VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (voinews): Indonesia, in cooperation with Germany, launched the "3RproMar" pilot project that aims to address the issue of marine litter, particularly plastic, as well as to improve waste awareness and management.

The pilot project, launched in Manado, North Sulawesi, is part of a collaboration between ASEAN and Germany under the umbrella of a project titled 3RproMar – "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs."

"Marine plastic litter is a global threat that strongly affects the local level in coastal cities like Manado," the German Embassy in Jakarta noted in a statement received here on Wednesday.

According to the embassy, the city’s abundant underwater resources and marine environment make it particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of marine plastic litter on the fisheries and tourism sectors.

These collaborative efforts to increase awareness, enhance waste prevention and improve waste management will especially benefit the region, considering that Manado is the provincial capital of North Sulawesi, the location of Bunaken National Park and the Coral Triangle area and home to one of the richest marine biodiversity in the world, it stated.

Earlier, German Ambassador to Indonesia Ina Lepel virtually met with Mayor of Manado, Andrei Angouw, on Wednesday (February 8) to discuss the strengthening of international cooperation on waste management in the city through this pilot project.

With Mayor Andrei Angouw, Ambassador Lepel discussed ways that Germany can cooperate with the Municipal Government of Manado in improving waste collection, recycling, and reduction of waste generation in the city in the face of the global plastic crisis.

These efforts will not only help to avoid the wasteful use of resources and pollution caused by waste leakage but also to unlock new business models and contribute to job creation, Ambassador Lepel remarked.

At the national level, the project is partnered with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry that had signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) as the implementing agency for the project on January 30 to address the issue of plastic waste and marine litter in Indonesia.

Germany is a leader in recycling, with over 70 percent of collected waste being recycled annually.

Ambassador Lepel was also glad to extend German support to Indonesia and the city of Manado under the framework of the ASEAN-German development cooperation.

She emphasized that regulation and public awareness are the main keys to ensure the success of the project and the importance of waste management in Southeast Asia. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Indonesia's Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry encouraged the development of programs and policies related to culture and arts education, such as through the Regional Consultation on Culture and Arts Education for Asia Pacific.

The program was held online on February 13-14, 2023, Ministry's Culture Director General Hilmar Farid noted in a statement on Wednesday.

"The meeting results came in the form of recommendations that will be discussed at the World Conference on Culture and Arts Education held by UNESCO in December 2023 in the United Arab Emirates," he stated.

This meeting is part of the process to discuss the Framework for Culture and Arts Education initiated by UNESCO inclusively.

Later on, the framework became a foundation for the development of programs and policies related to culture and arts education.

The discussion points within the forum include evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative impact of culture and arts education in the region as well as the identification of problems, challenges, and opportunities within the regional context.

The meeting also discussed priorities in the development of programs and policies related to culture and arts education in the future.

Farid stated that this regional consultation showed that each region in the Asia Pacific has diverse issues in culture and arts education.

To this end, he underlined the need for more intensive bilateral cooperation, both within the region and globally.

Moreover, experts highlighted the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders, including the government, academicians, cultural actors, community organizations, and industry, so that they can remain relevant in the face of global changes.

This collaboration also allows these stakeholders to expand their benefit coverage.

Some 93 experts were involved in the online meeting that represent 26 Asia-Pacific countries and four category II institutions or centers.

These experts also represented two non-governmental organizations: Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) and National Crafts Council of Bangladesh.

Several of these 93 experts also represented three international organizations: ASEAN, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SEAMEO-SPAFA).

Meanwhile, the 26 Asia-Pacific countries comprise Bangladesh, Cook Islands, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, the Federated States of Micronesia and Mongolia.

They also include Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PR China, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) called to prioritize agenda items, namely conservation efforts, availability of clean water and sanitation, food and energy security, and mitigating natural disasters, at the 2024 World Water Forum (WWF), Bali.

“These agendas must be joint work, people's participation, and cooperation from various parties. Dialogue and partnerships between countries are carried out in the spirit of togetherness for the welfare of the world's people," Jokowi noted in his remarks broadcast online at the Kick-Off Meeting of the 10th WWF in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Jokowi noted that these priority agendas required extensive innovation, including innovation in funding. Innovation in the financial aspect needs to involve the government and the private sector.

The head of state noted that every stakeholder also needs technological innovation to manage energy and food consumption needs as well as a commitment to share and work together.

Furthermore, the president pointed to the current urgent issue of sustainability of water resources for the world. The need for water in the world is increasing in line with population growth, rising food production, and industry.

Meanwhile, Jokowi said the availability of quality and sustainable water is increasingly difficult due to environmental degradation and climate change.

"Managing water resources in an efficient and integrated manner is an agenda that we must work on together, so that water can be managed and utilized for common prosperity," he affirmed.

Jokowi said Indonesia was pleased to be chosen to host the 10th WWF in Bali in 2024.

"I really hope that this initial meeting towards the 10th WWF can produce important agendas that we will follow up on at the top event of the 10th WWF in Bali on May 18-24, 2024," he remarked.

The WWF is the largest cross-border forum in the world that focuses on discussing global issues and solutions to address water-related problems.

The 10th WWF, themed "Water for Shared Prosperity," will be held on May 18-24, 2024, to enable stakeholders from various countries to discuss and share experiences and innovations to respond to myriad challenges in water management globally.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The General Election Commission (KPU), political parties who will participate in the 2024 General Elections, and related stakeholders have made a joint declaration on ‘Election as a Means to Unite the Nation.’

The declaration was led by chairperson of the KPU, Hasyim Asy’ari, at KPU headquarters here on Tuesday.

"Let's read the declaration of a joint commitment together as election organizers, participants, and stakeholders to achieve a peaceful and democratic election with integrity," he said.

The simultaneous implementation of the presidential election, regional head elections, as well as central and regional legislative member elections in 2024 aims to unify the nation, he added.

"(Political) choices may be different and contradictory. Opponents in politics may change. There are no permanent friends and foes in elections,” the KPU head stated.

Hence, all parties are aware that elections may become a stage for achieving or defending their political power, he added.

“(However) at some point, each of us will look for coalitions and friends in (an attempt to win) the elections. It is what we interpret that we can use elections as a means to integrate the nation," he added.

The declaration consisted of several points. First, all election organizers, participants, and stakeholders stated their commitment to using the 2024 elections as a means to unite the nation.

Second, they agreed to conduct the elections based on direct, general, free, confidential, honest, and fair principles.

Third, they agreed to strive to conduct the 2024 General Elections with integrity and assume responsibilityfor the process and results.

In addition, they committed to implementing the elections to promote general welfare and educate the nation's life.

The general elections are scheduled to be conducted on February 14, 2024. The elections will be participated by 18 national political parties and 6 local political parties. (Antaranews)