VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

High-rise buildings are seen at the Shinjuku business district during sunset in Tokyo, Japan, on Mar 7, 2017. (Photo: REUTERS/Toru Hanai) - 

VOInews, Tokyo : Consumer price inflation is expected to stay unchanged in Japan's capital Tokyo in August, ending three months of acceleration, a Reuters poll showed, suggesting the central bank may not be in a rush to hike rates.

The same poll also found factory output probably rebounded and retail sales kept growing in July, underscoring the strength of Japan's economy after better-than-expected April-June gross domestic product data last week.

Tokyo's core consumer price index (CPI) in August will likely rise 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, according to a median forecast of 16 economists, unchanged from July's pace.

A drop in gasoline and hotel accommodation costs against higher prices the year before would have cancelled out increases in utility costs, analysts said in the poll.

Moderation in the Tokyo core CPI, the leading indicator of nationwide inflation trends, could cool hawkish views for the Bank of Japan's monetary normalisation schedule after the central bank raised its short-term policy rate to 0.25 per cent in July.

The Tokyo core CPI data is due at 8.30am on Aug 30.

Meanwhile, industrial output was seen expanding 3.3 per cent month-on-month in July, rebounding from June's 4.2 per cent drop due to solid demand for semiconductor-related electronics and production machinery items, economists said.

Retail sales growth in July probably slowed, rising 2.9 per cent from a year earlier after 3.7 per cent growth in June, the poll showed.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will announce both factory output and retail sales data at 8.50am on Aug 30.

In July, Japan's jobless rate and jobs-to-applicants ratio were forecast to have stayed flat, at 2.5 per cent and 1.23, respectively, the poll also found.

Jobs data is due at 8.30am on Aug 30//CNA-VOI

18 delegates from eleven countries as well as four participants from Indonesia visit the TPBIS implementation pilot village in the largest district in DIY (Photo : Perpusnas) - 

Voinews, Yogyakarta : A total of 22 delegates from Colombo Plan member countries took part in a comparative study of the Social Inclusion Based Library Transformation Program (TPBIS) in Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region, on Thursday (15/8/2024).

A total of 18 delegates from eleven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, as well as four participants from Indonesia had the opportunity to visit the TPBIS implementation pilot village in the largest district in DIY.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday (15/08/24), the delegates saw directly various products resulting from the TPBIS training program that the community took part in in the village/district library, such as splattered batik, vegetables from cultivation, and various handicrafts. The delegation also took part in batik training which was held at the Balai Pintar Library, Pengkol Village, Gunungkidul Regency.

On the previous day, the delegates took part in a similar activity in Magelang Regency. This activity is a series of Knowledge Sharing Programs on Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion (TPBIS) or Knowledge Sharing Program on Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion which is a collective effort of the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas) with the Ministry of State Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Colombo Plan .

The activity, which was attended by delegations from Colombo Plan member countries, which was held in DIY on 12-17 August 2024, carried the theme "Leveraging the Role of Public Libraries in Strengthening Local Communities: Best Practices".

Head of the Legal, Organizational, Cooperation and Public Relations Bureau of the National Library, Sri Marganingsih, said that this activity was a good momentum to strengthen cooperation between Colombo Plan member countries. The presence of delegations from eleven friendly countries will strengthen the commitment to collaborate in the fields of education, health, human resource development and social inclusion.

"This Social Inclusion Based Library Transformation Program is very relevant to the challenges currently facing our friendly countries. "Transformation requires us to create an inclusive environment so that people have equal access to education and opportunities for self-development," he added.

He also mentioned the importance of international cooperation in facing global challenges. He emphasized that holding activities this year is the National Library's commitment to continue developing initiatives that can provide benefits to the community in each Colombo Plan participating country.

Lecturer at the Master of Information and Library Management Study Program at the Graduate School of Gadjah Mada University, Ida Fajar Priyanto, explained the implementation of the TPBIS program in collaboration with universities.

He said that one of the TPBIS program activities was to provide training for library managers and librarians to help the community and provide training in various skills and expertise. However, he said, in several villages in Gunungkidul Regency, the implementation of the TPBIS program is not only limited to efforts to create innovations or products, but also in the form of efforts to preserve culture.

"One of them is at the Kamadang Public Library, Tanjungsari, where people can take part in training to preserve Javanese traditional music culture using simple musical instruments," he explained.

This is in line with what students from the Gadjah Mada University Graduate School of Information and Library Management Master's Study Program collaborated with various village libraries in Gunungkidul Regency. One of them is through batik training at the village library. According to him, collaboration like this can provide benefits for all parties.

"Through support from universities, programs in village libraries can run well, students will also be able to gain a lot of knowledge and knowledge from the library and community which can then be expressed in research or writing," he said.

Expert Staff to the Regent of Gunungkidul for Legal and Human Rights, Wahyu Nugroho, said that the Gunungkidul Regency Government, through the library and archives service, had succeeded in implementing the TPBIS program in 60 village/sub-district libraries.

"We hope that through the Knowledge Sharing Program on Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion activities carried out in Gunungkidul Regency this can be an example for other countries. "And we open the widest possible opportunities for cooperation to share experiences and knowledge with various parties," he concluded//VOI

Business Network International (BNI) Indonesia, the world's leading business referral organization, held the BNI Indonesia National Conference 2024 (Photo : BNI) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : Business Network International (BNI) Indonesia, the world's leading business referral organization, held the BNI Indonesia National Conference 2024, Thursday (15/8/2024) at Sutera Hall, Alam Sutera Mall Jalan Jalan Sutera Bar No. 16, Tangerang City, Banten.

Attended by more than 1,000 business people including around 100 delegates from business owners, CEOs and company directors from abroad, this conference is the most prestigious business conference this year.

