Thursday, 9Nov06
Highlights: visit to Asia-Afrika Museum, Tangkuban Perahu mountain, downtown Bandung, Sukarno jail cell,
The Conference had arranged a bit of sight-seeing for those of us with some extra time. We started by walking across the street to Gedung Merdeka, which is the original building which hosted the famous 1955 Asia-Afrika Conference.
1955 was a historic time for Indonesia for many reasons, among which: Indonesia had just succeeded in achieving independence from Dutch colonialism 6 years earlier (Dec, 1949) after proclaiming Independence 10 years earlier (17 Aug 1945); the Cold War was in progress (Korean War just ended); and many Asian and African countries were just emerging from long experiences under European colonial dominance (Malaysia was still 2 years away from official Independence).
The declared aim of this conference was to forge a path for world peace and solidarity, led by the developing countries of Asia & Africa. It was chaired by President Sukarno, and attracted an impressive array of wold leaders. 51 years later- Indonesia is still fiercely proud of its role in bringing this conference together.
Whether the stated goals ever materialized is debatable, but this was a major effort that all could point to, and for that reason it remains significant.
The museum depicts biographies of all the attendees, photos & wax sculptures of the lead delegates, original desks, memorabilia, etc… as well as the original conference room.
Highlights: visit to Asia-Afrika Museum, Tangkuban Perahu mountain, downtown Bandung, Sukarno jail cell,
The Conference had arranged a bit of sight-seeing for those of us with some extra time. We started by walking across the street to Gedung Merdeka, which is the original building which hosted the famous 1955 Asia-Afrika Conference.
1955 was a historic time for Indonesia for many reasons, among which: Indonesia had just succeeded in achieving independence from Dutch colonialism 6 years earlier (Dec, 1949) after proclaiming Independence 10 years earlier (17 Aug 1945); the Cold War was in progress (Korean War just ended); and many Asian and African countries were just emerging from long experiences under European colonial dominance (Malaysia was still 2 years away from official Independence).
The declared aim of this conference was to forge a path for world peace and solidarity, led by the developing countries of Asia & Africa. It was chaired by President Sukarno, and attracted an impressive array of wold leaders. 51 years later- Indonesia is still fiercely proud of its role in bringing this conference together.
Whether the stated goals ever materialized is debatable, but this was a major effort that all could point to, and for that reason it remains significant.
The museum depicts biographies of all the attendees, photos & wax sculptures of the lead delegates, original desks, memorabilia, etc… as well as the original conference room.
posted by jonathan adventures at 1:00 AM
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