Igniting Youth Spirit, PT TWC Holds Youth Cultural Competition 2023 at Ratu Boko Palace

PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko (TWC) is bringing youthful enthusiasm to the campaign and promotion of Ratu Boko Palace tourism. The 2023 Youth Cultural Competition, held on Saturday, October 28, 2023, provides a platform for developing the potential of young content creators to promote educational historical destinations like Ratu Boko Palace.

Dozens of young content creators flocked to the Ratu Boko Palace, competing to capture the potential of one of Yogyakarta's leading destinations. The 2023 Youth Cultural Competition encouraged participants to get creative while enjoying the panoramic beauty of this 8th-century AD cultural heritage site, built by the Syailendra Dynasty. The iconic Ratu Boko Palace gate was one of the captivating views for participants.

This activity is presented to foster awareness among the younger generation about one of Indonesia's historical sites, namely Ratu Boko Palace, by visualizing tourism and preservation campaigns through media that interests Gen-Z.

The 2023 Youth Cultural Competition is part of PT TWC's Creating Shared Value (CSV) program, part of its Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) program. TWC plays a dual role: creating both economic and social value simultaneously , without prioritizing or neglecting either. This activity also demonstrates PT TWC's support as a tourism destination manager for creative economy players and surrounding Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

In this competition, various activities are presented at Keraton Ratu Boko, including traditional games, herbal medicine entrepreneurs, Boko Picnic, and traditional arts of gejog lesung and srandul as well as Boko Membatik. These various activities are an interesting presentation that can be used as content material that is inspiring and interesting. Moreover, the sunset panorama at Keraton Ratu Boko is an iconic visual and is much sought after by tourists.

Corporate Secretary of PT TWC, AY Suhartanto said that the 2023 Youth Cultural Competition activity is a form of concern for one of the nation's cultural heritage heritages while supporting the existence of creative economy actors, MSMEs and cultural arts actors in the Ratu Boko area, which is one of the tourist attractions that influences economic growth in the surrounding area.

"As a manager of cultural and heritage tourism destinations in Indonesia, PT TWC is growing alongside the community and regional tourism stakeholders, one of which is through the CSV program. We are committed to contributing to the development and advancement of Indonesian tourism, bringing destinations rich in cultural arts, education, and preservation closer to today's younger generation. The 2023 Youth Cultural Competition is expected to become a positive platform for the involvement and active participation of university students and pupils, increasing public awareness of the Ratu Boko Palace destination, its historical educational values, and the potential of the surrounding area," said AY Suhartanto.

Participants in the 2023 Youth Cultural Competition were given the freedom to explore the Ratu Boko Palace and its various tourism potentials, capturing interesting views and footage , and packaged in visual videos rich in storytelling value , so that key messages about the Ratu Boko Palace can be conveyed to the public.

"The 2023 Youth Cultural Competition program can spur the development of MSMEs and the creative economy that support tourism at Keraton Ratu Boko, while encouraging students to continue contributing to the country through the scope of the younger generation. As the Government of the Republic of Indonesia has opened wide the participation of young men and women of the young generation of Indonesia, in line with realizing the hopes of the future of Indonesia together. Inclusivity in the ecosystem of cross-generational collaboration has built collective optimism that now young men and women have an honorable place in national development," he explained.

One of the participants in the 2023 Youth Cultural Competition, Adelheid (15), said the program helped young content creators hone their skills in creating educational content related to cultural heritage destinations. Furthermore, the competition also broadened her horizons about historical and cultural heritage destinations.

"Through this program, we learned historical stories that we didn't find in school lessons, so it became interesting material to be used as educational and impressive content," said the student of SMA I Kalasan.