Overseas delegations include Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Dubai, Germany, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the United States (US), India.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday (15/08/24), The members were enthusiastic about attending in order to build networking with Indonesian business people who were fellow BNI members. Indonesia has become BNI's global concern since 2022, experiencing growth of more than 300 percent, the highest among 80 countries.

Present to give a keynote speech were Global Growth Mentor Mac Srinivasan, BNI Malaysia National Director Marcus Hwang, together with the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno.

Meanwhile, in the Panel Talk session "Fostering Success through Collaborations & Co-creations" were present Sophine Kirana (Puteri Indonesia Environment 2024), Eddy Sugiri (National Director of BNI Indonesia), Mac Srinivasan (Global Growth Mentor) and Tommy Wattimena (President Director of Great Giant Foods).

During the conference there was a networking session that brought together entrepreneurs, as well as an MOU Signing Ceremony for BNI Indonesia, Blu by BCA Digital, and OCBC Indonesia.

Also present were Torch.id, Sribu, Coach Yusman, Mustika Ratu, Clove Research, Halosis. Apart from Eddy Sugiri, other BNI Indonesia National Directors were also present, namely Setio Priyono and Grace Hakim.

They build global collaboration, increase business scale, build business networking, and increase the visibility and credibility of BNI Indonesia, in order to produce globally competitive entrepreneurs, as well as increase contributions to improving the national economy.

According to BNI Indonesia National Director Eddy Sugiri, BNI is a business organization that is woven into a system that is connected to a global business network in 80 countries.

Especially when talking about export products. "So far, it has not been easy for countries to build businesses with other countries, but at BNI we are instantly connected directly to our network in 80 countries because we are in one system. This is something no other organization has.”

Currently, BNI Indonesia has more than 800 members who are business owners from medium to large scale businesses in the cities of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bandung, Surabaya, Bali and Cirebon, and BNI Indonesia is ready to contribute to building the Indonesian economy towards a Golden Indonesia 2045, when It is projected that BNI Indonesia members will be more than 30-40 thousand members.

"Next year we will have 1,300-1,400 members, with member growth last year of more than 400 percent. This is not an ordinary business organization, but has made a huge contribution to the development of national business and encouraged national economic growth.

"This includes when we talk about Golden Indonesia 2045, at which time BNI Indonesia will potentially contribute US$ 150 billion per year from the estimated business turnover of our members of 30 thousand people with a turnover of US$ 5 million for each member," continued Eddy Sugiri.

Regarding the new government under elected President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Eddy believes that the economy will continue to grow, and it is hoped that there will be political stability, security, global economic improvement with tensions in developed countries easing.

"Hopefully challenges such as inefficiency, licensing, facilitating foreign investment can be handled well," he said.

Eddy said, BNI also has a very good global connection effect in terms of encouraging an increase in foreign investment (PMA) in Indonesia, because the weaknesses of PMA include the level of trust which is still weak, as is the case everywhere.

"Through the existence of BNI Indonesia, BNI's friends from outside will be braver to invest capital in Indonesia because there are friends here who will help with permits and increase trust because there are local partners. So BNI is very effective."//VOI

Joint press statement held after the opening ceremony of nowledge Sharing Program on Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion on Monday 12 August 2024 in Yogyakarta (Photo : NK-VOI)

VOInews, Yogyakarta : Government through the Ministry of State Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs State, and the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas) and the Colombo Plan again sharing best practices in strengthening the role of public libraries in social development. 

This collective effort is outlined in an activity entitled the Knowledge Sharing Program regarding Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion (TPBIS) or Knowledge Sharing Program on Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion. 

National Library Main Secretary Joko Santoso stated that the TPBIS program was initiated by his party is to increase literacy, creativity, and reduce access poverty information.

This year, there were 19 participants from 11 Asia-Pacific countries together with participants from Indonesia, will learn and share experiences regarding TPBIS.

“I welcome the participants who come from various sources countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia," he said when opening this year's activities carrying the theme "Leveraging the Role of Public Libraries in Strengthening Local
Community: Best Practices” in Yogyakarta on Monday (12/8/2024).

Last year, the Knowledge Sharing Program about TPBIS was first held in Jakarta and opened on November 13 2023. The activity invited 18 participants from six Colombo Plan member countries and Indonesia. Furthermore, he explained, participants would be accommodated in superior TPBIS villages for feel, experience, and learn directly how TPBIS is implemented.

"We hope this approach will provide richer and more memorable insights, as well strengthen participants' understanding of the importance of libraries in transformation social," he added.

He expressed the hope that South-South cooperation countries could learn lessons and the benefits of this activity are to increase the role of libraries in strengthening inclusive community literacy.  In the coming year, this program is expected to continue and be held in different places.

"Considering the success of the program last year and the implementation of this year's program, We propose that next year the program will continue in Bali," he said.

Head of the Foreign Technical Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of State Secretariat Noviyanti explains the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange between countries.

"We gather here to exchange ideas, share best practices and network collaboration that will help us unlock the library's full potential," She said. 

For her, the continuation of this activity shows collective dedication to improve quality of life of the community and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030.

"The presence of all of us here, indicates our shared dedication to improve quality of life in society," She added.

Noviyanti said that traditionally, libraries are seen as book warehouses and manuscripts, which are quiet, places for solitude and study. But in a fast world in this time, the role of libraries has undergone a profound transformation. 

“Libraries are no longer just passive spaces for storing knowledge, however become a dynamic community center that fosters learning creativity and social cohesion," She added. 

She called for a commitment to a more inclusive and empowering future for libraries use.

“Let's embrace the spirit of cooperation and collaboration and let's commit to transforming our libraries into dynamic, inclusive and impactful institutions", She stressed//VOI