INTRODUCING INDONESIAN BATIK TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: A CULTURAL HERITAGE APPRECIATION PROGRAM

Abstract

The creative industry is currently an important pillar in supporting national economic growth, with the batik subsector
having a major contribution in terms of both cultural and economic value. Batik, as an Indonesian cultural heritage
that has been recognized by UNESCO, faces serious challenges due to globalization and lack of cross-cultural
understanding. Tarumanagara University's Community Service Team (PKM) responded to this problem through a
community service activity in the form of a cultural workshop at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore. The purpose of this
activity is to introduce batik as a cultural identity as well as a creative economic asset to international students, as well
as to foster global awareness and a culture-based entrepreneurial spirit. The implementation method includes the
stages of partner interviews, literature studies, plan development, workshop implementation, and comprehensive
evaluation. The workshop included the delivery of academic material on the creative economy from the perspectives of
Indonesia and Singapore, discussions on the philosophy of batik as a cultural and economic instrument, and hands-on
batik coloring. The results showed a positive response and high enthusiasm from the Singaporean students, who not
only gained theoretical understanding, but also practical experience of the batik production process. This activity
succeeded in strengthening cultural understanding and creative economic potential among international students.
Cultural collaboration like this has the potential to become a strategic approach in cultural preservation, improving the
quality of global human resources, and expanding networks of cooperation between nations through art, education, and
culture-based entrepreneurship