Cultural Diplomacy’s Hidden Potential: Exploring Goals through Indonesian’s Scholarship Program

Abstract

Cultural diplomacy is a practice that many countries have long implemented. Although it has existed for a long time, the concept of cultural diplomacy is still developing; that is, experts in this field continue to contribute to the improvement of the development of the concept. This study intends to add four objectives of cultural diplomacy based on testimonials of 52 Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship alumni in a book entitled 15 Years Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship. Based on the responses of 52 Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship (IACS) alumni, we received and coded 292 citations and produced 10 themes related to cultural diplomacy in the IACS. Out of the 10 themes, we further set 10 cultural diplomacy goals, out of which 6 are aligned with the goals for cultural diplomacy set by an expert. However, we found four new interesting objectives that can benefit the country if used to their full potential. It is incredible to know that pure arts and cultural activities can produce various feelings that indicate the possibility of soft power.