UMI and NUS have collaborated to create a research centre for maritime heritage in Southeast Asia, focusing on Bugis-Makassar cultural studies
UNIVERSITAS Muslim Indonesia (UMI) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) collaborated to establish a research and development centre for maritime heritage in Southeast Asia. The research, led by Prof. Muhammad Hattah Fattah from the Jusuf Kalla Research Center for Bugis-Makassar Cultural Studies (JK Center) at UMI on Thursday, August 6th, 2024, involved researchers and librarians from both universities.
This collaboration began in 2023 and continued into 2024 with five projects, including the production of a documentary film about the Bugis Keris, the digitization of maritime history manuscripts, and research on the identification and preservation of the Bugis Keris cultural heritage. The discovery of the Daeng Paduppa manuscript revealed the role of the Bugis-Makassar people in Singapore’s economy in the 19th century.
UMI and NUS planned to establish Maritime Heritage Corners on their respective campuses. This initiative was expected to enrich the libraries’ collections and repositories of primary sources on Bugis-Makassar maritime culture and history, as well as strengthen historical relations between the Bugis-Makassar community and Singapore society.
The collaborative documentary film production was scheduled to begin in September 2024, with an NUS delegation visiting UMI to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding and discuss activities for 2025. A follow-up meeting was planned for November 2024 at NUS to finalise the implementation of the collaboration.
Source: Antaranews
