Deisha Tamar

October 23, 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

 

In an effort to give something back to society, six alumni of the Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) of New Media 2010 organized a one-day seminar called Indonesia Young Netizen Day (IYND), on Oct. 1 at @america in the Pacific Place mall, Jakarta.

The event, themed “The Use of Social Media Tools to Promote Social Change”, aimed to raise awareness for young people in using social media responsibly.

The entire event itself was prepared by Internet services. Participants hoping to join the seminar and get certificates first had to register themselves using an online form. Those who had not registered online could still attend the seminar, but were not given certificates. 

The initiators, each from a different city (Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Medan, Padang and Makassar), relied on social media and the Internet to make preparations for the event for a whole year, through a conference using Yahoo Messenger, while Twitter and Facebook were also used to contact each other and to exchange information. Then, on the day of the event, the six committee members finally met each other face-to-face in Jakarta.

The six, who were part of the SUSI short scholarship program organized by the US State Department, created the event after winning a grant from a non-profit US-based organization, AED, which soon would be integrated into FHI360. The US Embassy in Jakarta and @america were their partners in organizing the event.

More than 150 people attended the seminar, ranging from high school and university students to members of the general public and youth organizations. 

During the first session, blogger and managing director of salingsilang.com, Enda Nasution, talked about trends in social media use in Indonesia and how to be a responsible social media user. Wisnu Martha, a new media analyst from Gadjah Mada University, gave a short yet enjoyable lecture about new media and how it affects young people’s lives.

In the second session, with a more relaxed and youthful vibe, Indonesian Future Leaders president Iman Usman and Febry Fakhurrizal from Bantu Indonesia shared their experiences in utilizing social media to promote social change.

Both youth organizations successfully gained followers on Twitter and Facebook — especially with Bantu Indonesia, which enables people to donate money through social media. 

Of course, it wouldn’t have been a social media event if there weren’t live tweets of the seminar content from IYND twitter account @YoungNetizenID and live streaming from the @america website. At the end of the seminar, the committee asked participants and everyone attending the event to simultaneously tweet “I am a responsible netizen” using the hashtag #IYND2011, to show their commitment to start being responsible netizens.

But, IYND didn’t end there. To give the event a bigger impact, there is also a writing competition open to high school and university students aged 16 to 25, with three topics to choose from: responsible netizen, social media and youth, or new media for social action. 

This competition is organized in the hope that the participants can implement what they have learned through the seminars in a written essay. Enda Nasution and Wisnu Martha will pick three winners, to be announced on Oct. 25.

Deisha Tamar

October 23, 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

 

The London School of Public Relations (LSPR) in Jakarta and its Climate Change Champions Community (LSPR 4C) held the Asia Pacific Youth Assembly from Sept. 6-10, focusing on global environmental issues.

Delegations from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal and Indonesia got together to share updates on environmental issues, and were encouraged to act and inspire others to build a better environment.

Indonesian youth motivators such as Alanda Kariza, Goris Mutaqim and David Sihombing were some of the speakers of the seminar themed “Utilizing Young People to Act on the Environmental Issues Solution”. They shared their experiences about youth initiatives.

Representatives from WWF Indonesia, the Environment Ministry and the US Embassy in Jakarta were also present to share their knowledge and experiences on environment-related topics.

The delegations were taken to Taman Mini Indonesian Indah for an opportunity to learn more about the country’s culture and heritage. In addition, they planted 10 trees beside the Keong Mas Theater in TMII, and also taught others how to plant and fertilize them.

On the last day of the event, the Youth Assembly held Green Carnival, a free event open to the public, which featured various performances and entertainment.

What makes the Asia Pacific Youth Assembly different from other environmental seminars is that each delegation must create an idea to solve an environmental issue at home and implement it once they return.

Deisha Tamar

October 23, 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

 

IPMI Business School held a two-day Student Entrepreneurship Challenge Program (SECP) for freshmen on September 21-22.

Although the name of the program might sound like another business competition, it was actually an orientation program aimed at introducing start-up initiatives to the students as soon as possible. 

“Education is an important part of the social setting that prepares students to be professional, ethical and genuine — separate from hazing, violence and bullying that occur in many modern education institutions,” IPMI Business School dean Budi W. Soetjipto said.

Established in 1984, IPMI Business School has a vision of being one of the best business schools within Asia. That is why IPMI Business School conducted the SECP, which could manifest those values and also create a fun education atmosphere and bring out the students’ potential through their own initiatives. The orientation consisted of seminars from IPMI Business School alumni, lecturers and team-building games.

Freshman Evy Nafisah said she found the orientation program highly interesting. “I really enjoyed the outdoor team-building games. We were taught to learn through games and fun activities, not the usual boring learning process.” 

Deisha Tamar

October 21, 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

Art should be free. 

In the modern world where money is everything it is a rare occasion when really good art is free. But, the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy and the Department of State’s Performing Arts Initiative brought a great dance group all the way from America, and the performance was free. 

Founded in 1976, the Battery Dance Company has performed in over 40 countries worldwide and is currently based in New York. With its mission to teach, present and advocate in the field of dance and with the motto “dancing to connect New York and the world”, it has supported over 200,000 public school students through its Dancing to Connect program. 
Believers: The Battery Dance Company has a mission to teach, present and advocate in the field of dance. Courtesy of US Embassy

The company believes in bringing free classes, lecturers and performances across geographic and linguistic borders to relate with people through dance.

The company has also produced 100 original pieces of choreography, created by its founder and artistic director Jonathan Hollander. With five outstanding dancers, the Battery Dance Company has choreographed many fresh contemporary dances and one of them was showcased on Oct. 10 at Teater Jakarta, Taman Ismail Marzuki.

