“Forty countries have registered to take part in the seminar and literacy programs as part of the Jam Gadang centennial series,” Bukittinggi Mayor Ramlan Nurmatias said here on Monday.
He conveyed this in relation to a series of activities to be organized by the Bukittinggi city government to enliven the 100th anniversary of Jam Gadang (1926-2026) in June 2026.
The international seminar and literacy program will explore the history of Jam Gadang, which was built during the Dutch East Indies administration. Enriching and deepening historical knowledge is considered important to provide insights that may not have been widely known.
The seminar is planned to feature Indonesian Culture Minister Fadli Zon along with the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Indonesia.
The Bukittinggi city government has also planned to invite architects to study the 27-meter-tall Jam Gadang structure, which features a distinctive Minangkabau-style roof.
On that occasion, the 21st and 23rd mayor of Bukittinggi also highlighted two unique features of Jam Gadang. First, the Roman numeral for four on the clock differs from the common form.
While four is generally written as IV, the numeral displayed on Jam Gadang is IIII. The second unique feature is that the clock mechanism exists in only two places in the world.
“The first is in Bukittinggi and the second is in Big Ben, England,” he said.
In its agenda, the Bukittinggi city government will hold eight main events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Jam Gadang.
Among others, the events include the Jam Gadang Cultural Night, an international seminar on Bukittinggi-Amsterdam diplomacy, and an international seminar on the architecture and clock mechanism of Jam Gadang.
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Translator: Zulfikar, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
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