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HoLLanD IN INDONESIA
HELPInG to PrEsErvE InDonEsIa’s cuLturaL HErItaGE:
akZonoBEL
‘Adding Colour to People’s Lives’ is the slogan and driving force of Dulux,
a product from AkzoNobel, the world’s largest paints and coatings
company, in its efforts to preserve buildings in five cities across the
country that form the pillars of Indonesia’s mesmerizing cultural heritage.
You would be amazed to see the restorative merits of a simple coat of paint;
Fort Rotterdam in Makassar had its former glory revitalized in 2010 and
was the first of the project’s targets. The opening ceremony was attended by
the governor of South Sulawesi, Syahrul Yasin Limpo and president director
of PT. ICI Paints Indonesia (AkzoNobel Decorative Paints Indonesia),
Jerry Goei who together applied the first brushstrokes of paint to the iconic
building to ratify the inception of the initiative. The building was used as a
defense fortress by the ninth King of Gowa, and was then named Benteng
Ujungpadang, and in a later era as a center of commerce and governance.
When the Dutch monopolized the building, it was given its current name.
The target cities selected for the initiative
included those whose governments and
communities have showed initiative
in preserving their region’s historical
architecture; collaborating with the
government is crucial to the projects’
success. Jerry Goei underscores the
importance of colour in people’s lives
and describes the initiative as “restoring
the colours of a nation.” Jakarta’s 482 nd
Anniversary, on the 22 nd of June 2009, saw
the beginning of the restoration program
in Kota Tua, (old city) the center of the
Dutch colonial administration. The iconic
Fatahillah Museum received a new glossy
coat of Dulux WeatherShield – covering
the entire building took 40 days of
handiwork. Balai Pemuda in Surabaya has
also received attention from AkzoNobel’s
community outreach program, and
buildings around Bandung, Kalimantan
and Sumatra will obtain similar attention.
Said Jerry Goei, “This program
reinforces our mission in adding color
to people’s lives. Our products and
services help people make their lives
more colorful and create living, working
and leisure spaces that reflect who they
are, who they want to be, and how they
want to be seen.” The company believes
that the nation’s historical buildings are
the last keystones in a tapestry of fading
history, and has been involved in various
community outreach projects serving
Indonesia’s less fortunate. Cultural
preservation as a subset of environmental
conservation and sustainability has been
the underlying principle behind the
project and the company’s ethos, where
the continuous endeavour to find more
and more sustainable business methods is
uppermost in the company’s priorities.
PT ICI PAINTS INDONESIA
Sequis Plaza 5 th Floor
Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kab 25
Jakarta Selatan 12920
www.dulux.co.id
BY: AKZONOBEL.
60 | MAY 2011 www.nowjakarta.co.id www.nowjakarta.co.id MAY 2011 | 61