For one night, Teater Jakarta was packed with over 1,000 people who were keen to watch one of America’s best dance companies. The show was introduced with a speech from US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel. 

The dance itself was separated into two parts; the first part, Autobiographica, consisting of 10 different acts mixing ballet with hip hop and other contemporary dance forms.

Autobiographica started with ballet, the dancers in black costumes, lulling the audience into theidea that this was going to be just another ballet performance. 

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Deisha Tamar

July 17 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

 

English Department students of Binus University invited author Raditya Dika to its Anggrek Campus in Jakarta to share his knowledge on how to become a writer, or one who can rake in the cash.

In the talk titled “Get Creative in Your Writing to Keep You Prosper” on June 16, the students’ body, HIMSI, partnered with stationery producer Faber-Castell. Almost 500 people flocked in to join the talk show or perhaps merely see their favorite wacky blogger-cum-writer in person although tickets were Rp 40,000 (US$4.86) each for students and Rp 50,000 for the public.

With writing as its theme, HIMSI hopes to open the knowledge of young people who, nowadays, like to express their feelings or share their stories through blogs or other various kinds of social networks — and help them turn that hobby into a source of income. 

In addition, it helps to enlighten young people on career opportunities in writing – not just by publishing a book or becoming a novelist. As said by Desvina, the head of HIMSI, a writer is actually a highly promising job, and by becoming and learning to be a good one, we can generate a good income.

Raditya delivered his presentation with his wittiness and comical approach that kept the audience laughing throughout the entire seminar. He pointed out that it was important to keep personal stories as a foundation of our writing, even the most bitter ones. Yet we need to be able to turn them into something unique. Distinguishing ourselves and our style of writing are also vital, as there are more and more writers emerging today. We have to create our own signature and set ourselves apart. 

After three hours of knowledge sharing, he asked the audience to engage in a 10-minute writing session and question and answer session before ending the event. During the event, some of the participants and Faber-Castell did live tweeting, and even held a quiz via Twitter. Putri Utami, a Binus University student tweeted that it was her second time joining seminar with Raditya Dika as the speaker, and she was pleased with the seminar and Raditya’s approach. 

Desvina contributed to the story

Deisha Tamar

June 19 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

 

The Bina Nusantara University English department closed the academic year out with a bang with its annual stage production. 

This year, the faculty and students produced Masquerade at the campus auditorium on June 11 before a paying audience of nearly 300.

In 2009, the English department debuted with The Fall of Men, and the play the next year was Don’t Mess with Charlie. After the success of the first two productions, this year’s play was even more successful, with a bigger audience and more media coverage.

Directed by Venantius Vladimir Ivan, who has directed all the productions the last three years, the script was written by Yani Susanti, an English Department lecturer, who also plays Maritje in the play. Though keeping with the concept of a production by the English Department faculty and students, a Chinese Department lecturer will also join in this year to play a Chinese-Indonesian woman who occasionally grumbles in her native tongue.

After presenting the Western way of life and culture in The Fall of Men, a story surrounding the Roman Empire, and Don’t Mess with Charlie, about Chicago’s mafia, Masquerade harkens back to the Dutch colonial period in 1910, when Jakarta was still known as Batavia. Masquerade represents the multi-cultural and ethnically diverse Batavia that still exists in Jakarta today. Unlike the department’s previous productions, this year’s play features singing and dancing. 

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Deisha Tamar

15 May 2011

The Jakarta Post

(as published here)

World student organization held Asean Youth Congress in Bina Nusantara (Binus) University in Jakarta aimed at empowering the youth. 

The Asean Youth Congress (AYC) that ran from April 25 to 27 was the first ever held by AIESEC, a global, non-political NGO dubbed the world’s largest student-run organization focusing on youth leadership and management development. 

Although AIESEC is contracted from French’s Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales, the organization expands wider than just economic and commercial sciences.

With the vision of peace and fulfillment of humankind’s potential, AIESEC was established in 1948 and now present in more than 107 countries with more than 50,000 members. 

In Indonesia, AIESEC has been around since 1984 and is ranked in the top 10 countries according to Ika Rahmayutari, the president of AIESEC Indonesia. Ika said there were six universities already joined AIESEC; including University of Indonesia, Andalas University in West Sumatra and Diponegoro University in Central Java.

“The memberships would soon be expanding to Binus University, Gadjah Mada University and Bogor Institute of Agriculture,” said Ika.

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After the first highly celebrated play last year, The Fall of Men, on March 6 this year Binus University's English Department proudly showcased its second annual theater performance: Don't Mess with Charlie

With much anticipation, around 200 people flocked the university's Anggrek Auditorium. The audience comprised mostly students, lecturers and friends and families of the cast and crew. Tickets sold for Rp 25,000 for regular seats, Rp 35,000 for wing seats and up to Rp 50,000 for VIP seats.

The play was penned by Alex Jhon, a lecturer in the English Department, who also played the main character, Charlie. It was directed by Venantius Vladimir Ivan, who also directed last year's performance. The play took four months of preparation and was not just another ordinary theater performance. It was a collaborative effort between lecturers and students of the English Department, as the actors and actresses made this play unique and worth watching. Another plus was the accompanying three-piece band of keyboard, contrabass and drum (all played by lecturers), creating harmonious jazz tunes as the running theme.

In the opening act, a student sang. There was also a poetry recital by a lecturer and a student from the department.

The story was reminiscent of Mario Puzo's famous masterpiece, The Godfather, since it was about the mafia. Set in Chicago in 1942, it revolved around Charlie, a Caucasian 21-year-old man living with his African-American foster family, Mama Jenkin and Bubba. The family runs the Angel Colored Pub. Charlie's life changes after working with Don Carusso, a mafia bigwig and padrone of the Carusso family.

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