VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has designated Tomalou Village in North Maluku province as a fisherman's village area, along with four other regions in Indonesia.

Head of Maritime Affairs, North Maluku branch, Komarudin, said that Tomalou has been designated as an advanced fishing village.

"It is expected that this will improve policies and programs that are appropriate as a fishing village, especially regarding empowerment in the Tomalou fishing village," he added.

He said that the strategy was important to support a sustainable program based on the empowerment of Tomalou fishermen.

"(The program will cover) Not only increasing capture fisheries, but also marketing and processing fishery products, which business specifications are meant for development," he informed.

In addition, the infrastructure of fishing villages must be met, such as clean seas and streets, he said. It requires cooperation with other sectors on whys to maintain them as advanced fishing villages, he added.

Since Tomalou has been designated as an advanced fishing village, its potential needs to be gauged and identified, such as by noting the amount of fish produced, then developing the agricultural sector, then planning for its development in the marine and fisheries sector, he advised.

"In the future, Tomalou, which is an example of a fisheries center in North Maluku, will not stop there, but we will develop it further regarding the empowerment of fishing communities that is appropriate in terms of facilities and infrastructure," he said.

Komarudin said other districts will be encouraged to develop their fishing villages since Tomalou is the only village to be deemed a fishing village in North Maluku currently.

The ministry is committed to pushing other districts to develop advanced fishing villages just like Tomalou so they are not considered backward in the fisheries and marine sector, he said. This will be done through a similar identification and gauging process as North Maluku, and even replicated on the national scale, he added.

In 2022, there will be about 10 developed fishing villages throughout Indonesia and the North Maluku village will be among them, he said. However, the result of the identification is awaited to see if the village has made it to the list, he added.

Separately, head of the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Office of North Maluku province, Abdullah Assagaf, pointed out that the Tomalou fishing village had actually been proposed to the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Ministry, in accordance with the ministry's program. (antaranews)

The Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) plays an important role in Indonesian film development and showcasing the potential of filmmakers, director general of cultural affairs at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has said.

Hilmar Farid lauded the 69 feature films submitted to the FFI committee saying they are proof that Indonesian filmmakers have continued to be productive despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The number even does not include non-feature films with the equal quantity that was submitted to the committee. This proves that Indonesian filmmakers are resilient as their production was not brought to a halt amidst the pandemic and they remain confident with their works," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The director general opined that Indonesian filmmakers have recognized the importance of FFI after a tireless effort by the FFI committee to enhance the event's prestige and branding.

"Filmmakers' recognition of the FFI would not have been possible without the tireless effort made by the FFI committee to enhance the event's prestige; their public relations and communication are also highly effective," he said.

Farid reiterated the ministry's commitment to reinvigorate the Indonesian film industry that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We will continue to work together as I believe despite this arduous time, we will rise again for the glory of Indonesia's film industry in the future," he remarked.

The Indonesian Film Festival's Citra Awards have been scheduled for November 10, 2021. The event coincides with Heroes Day, as the organizing committee is striving to gather public support for the conferment of National Hero of Indonesia status for the pioneer of Indonesian cinema, Usmar Ismail, he informed. (Antaranews)

The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry has said it wants more young people to pursue a teaching career.

"We are looking for stimulants that can attract them along with supporting regulations so that the teaching profession is in demand," director of basic education teachers, Directorate General of Teachers and Education Personnel, Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry, Rachmadi Widdiharto, said at an online press conference on Wednesday.

It is expected that the teaching profession can invite similar interest like other professions given the right stimulus, such as a relatively faster rank promotion, Widdiharto said.

He said he expects more young people will become teachers, especially in the frontier, underdeveloped and outermost areas, which have limited access to education.

Young people who are interested in becoming teachers do not always have to be civil servants, but can participate in programs such as Indonesia Teaching, in which young people are sent to various places in Indonesia to teach in primary schools and live in people's homes for one year, he added.

"The Undergraduate Educating in Frontier, Outermost, and Disadvantaged Regions Program has been carried out and has been evaluated, as has Indonesia Teaching. That program seems to attract young people," he observed.

He emphasized that the teaching profession is not any less important compared to other professions that require commitment and dedication.

The government has previously announced that 173,329 honorary teachers had passed the first selection of 2021 Civil Servants with Job Contract (PPPK). The selection is proof of the government's strong commitment to improving the welfare of honorary teachers in public schools, Widdiharto said.

Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim said in early October, the status of a State Civil Apparatus would provide protection to honorary teachers and raise the level of teaching as a noble and honorable profession.

With the status of State Civil Apparatus, honorary teachers would also have more opportunities to participate in competency improvement programs so that will have an impact on improving the quality of teaching, he noted.

According to the ministry, the central government had previously provided 1,02,616 formations for State Civil Apparatus with Job Contract (ASN PPPK) teachers. The regional government then proposed about 506,252 formations of the quota, which then were accepted by the central government. (Antaranews)

The University of Indonesia (UI) has found a place on the list of top 15 emerging economies universities in Southeast Asia in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE WUR) 2022.

Indonesia's top university has been ranked 13th out of 73 universities in the Southeast Asian region and 140th in the world, UI spokesperson Amelita Lusia said in a statement that ANTARA received here Wednesday.

A total of 698 universities from 50 regions representing emerging economies participated in THE World University Rankings, Lusia said, adding that UI's ranking was better than several universities in the region.

The universities placed below UI include Malaysia's Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Thailand's Chulalongkorn University, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Mai University, and Vietnam's National University, she informed.

UI received the highest score in the teaching performance indicators out of the 73 universities in Southeast Asia, she said. In the international outlook and industry income indicators, UI secured the 5th and 10th positions out of the 73 universities in the region, she added.

Compared to 19 Indonesian universities considered for THE WUR's emerging economies university rankings 2022, UI has ranked first, with the scores of the international outlook and teaching indicators recorded at 52.4 and 38.6, respectively, she said.

THE WUR's Emerging Economies University Rankings 2022 only adopted institutions in countries or regions that FTSE classified as "advanced emerging", "secondary emerging", or "frontier", Lusia added.

Along with China, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kuwait, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia was grouped into the "secondary emerging" category, she said.

According to Lusia, UI's hard work in improving its capacity and quality of research outcomes, innovations, and community services enabled it to achieve a position in the top 15.

Its ability to widen its networks and cooperations with top universities in Asia, Europe, and America, and make attractive programs for foreign students has also contributed to this achievement, she said.

According to its official website, THE WUR offers "the only global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook".

THE WUR said it applied 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to determine the Emerging Economies University Rankings to "provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments".

The performance indicators used for the rankings include teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income, and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students, and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer), it said. (Antaranews)