VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

On February 26, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno launched IndoFringe@Sekolah. IndoFringe@Sekolah is a creative economy movement in building and running inclusive and sustainable creative economy programs.

At the launch, Sandiaga Uno said that Indofringe@Sekolah is a forum for introducing and broadening the horizons of the younger generation about the creative economy. Especially regarding the implementation of festivals as a showcase for various sub-sectors of the creative economy.

Sandi Uno also supports IndoFringe@Sekolah, whose coverage will be expanded this year. IndoFringe@Skolah 2024 will be held in 20 cities in Indonesia with a target of 20-25 schools involved in each city.

In the IndoFringe@Sekolah program, the team from Indofringe provides educational programs for students and teachers regarding the creation and implementation of events using three learning methods. Namely project-based learning, collaborative lessons, and experience-based lessons provided by mentors from Indofringe.

The learning process for each school lasts for 12 weeks involving 10 selected students and 1 teacher. The material provided is related to festival planning, sponsorship, production and design, talent curation, promotion, as well as awards and certification.

After that, each school will hold a festival as a form of final learning and competition from all participating schools in IndoFringe@Sekolah.

In 2023 IndoFringe@Sekolah will be successfully implemented in 218 schools by presenting 396 performances, 1,327 talents, 11,553 visitors by presenting various creative works in the festival, starting from modern dance, traditional dance, band/music, solo vocal, painting, and theater.

For the first time, Indonesia was present at the Salon International de l'Agriculture (SIA) in Paris, France. The agricultural product exhibition has been open from Saturday (24/2)  until Sunday (03/3). As  quoted from a press release of  the Indonesian Embassy in  Paris, France, Indonesia's participation in the 60th Salon International de l'Agriculture is represented by a number of Indonesian companies that have implemented sustainable principles and have geographical indication certificates. Organic agricultural products which are displayed in the Indonesian booth at SIA including coffee, cocoa, tea, spices and organic agricultural products.

Besides promoting Indonesian agricultural products, participants from Indonesia also explain the efforts that have been made so far in implementing sustainable agricultural practices to the people in France. According to the Indonesian Embassy in Paris, Indonesia's participation in the SIA exhibition is a concrete manifestation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' commitment to encouraging visibility and sustainable presence of Indonesian agricultural products to have wider market access in international markets.

Moreover, Indonesia's presence in the event was a collaboration between the Directorate Generals of America and Europe, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Embassy in Paris, supported by Indonesian business actors who are committed to sustainable agriculture. The Salon International de l'Agriculture is one of the largest annual international exhibition agendas in the world that brings together business world and stakeholders operating in the agricultural and livestock sectors.

Since it was first held in 1964, SIA has become the main reference for world agribusiness circles to introduce the superiority of their products, as well as a place for business actors in the agricultural and livestock sectors to develop business networks and strengthen research and technology in the agro-industry sector.

The agro-industrial product exhibition took place at the Porte de Versailles, Paris, and it was opened by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. Last year, the SIA exhibition was attended by more than 615,000 visitors, and 40,000 international business professionals and delegates in the agribusiness sector. Around 1,100 exhibitors from France and abroad participated in this year's SIA, and it received extensive French and international media coverage. 

The Indonesian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Fadjroel Rachman and a delegation from the BI Group Kazakhstan construction company visited the Archipelago Capital (IKN) field in East Kalimantan, Friday (23/02).

Fadjroel, in a press release from the Indonesian Embassy in Astana, Saturday (24/02), hoped that from this visit, the BI Group will get ideas regarding the types and models of investment that they will soon realize in IKN.

During the visit, the delegation received an explanation about the ease of investing, regulations, and incentives from Nusantara Capital City Investment and Funding Deputy Agung Wicaksono. They also witnessed development developments at Nusantara Capital City, including the presidential palace, government complex and ministerial residences in the central government core area.

According to the Indonesian Embassy's press release, the Kazakh delegation was very impressed by the progress of Nusantara Capital City development with the concept of a smart, green and sustainable city.

Fadjroel said that BI Group Kazakhstan's visit would be a special symbolic moment, especially since Astana (capital of Kazakhstan) is the first sister city for the Nusantara Capital City which was established starting July 3 2023.

BI Group is the largest infrastructure developer in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

During their visit, the company delegation was led by Global Business Development Director Metin Palik accompanied by representatives from a number of fields, including construction and engineering, settlements, investment development and education.

Metin said, as a company that has been the motor of development of the capital city of Astana for the last 25 years, his party was impressed with the progress of the initial stage of development in the Nusantara Capital City which they saw would achieve the target of the smart city they aspired to.

Astana is the youngest cosmopolitan capital in the world. The former capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, is currently taking on the role of business and financial center in Central Asia's largest economy.

Nusantara will replace Astana as the youngest capital in the world after being inaugurated as the capital of Indonesia next August.

According to the Indonesian Embassy, five Kazakh companies have submitted letters of interest (LoI) and 1 memorandum of understanding (MoU) to invest in IKN, including BI Group.

Nature has charm and beauty that can become a tourist attraction. However, nature must be preserved so that its charm remains maintained. For this reason, everyone needs to be aware of preserving nature. Awareness of preserving nature and the environment already exists in society and in some areas, it has even become a distinctive tradition. We introduce some of these traditions to you. The first one is the Ruwat Laut Tradition, which has become a tradition for coastal communities. Initially, it was held by many people on the coast of Java and then spread to the island of Sumatra. Basically, this tradition is an expression of gratitude to God who has given blessings of the sea as well as a request for protection from God. This tradition begins with a prayer led by a religious leader and followed by the release of a buffalo head which is previously slaughtered following the religious procedures and placed on a decorated boat.

There is also a Paca Goya tradition in Kalaodi village, Tidore. Paca means cleansing while Goya means a sacred place. Conceptually, the Paca Goya tradition is a traditional ritual in a sacred location for the safety of the children and grandchildren of Kalaodi residents and is traditionally carried out to make peace and friendship with the surrounding nature. This tradition has been done for generations after the big harvest season. This tradition is also an effort by Kalaodi residents not to damage and take excess from nature. This commitment is held firmly through an oath called Bobeto, which means "Whoever destroys nature, nature will destroy."

The people of Maluku and Papua know the Sasi tradition, or in local terms, it means prohibition. The Sasi tradition is a prohibition on harvesting or taking certain natural resources in customary areas for some time. This tradition can be done on land or at sea. On land, the Sasi tradition is carried out to prohibit people from harvesting certain garden products. At sea, harvesting is prohibited for certain types of fish. This tradition is an effort to protect the ecosystem and population so that they are not damaged or depleted.