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04
October
 
 
VOInews, Jakarta: In recognition of schools' efforts to implement environment-based programs, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag), and the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) awarded 720 schools for their achievements. The awards were presented by the Deputy Minister of Environment and Forestry on Wednesday (2/10) at the KLHK office in Jakarta.
 
Nur Syarifah, Senior Advisor for Regulation at Kemendikbudristek, emphasized that this award symbolizes a joint commitment between the ministries to develop environmental education. "This reflects the spirit of cooperation that drives us all to cultivate a future generation that is conscious and responsible toward the environment. The Adiwiyata Award is not only a recognition of schools' success in managing the environment but also a collective effort to build environmentally conscious future generations," she stated.
 
Syarifah further highlighted that the national Merdeka Curriculum allows schools the flexibility to integrate environmental education into their teaching materials. “The Merdeka Curriculum provides space for schools to develop learning materials, and it also allows various stakeholders to engage in the educational process,” she explained.
 
Deputy Minister of Environment and Forestry, Alue Dohong, in his remarks, stressed the crucial role schools play in shaping future generations to care for the environment. "Schools, as educational institutions, play a key role in changing behavior, shaping character, and producing a future generation that cares about the environment," he said.
 
He added that environmental education is a lifelong process. "The earlier we instill environmental awareness, the greater our chance of creating a better world and a sustainable environment," Alue added.
 
The Adiwiyata program is guided by the Ministerial Regulation of Environment and Forestry No. 05/2013, which sets the framework for the program’s implementation. The award is given to schools that adopt environmentally conscious practices and foster a healthy learning environment. The ultimate goal is to raise environmental awareness within the school community and encourage responsibility for protecting the environment.
 
This year’s award recognized 720 schools, with 208 receiving the prestigious Sekolah Adiwiyata Mandiri award and 512 being honored as Sekolah Adiwiyata Nasional. The Adiwiyata Nasional designation represents the initial level of the program, while the Mandiri level is awarded to schools that have sustained their commitment to environmental education at the national level.
27
September

 

The 2024 BRICS Young Leaders Forum was held on Wednesday (25/9) in Kazan, Russia, highlighting various opportunities for global youth within the BRICS framework.
 
The event gathered officials, media representatives, experts, and opinion leader from China and Russia, along with young global participants from BRICS countries
 
The participants unveiled the BRICS Youth Cooperation and Development Initiative, a document that encourages the youth from BRICS countries to seize opportunities, overcome challenges, and develop a culture of sustainable innovation. They also pointed out the great potential of youth engagement in sustainable development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange.
 
China Daily and the Chinese Embassy in Russia co-hosted the event, which was organized by 21st Century Media and Education in partnership with Kazan Federal University. (Fern/dr/voi)
27
September
 
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) supported by PT Pertamina (Persero) are participating in the 21st China-ASEAN Expo 2024 (CAEXPO 2024),held from September 24-28th 2024, in Nanning, Guangxi, China.
According to Pertamina’s Vice President of Corporate Communication, Fadjar Djoko Santoso, Pertamina’s vice president of corporate communication, Pertamina’s participation in this expo, which features 10 ASEAN countries and China, is a strategic move to promote MSME products in the global market.
 
This international exhibition, as a result of the 7th China-ASEAN Summit, Pertamina is showcasing hundreds of products from 13 MSMEs from various regions in Indonesia. The 13 MSMEs include Fish Skin, Mutiara Gitbay, D'etnick Istana Mutiara, Evie Sobag, Loyok Kreatif, Persona Handicraft, Soulmate Bedsheet, Mandiri Craft, Dade Craft, Adhimas Handycraft, Woodeco, Bali Ayu, and Bali Pure.
“To participate in the exhibition, these national MSME products underwent a rigorous curation process,” said Fadjar.
 
One of the MSMEs, Mutiara Gitbay, displayed jewelry combined with pearls, gold, and silver, while D'etnick Istana Mutiara offered ethnic-inspired jewelry with local designs. The handmade beauty of pearls in rings, necklaces, or earrings caught the attention of global consumers.
 
