"Batik is not just a commercial product, but a creative process from the society, so its values have to be socialized and internalized to all parties," said the Minister of Arts & Culture of the KM ITB Cabinet, Hari Tribowo. The encouragement to commemorate batik day is not just to wear batik to campus, but also the infusion of basic values of loving batik, he said.

In commemoration of the batik day, KM ITB also held a batik-themed writing competition. Carrying the theme 'My Batik, Your Batik', this competition invites students to put forth their concepts and ideas on batik after becoming a world cultural heritage.

M. Haekal Izmanda PUlungan, Computer Engineering, became the winner of this writing competition. In his article, he explained, "It is not enough to appreciate batik by only making the practice of wearing it more commonplace in society." We appreciate batik by realizing that batik belongs to us and must be preserved, he continued.

Batik, A World Heritage

"UNESCO's acknowledgement is really a driving force for the society to preserve batik," said Bowo. With that acknowledgement, it means that the world has given special acknowledgement towards the techniques, technology and design and cultural development of batik.

Batik is linked with the cultural identity of the Indonesian people through various symbolic meanings from its colors and patterns, expressing the creativity of Indonesians. UNESCO inserted Indonesian Batik into the Representative List because it fulfilled the criterias, one of which is to be rich with symbols and philosophies of the lives of the Indonesian people.