Museum Konferensi Asia Afrika: The 1955 Summit in Bandung
The Museum Konferensi Asia Afrika is a museum in Bandung, the capital of West Java, housed in the Gedung Merdeka. This is the hall where the Asian-African Conference was held from 18 to 24 April 1955, the first large meeting of Asian and African governments that took place without the colonial powers at the table. The museum stands on Jalan Asia Afrika, the street named after the conference, and it tells the story of the event through the building itself, the rooms where the sessions took place, the photographs and the objects preserved from the meeting. A visit moves from the hall to the wider history of Indonesia’s role in postwar diplomacy.
What the Museum Konferensi Asia Afrika is and where it stands
The museum occupies the Gedung Merdeka at Jalan Asia Afrika number 65, in the central part of the city. The building sits within walking distance of the Braga district, with its old commercial streets and cafes, so it is easy to combine a museum visit with a slow afternoon in the centre. The location on the road that bears the conference’s name is part of the reason visitors come. The street, the building and the event are linked in the city’s memory, and the museum makes that link explicit.
The conference was held in the Gedung Merdeka from 18 to 24 April 1955. Twenty-nine countries from Asia and Africa took part, and the delegates discussed colonialism, economic development, cooperation between newly independent states and the principles that would guide relations between them. The meeting is remembered as a turning point, because it gave governments that had recently gained independence or were still fighting for it a shared forum to speak together on their own terms.
The museum opened on 24 April 1980, the 25th anniversary of the conference. The opening turned the building into a permanent public home for the event’s story. The displays are arranged to lead a visitor through the conference’s origins, its sessions and its legacy, rather than presenting the building as a set of disconnected rooms.
The building and its history
The Gedung Merdeka was not built as a museum. Its interior had to be adapted when the museum was set up, so the layout of the rooms reflects both the original building and the needs of an exhibition. The hall at the centre of the complex is the most striking space. It has a high ceiling and an open floor, and its arrangement recreates the feel of the meeting, with the round tables used for the delegations set out so that a visitor can see how the room worked during the conference. The layout makes clear why the building was chosen for a gathering of so many delegations from different countries.
The building has continued to serve public purposes since the conference. Its history after 1955 is part of the story, because the same walls that hosted the meeting later hosted other civic activity, and the transition to a museum was a deliberate decision to keep the conference at the centre of the building’s identity. Visitors who know the layout of the hall will notice how carefully the museum has tried to protect the sense of the original room.
What a visitor sees inside
The museum’s displays focus on the conference, its participants and the objects connected with it. The collection includes items gathered from the meeting itself, and the displays are arranged so that a visitor moves from the preparations to the sessions and then to the effects of the conference on the countries that took part. Photographs from the period show the delegates arriving, meeting and speaking, and they help a visitor picture the scale of the gathering. Several of the leaders who took part, including the delegates from India and China and the host, Indonesia’s president Sukarno, appear in the displays and in the wider history of the event.
Take time with the displays before walking into the hall. A visitor who has read the photographs and the panels first will see the room differently, because the layout shows how the meeting was run. The text panels reward a careful read, and anyone who wants to understand the conference in more depth should allow a full period for the galleries before going into the hall itself. Visitors who have questions about the current exhibits can ask the staff at the entrance.
The ideas discussed at the conference
The conference is remembered for the ten principles that came out of it. These principles covered respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, the rejection of the threat or use of force, cooperation in economic and cultural matters, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. They were drafted against the background of colonialism and set out a framework for relations between states that had recently gained independence or were still struggling for it. The final communique was adopted by the participating countries, and its language reflects the careful balancing of many different political positions.
The conference is also linked to the later Non-Aligned Movement, which took formal shape in 1961. A visitor who understands the principles will see the displays differently, because the photographs and objects reflect a set of ideas about how states should deal with one another.
It is worth being precise about what the conference did and did not achieve. It did not end colonialism in Asia or Africa, and many of the countries present were still under colonial rule or faced serious internal conflicts. South Africa was not invited, and its apartheid policy was criticised in the final communique. What the conference did was bring governments together in one room and give them a shared vocabulary for resisting domination, which is why it remains a reference point for diplomacy in the region.
Planning a visit to the museum
The museum is in the middle of Bandung, so it is easy to combine with other sights in the city. Many visitors walk from the Braga area, where the old commercial buildings and the cafes make a pleasant route, and the short walk gives a sense of the street that the conference gave its name to. The area is busy during the day, and traffic on Jalan Asia Afrika can be heavy at peak hours, so allow a little extra time for the walk or the drive.
Bring a little time for the displays, because the photographs, the objects and the audiovisual material repay a slow visit. The building is easiest to see in daylight, when the hall is well lit and the details of the room are clear. Photography rules can change, so check at the entrance before taking pictures inside the hall or the galleries. Respect any signs asking visitors not to photograph certain exhibits, because the objects are fragile and the rooms are used by visitors throughout the day.
Wear comfortable shoes, because the walk around the complex and the nearby streets involves a fair amount of standing and walking on uneven pavements. Plan the museum for the middle of a day in the centre, and leave the rest of the afternoon for the walk along the older streets that lead back toward Braga.
Questions visitors ask about the museum
Is the Asia Afrika museum in the same building where the conference was held?
Yes. The conference took place in the Gedung Merdeka, and the museum occupies the same building. The hall where the delegates met is the main space of the museum, so visitors stand in the room where the sessions were held.
When did the conference take place?
The Asian-African Conference was held from 18 to 24 April 1955. The museum opened on 24 April 1980, which marked the 25th anniversary of the meeting.
What can a visitor learn here that they cannot learn from a book?
The layout of the hall, the photographs and the objects give a physical sense of how the event was staged, which a book cannot easily provide. The building itself also shows how a hall with a colonial-era history became a centre of independent diplomacy.
Is the museum part of the wider history of Bandung?
Yes. Bandung is closely linked to the conference, and the museum is one of the main reasons the city is known in the history of decolonisation. Visitors interested in the city’s politics will find the museum a natural starting point, and the nearby streets carry the same history into the rest of the centre.
Are the displays suitable for children?
Yes, although the content is historical and fairly text-heavy. Older children who are interested in history will get the most from the photographs and the explanation of the ten principles. Younger children may enjoy the open hall and the sense of stepping into a room where history happened.
How the museum fits into a visit to Bandung
The Museum Konferensi Asia Afrika is a good place to start a visit to Bandung because it explains the city’s place in the history of the region. A visitor who begins with the conference will understand the streets and buildings around the museum more clearly, and the rest of the city’s historic sites take on a clearer context. The conference hall is the anchor of a walk through the centre, and the nearby avenue and the older buildings of the city make sense once the story of 1955 is in mind.
For a wider view of the city, the Bandung travel guide brings together the main sights and the best routes between them. The guide to Jalan Asia Afrika covers the avenue that runs past the museum, and it is the natural next step for anyone who wants to walk the streets that carry the conference’s name.
The city also has other places that suit a day of history and culture. The St Peter’s Cathedral in Bandung is a neo-Gothic church a short distance from the centre, and the Cikutra Heroes Cemetery is a quiet place to learn about the people who fought for the country’s independence. The Pos Indonesia Museum adds a different angle on the city, with its focus on postal history, and the art market near the university is a good stop for those who want to combine history with local crafts.
Related guides: gedebage district bandung, solokanjeruk district, Bandung Colonial Heritage: Buildings, Streets and Sites.