be formed. Because this is a focus that cannot be handled by others, unless they are experts," he expressed, Thursday (8/28).

Rano explained that in this cooperation, Jalin would activate various preparation programs for Jakarta's 500th anniversary. This included serving as the spokesperson for the Jakarta Government in implementing these programs.

Jakarta Regional Cooperation Bureau (KSD) Head, Marulina Dewi, added that this cooperation is an effort to realize Jakarta as a global city focused on human development, with cultural advancement becoming a supporting pillar that greatly requires the involvement of various stakeholders.

The scope of cooperation includes research in the field of culture, design and activation of community arts and culture, capacity building of human resources, public policy planning in the cultural sector, publication and dissemination, as well as sixth, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting of all activities.

"Culture Agency and PT Relasi Aksara Sinergi will make collaboration for a period of one year," she explained.

PT Relasi Aksara Sinergi President Director, Hilmar Farid, explained that the core concept of Jakarta's 500th anniversary celebration is called "meeting point." Its implementation will include a series of activities at 500 locations spread across all 267 urban villages in Jakarta.

This series of activities was designed to involve active participation from grassroots residents, communities, associations, neighborhood units (RT and RW), and various stakeholders to mobilize activities in celebration of Jakarta's 500th anniversary. The activities will be done gradually until 2026, with consolidation taking place at the sub-district level.

Then, the activities designed from the bottom up will continue to progress until they reach their peak, with all points meeting at the provincial level in 2027. Besides arts and culture, these activities are also intended to address various other issues in Jakarta such as clean water, waste management, security, and others.

"This is something we all try to summarize and find a platform or place where we can discuss everything related to common ground. The hope is that, in this way, the residents' sense of ownership over Jakarta's 500th anniversary will become stronger," he closed.