Ben Arps receives Indonesian Culture Award
Professor of Indonesian and Javanese Language and Culture Ben Arps has received the Anugerah Kebudayaan Indonesia (Indonesian Culture Award) from the Indonesian ambassador for his services to the field.
Professor of Indonesian and Javanese Language and Culture Ben Arps has received the Anugerah Kebudayaan Indonesia (Indonesian Culture Award) from the Indonesian ambassador for his services to the field.
Long career
‘I was surprised when I heard in October that I had been nominated,’ says Arps. ‘I knew that in Indonesia they appreciated the fact that I had trained so many Indonesian students and PhD candidates. In addition, I have of course published extensively on Indonesian culture in a broad sense, and early in my career I was also active in Indonesian performing arts, as a musician and puppeteer. It is wonderful to now receive recognition for all these activities at this level, especially since Harry and I are, as far as I know, the first Dutch people to receive this honour.’
Arps was presented with a medal, a certificate and a batik cloth at the official ceremony in December. In his speech, he looked back on his time as a teenager in a gamelan group, with whom he had played at the same embassy, among other places. 'That's where I first met Indonesian people and learned my first Indonesian. In my lectures, I still try to recreate the atmosphere I experienced there at the time.’
