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The Bridge

Sacred Bridge is a not-for-profit cultural organization, founded in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1998. It is committed to nurturing the relationship between humans and nature by using culture as the currency by which enabling dialogue to take place, aims to establish mutual understanding, respect, and friendship among individuals, communities, societies, and nations.

In the year 2000, Sacred Bridge Foundation was the first private cultural organisation in Indonesia being recognized as a cultural counterpart by UNESCO within South East Asia.

History

Sacred Bridge is a not-for-profit organization, founded in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1998. Its founding members are Serrano Sianturi (Economist), Stomu Yamash’ta (Composer & Musician), Stephen Hill (Sociologist), Philippe Delanghe (Sociologist) and I Nyoman Astita (Composer & Musician), while Franki Raden (Ethnomusicologist) and Tony Rudyansyah (Anthropologist) had been inactive since the very beginning. Other members who have passed away include Umar Kayam (Historian), Nurcholish Madjid (Islamic Scholar) and Roby Soelarto (Architect).

 

To guarantee and maintain the objectivity and independence of its works, Sacred Bridge operates on self-reliant funding and occasional project-based grants. It’s never easy, but with the support from partners and volunteers, Sacred Bridge has managed to implement numerous mid and long range programs in Indonesia and abroad. In the year 2000, Sacred Bridge was the first private cultural organization in Indonesia being recognized as a cultural counterpart by UNESCO.

 

Since 2018, Sacred Bridge has been restructuring the organization as a whole for the purpose of regeneration and re-establishment of the foundation towards the future. The change was initiated and agreed by the previous Chairman, Mr. Serrano Sianturi, also with the acknowledgment and consent from the active founders.

Mission

People often debate over the ideals vs. reality, and in many cases (if not most) the ideals are compromised. We all want to make the world a better place, but wouldn’t it be nearly impossible to achieve if we often downgrade the ideals? The Olympics may have become a mega money-making event, but its motto (citius, altius, and fortius) should always be understood as a rejection to compromise the ideals. Making world records requires painstaking efforts and sacrifices; there are only a few individuals in the world who can reach that level, and yet the records made are to be broken. Being a champion in the Olympics is one thing, but breaking a record is every athlete’s ambition. This means that the already high bar is to be raised again and again. The level of ideal is upgraded, not downgraded. With this food for thought, Sacred Bridge is committed to materializing ideals that in this case cover mutual understanding and respect, and collective efforts, among individuals, communities, societies, and nations. In this mission, culture is of utmost importance. It is time to give culture a chance when politics and economics alone have often failed to provide solutions. Through culture, Sacred Bridge attempts to pave the way by integrating not only our past and present, but also our traditional-modern-contemporary thoughts and practices. In this integration, transmission of roots, knowledge and logic is enforced over people of different genres, origins and generations.

Values

  • People are inclined to cultivate the culture that has been instrumental in human life.

  • Dialog based on equal understanding is the foundation for a sound of cohabitation, not merely a tool to recognize and understand diversity.

  • Building of mutually beneficial relationships is encouraged and enforced in all operations of Sacred Bridge Foundation.

  • All activities are guided by strategic planning, and honor the values of prudence, honesty, modesty, teamwork, and deep commitment.

  • It is mandatory to all members of Sacred Bridge Foundation to constantly improve themselves.

Executive Team

Dedication. Expertise. Passion.

Jason Noghani
Head of Program

Gilang Firhan
Managing Director

Ario Kiswinar Teguh 
Graphic Designer

Indah D. Cahyani
Head of Finance

Advisory Board

Arie Asona
Outreach & Communication
arie.asona@sacredbridge.org

Maya Tamara
Dance & Fitness Education

Bambang Marhaendra
Cultural Geography/Economy

Komang Astita
Ethnomusicology

Gatot Gautama
Anthropology and Archaeology

Roby Ardiwidjaja
Cultural Tourism

Hideaki Onishi
Musicology

Helena Sitorus
Legal

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