The Directorate General of National Export Development at the Ministry of Trade, Mardyana Listyowati, praised Pertamina’s efforts to support MSMEs. “After I toured the Pertamina-supported products, I am proud of Pertamina for pushing its MSMEs to become competitive exporters abroad, thus contributing to national economic growth,” she stated during the inauguration of the Indonesian Pavilion at CAEXPO 2024.
 
Mardyana hopes Pertamina will continue to involve and support MSMEs in becoming key players in Indonesia’s trade, particularly in exports. She also encouraged Pertamina to support new MSMEs and help them grow into stronger exporters.
 
Fadjar added that by innovating, Pertamina’s MSME products will further strengthen their position in international markets.
 
“In addition to retail exhibitions, Pertamina’s MSMEs are also participating in business matching activities—business-to-business (B2B) processes that open up new collaboration opportunities with entrepreneurs from China and other ASEAN countries. This exhibition demonstrates that local products can compete globally and contribute to the national economy,” he explained.
 
He concluded that this participation showcases Pertamina’s strong commitment to supporting Indonesia’s economic development by empowering MSMEs. (Fern/voi)
 
Source: Antara
20
September

VOInews, Petit-Saguenay: Piles of old tires, discarded cups, and cigarette butts litter the stunning Saguenay Fjord, a marine conservation area in eastern Canada that attracts belugas and other whales seeking a respite. The fjord, flanked by glacier-carved cliffs, connects to the Saint Lawrence River and is far from any major city. This marine sanctuary has held protected status for 26 years.

"It's one thing to gain protected area status, but how do we maintain it?" asked Canadian biologist Anne-Marie Asselin before diving to search for trash. Along with her team from the Blue Organization, she navigates the brackish waters of the fjord to document pollution in the area.

 

Their objectives are twofold: to identify the most common types of waste to target plastics that should be banned from sale, and to predict which banks are most at risk of pollution, particularly based on currents, to better target cleanup campaigns.

Using paddleboards, walking, or freediving, Asselin and her team collect various types of waste in the bay of the village of Petit-Saguenay. Under the blazing sun, Laurence Martel from the group sorts the waste by over 100 criteria, including brand, to ultimately hold producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products.

 

"The most common find is the cigarette butt; it is omnipresent," Martel said. She noted that a single cigarette butt can contaminate up to 500 liters of water due to the thousands of chemical compounds it contains.

 

Over five years, the team's research has revealed a worrying trend: the concentration of plastic waste is significantly increasing closer to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic, "suggesting a shift in waste from urban areas towards downstream parts of the river," she added. "Very often, the smallest plastics are the ones that pollute the most," Martel stated.

 

Waste breaks down into microplastics. These particles, often invisible to the naked eye, are made from polymers and other toxic compounds that vary from five millimeters to one thousandth of a millimeter. Microplastics are found throughout the marine food chain, particularly in invertebrates.

 

The Blue Organization captures and analyzes these "sentinel species," considered indicators of environmental health, during each cleanup operation. "If your mussels and your invertebrates are starting to suffer, that could be an indicator that the health of the ecosystem is also declining," said Miguel Felismino from McGill University in Montreal.

 

Seated on a catamaran, Felismino measured, photographed, and arranged mussel specimens, which he will also analyze in a laboratory to study the effects of microplastics. Using a homemade pump and a few pipes placed at the front of the boat, he also collected surface water and sediment from the seabed for his research.

 

The Blue Organization aims to produce a comprehensive picture of the plastic lifecycle in protected areas like the Saguenay-Saint Lawrence Marine Park. However, to protect these ecosystems, the solution is "also to trigger behavioral changes" in people, said biologist Asselin, who has called on artists to "raise awareness" about the situation.

 

This could involve creating music from natural sounds or producing a "literary translation" of scientific research, Asselin said. "With climate change, the soundscapes associated with certain territories are set to evolve," said one such artist, Emilie Danylewick, before plunging her hydrophone into the water to record the sounds. Danylewick added that her work is a "way to preserve the current soundscape memory of the territory."

 

Source: AFP