VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Papuan people have traditional religious belief pattern which unites and absorbs into all life aspects. Their world viewpoint is related one another, among material and spiritual, secular and sacred. All of these function simultaneously. In its connection with art, Musyoh dance is one of dances belongs to the culture of Papuan people. This manifests their belief system. Musyoh dance is a kind of ritual dance as effort to chase away people’s spirit who died due to an accident. If there is a member of Papuan tribe who dies due to an accident, generally Papuan people believe that the spirit is not calm. Through the belief, the Musyoh dance is created to make the spirit calm. Practically, the dance is like Papuan traditional dances in general. This dance is accompanied by their traditional instrument, called ‘Tifa’. As a difference from Papuan war dance, Musyoh dance uses neither spear nor another weapon. The dance is performed by male dancers with energetic movements like war dance where the movement is seen in playing shield and accompanied by typical scream. By performing Musyoh dance, it is hoped to be able to chase away the spirit who dies unnaturally so that the spirit will not disturb people who are still alive. The dance has been known by tribes in Papua for long time, and until now, it still survives. Many people assume that the dance is also used to welcome guests. In fact, the dance which is used to welcome the guests is welcome dance which is accompanied by rhythmic music with dynamic movement. This shows the local people’s happiness in welcoming honor guests.

Ramadan is a holy month awaited by Muslims around the world, especially Indonesia with a Muslim majority. In this holy month, Muslims fast for a full month, from sunrise to sunset; they don't eat or drink; they don't do bad deeds in order to get abundant rewards. In this holy month, Muslims not only fast, but also worship as much as possible to get blessings and rewards from Allah SWT. This year, the Indonesian government set the beginning of Ramadan on Monday, May 6, 2019. This determination is based on the Islamic Conference held by Ministry of Religious Affairs on Sunday (5/5) and attended by representatives of various Islamic organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama –NU and Muhamadiyah and state representatives- friendly countries, especially neighboring countries where the majority of the population is Muslim. The determination of the beginning of fasting is usually done based on the position of the moon, considering the Islamic calendar is the lunar one. Thus, the National Aeronautics and Space Institute (LAPAN), as well as the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) also involved in the Isbat trial. Fasting is not only holding back hunger and thirst but also holding back all lusts. In addition, during fasting, Muslims are also advised to practice other acts of worship such as giving alms, increasing friendship and avoiding acts that are prohibited by Islam. In fasting, every Muslim is commanded to leave behind various passions and worldly pleasures. By fasting, every Muslim can train himself or herself to be a patient person. When fasting, Muslims are trained to be able to withstand anger and not to think negatively other people. Welcome to Ramadan!

Indonesian embassy in Washington DC, the United States of America held an open house on May 4. More than 6,000 visitors flocked the embassy. They were also presented with various attractions of Indonesian culture such as  Reog Ponorogo by Indonesian citizens in Washington DC who join in Singolodoyo USA group. The interesting point was Dangdut Cowboys performance that was led by US professor and lecturer from Pittsburgh University. In addition, there were also performances of Angklung, Tor-Tor and Si Gale-Gale dance from North Sumatera, Giring-Giring dance from Kalimantan, Serampang Dua Belas dance from West Sumatera until Poco-Poco dance by students from Papua. The event was conducted in the frame of  annual program of "Passport DC" (Around the World Embassy Tour) 2019. The event involved 52 embassies.

Indonesia and France establish cooperation to develop maritime tourism with basis of “sustainable tourism development” concept. Deputy of Industrial Development and Tourism Agency of Tourism Ministry, Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani said that the cooperation is created in forming of Forum for International Tourism and the Environment 2019. Giri also said that through the Forum, Indonesia and France agreed to capture ideas of maritime tourism development based on sustainable tourism from tourism students. This year, the Forum has themed "Can Indonesia's Maritime Identity Support Sustainable Tourism Development?" and attended by 10 speakers who have competent skills in their fields. In addition to the presentation of all speakers, in the event, 10 finalists of the Forum for International Tourism and the Environment 2019 of Student Video Contest also conducted presentation before the jury and invitees.

As many as 66 delegations from Indonesian Student Association of each country in the regions were very enthusiastic to hold sustainable Indonesian tourism symposium more recently. On the occasion, Indonesian Ambassador to Spanish Kingdom,   Hermono wants Indonesia students who attended at that time to be able to identify problems and contribute good ideas for sustainable tourism in Indonesia. Coordinator of the world Indonesian Student Association of American European region, Tubagus Aryandi Gunawan said that the symposium was presented as form of awareness of Indonesian students abroad, especially American European region.

The government of Indonesia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the government of Timor-Leste signed a memorandum of understanding –MoU to support cross-border trade and cooperation between Timor-Leste and the province of East Nusa Tenggara –NTT in Indonesia. The MoU was signed by ADB President -Takehiko Nakao, Finance Minister -Sri Mulyani and Timor Leste Finance Minister -Sara Lobo Brites on the sidelines of the 52nd annual meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city on Saturday (4/5). Based on the agreement, Indonesia and Timor-Leste will reduce barriers at the cross-border land and air transportation and harmonize procedures at border crossing points. Both sides also seek to reduce animal health barriers to livestock trade and improve tourism promotion in NTT and Timor-Leste through joint marketing.ADB President -Takehiko Nakao said that regional cooperation and integration are very important for sustainable and inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific regions. This MoU is an important step in supporting cross-border cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Supporting livelihoods in lagging border areas is very important to overcome inequality. Anyone can participate in increasing regional prosperity. The Memorandum of Understanding is built based on the 'Scoping Study on Increasing Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration between Indonesia and Timor-Leste' carried out by ADB at the request of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments. The study identifies various challenges and opportunities for cross-border collaboration and identifies tourism and livestock as the main sectors for short-term benefits through collaboration.Indonesian Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani said that the Indonesian government is committed to reducing regional inequality in Indonesia, and East Nusa Tenggara is one of the less developed regions in Indonesia. Thus, it is necessary to increase connectivity, accessibility and capacity as well as cross-border economic collaboration. This Memorandum of Understanding is a complementary national strategy to support border areas with additional collaboration with Timor-Leste.Meanwhile, Minister of Finance of Timor Leste, Sara Lobo Brites said that Timor-Leste has made a significant step since independence. Timor Leste would like to integrate more closely with ASEAN and the world economy and diversify its economy. According to the Brites, reducing trade barriers and establishing cooperation with closest neighbors is a key step in achieving this goal. He welcomed happily the memorandum of understanding with ADB and Indonesia as a first step in a sustainable partnership and mutually beneficial for growth.