VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno has expressed support for the Indonesia Event Management Summit (IVES) 2023, which aims to promote sustainable creative industry development.

IVES is an annual convention in which many practitioners inform and educate national communities of event managers.

“The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry not only supports, but also encourages the provincial, district and city tourism offices, as well as educational institutions to attend and make this event successful, so that the standards of event management in Indonesia will become better and will proffer benefits, particularly for event organizers in the regional scopes," the minister said, according to a statement received here on Friday.

Project Director of IVES Andro Rohmana Putra said that national industry players are enthusiastic about the event, which will be hosted on February 21 and 22, 2023, at Jakarta Convention Center.

"The enthusiasm of the event industry players for the implementation of IVES is very great. Moreover, we can notice that the economic potential for this event in Indonesia is extraordinary. Based on statistical projections of 2023 ticket sales, the prospect reaches Rp4 trillion (US$263 million)," Putra elaborated.

The event will be supported by Konect platform, a start-up that allows people to host hybrid events so that people who cannot attend in person can participate online.

Many stakeholders from the event planning industry will take part in the conference, which is themed “connecting and adapting to elevate.”

They will share their inspiration and their experiences on topics ranging from event management, stage setting, sports tourism, future event trends, business opportunities, and intellectual property.

There will also be workshop sessions on event planning and the preparation of creative proposals. (antaranews)

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin laid emphasis on the need to firstly verify reports of violation of religious freedom.

"Must be verified first. Is it true? Because the topic of construction of worship places has its own regulation, which has been approved by religious assemblies, stipulated in the Joint Regulation of the Home Affairs Ministry and Religious Affairs Ministry. There is regulation for it," he stated in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Friday.

At the end of January 2023, Setara Institute had released a report on the situation of religious freedom in 2022.

The institute noted that East Java Province emerged as the region with the most number of violations, reaching 34 incidents.

Those incidents comprised eight of the religious discourse been dismissed, six instances wherein worship places were denied establishment, four instances of discriminative policies, and three instances of blasphemy.

"If one already meets the requirements and then were denied, then I think that is wrong. If they have met the requirements, then they must be given permission and must be allowed. Whatever the religion, it is the same," he remarked.

However, worship places could not be established if they did not meet the requirements, he affirmed.

"Thus, why was the report made? Were (the requirements) met or not? Therefore, it needs to be investigated, I think it needs explanation," he stated.

According to the vice president, there was no prohibition on the construction of worship places.

Setara Institute researchers attributed two factors behind East Java being placed first for violation of religious freedom.

The first factor was the prevalence of stigma among members of the public about some ancient traditions or beliefs that led to some people dismissing and even outrightly rejecting such practices, such as by destroying offerings.

The second factor was the strong presence of Nahdlatul Ulama in East Java.

Following East Java, other provinces with several incidents of violations of religious freedom were West Java, with 25 incidents; Jakarta, 24; Banten, 11; Central Java, 11; North Sumatra, 10; Aceh and West Kalimantan, with seven incidents each; and West Nusa Tenggara, with six incidents. (Antaranews)

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has dispatched a medical team to support evacuation and recovery efforts in Turkiye following the February 6, 2023, earthquake in the country.

"Yes, it is the medical team that is part of the national team. The PMI has dispatched five health officers (consisting of) doctors, nurses, and X-ray experts to Turkiye," PMI Chairperson Jusuf Kalla informed at the Turkish embassy here on Friday.

The decision to dispatch a medical team is an expression of solidarity with Turkiye, he said, adding that PMI is ready to extend a helping hand in disaster response and rehabilitation operations anywhere.

The PMI has also sent US$100 thousand in aid to Turkiye, he added.

According to Kalla, the medical team will work in Turkiye until the conclusion of the emergency response period, and the team is ready to carry out strategic measures during the recovery and reconstruction operations.

"The disaster (response teams) will start from the emergency response team, then the rehabilitation team, and the reconstruction team. Our first assistance will be for emergency response, and our future assistance will be in the form of housing," the PMI head said.

He then asked the Indonesian people to get involved in assisting earthquake victims in Turkiye and Syria by donating money, saying that any amount they donate would be helpful and benefit earthquake victims.

He also highlighted the need to repay the kindness the Turkish people showed Indonesia during the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh in various forms.

"Turkish contribution to Aceh is huge; they helped the reconstruction of up to one thousand houses, so we need to help each other," he said.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian embassy in Turkiye has sent another evacuation convoy from Ankara to Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Hatay, and Gaziantep regions for three days to search for and evacuate Indonesian nationals.

"We have received new requests to evacuate 12 Indonesians from earthquake-affected regions," the embassy's trade attaché and evacuation team head, Eric Gokasi Nababan, said on Friday.

The embassy has also distributed 179 aid packages for Indonesians who have decided to stay behind in their regions and need logistics assistance. (Antaranews)

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and all mattters over the bailout program are settled, local broadcaster Geo said on Thursday, citing sources.

Cash-strapped Pakistan had been due to wrap up talks on Thursday with the IMF in a bid to unlock stalled funds from a $6.5 billion bailout to ward off economic meltdown. (Reuters)