Iranian envoy:
Iran, Indonesia can offer new narrative of Asia
Iran’s Cultural Attaché in Indonesia criticized the dominance of major powers over historical narratives, saying Tehran and Jakarta could present the world with a different narrative of Asia.
Yahya Jahangiri made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Asian-African Conference Festival, hosted by Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia in Jakarta. The event brought together government officials, ambassadors, academics, intellectuals, and young leaders under the theme, "Rethinking the Asian-African Conference for the Younger Generation: Global Solidarity, Multi-Diplomacy, and Multi-Narratives of World History."
Addressing the concept of "multi-narrative history," Jahangiri said one of the defining challenges of the contemporary world is that history has too often been told through the lens of dominant powers.
He argued that many nations across Asia and Africa have experienced not only territorial colonization but also "narrative colonization."
"A multi-narrative approach to history is not about denying the truth; it is about ending the monopoly over how that truth is told," he said. "Every nation and every civilization should have the opportunity to tell its own story in its own voice and from its own perspective."
Jahangiri described young people as the driving force behind the future of Asia and Africa.
"The younger generation is not simply the heir to history—it will write the next chapter of it," he said.
According to Jahangiri, closer cooperation between Tehran and Jakarta could offer the world a different narrative of Asia—one that presents the continent not as a peripheral actor, but as one of the principal centers of human civilization.
Turning to the idea of "multi-diplomacy," the Iranian cultural attaché said diplomacy in today's world extends far beyond governments and official institutions.
"A film, a book, or a cultural festival can at times shape public opinion and strengthen ties between nations more effectively than years of political negotiations," he said.
In his closing remarks, Jahangiri described the 2026 Asian-African Conference Festival as an opportunity not only to commemorate the legacy of the historic 1955 Asian-African Conference, known as the Bandung Conference, but also to build future-oriented cooperation.