iWareBatik

iWareBatik is a bilingual digital website and mobile application, available in English and Bahasa Indonesia. It is designed as a digital platform to showcase and communicate the exceptional cultural values of Batik tradition that is protected by UNESCO as a legacy of humanity. It serves also to help tourists, both domestic and international ones, to recognize the exceptional values of Batik and to foster cultural tourism in Indonesia. They may help Indonesian Batik stakeholders to better identify the variety of Batik textiles and of related socio-cultural elements including history, philosophical values behind the motifs, its origins, and local producers. Since Batik characterises the culture of each region in Indonesia, iWareBatik platform also provides an overview in order to promote Indonesian natural and cultural tourism in the 34 Indonesian provinces. Equipped with interactive features, both website and app could also function as eLearning tools for Batik learners at Batik vocational schools or researcher(s) and the general public who aim at deepening their knowledge on the topic. The Batik recognition tool within the app uses artificial intelligence to recognize the Indonesian Batik motif, helping users find the meaning of the Batik they are wearing. The creation of iWareBatik digital technologies is aimed at raising the awareness of people towards sustainable tourism and preservation of UNESCO tangible/intangible cultural heritage in Indonesia.

This research was concretized thanks to the support of the Indonesian LPDP scholarship, Sobat Budaya Association, the Bandung Fe Institute, the UNESCO Chair in ICT to develop and promote sustainable tourism in the World Heritage Sites at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Lugano, Switzerland. The technical development has been done in collaboration with the eLab – eLearning Laboratory of USI - Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland.