Recording the future: An audiovisual archive of everyday life in Indonesia in the 21^st century

In 2003, KITLV initiated this long-term data-generating research project in cooperation with Indonesian partners LIPI (The Indonesian Institute of Sciences) and Offstream Film. The aim is to establish an audiovisual archive of everyday life in Indonesia during the 21st century, and to conduct  research on daily life through this archive. To this end recordings are made in Jakarta, Delanggu (Central Java), Payakumbuh (West Sumatra), Kawal (on the island of Bintan), Sintang (West Kalimantan), Bittuang (Tana Toraja on Sulawesi), Ternate, and Surabaya. Every four years recordings are made at the same locations in order to trace changes and continuities.

The procedures for filming these locations are bound to a strict format in order to facilitate comparisons over time. Another important strategy in approaching everyday life is the recording of a variety of themes and topics. In general, the project covers the fields of work, social life in the public sphere, leisure, religion and aspects of private life. So far, an archive has been created of some 500 hours of recordings, which have been indexed and made accessible for research on site. In addition, the project has produced several documentaries and a DVD for advanced language teaching. In 2008 an exhibition, ‘24 Hours Indonesia’, was organized at the Tropical Museum in Amsterdam. The clips of this exhibition are now available on YouTube.