VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan will speak at the 2019 World Cities Summit and Mayors Forum (WCSMF) to be held in Medellin, Colombia, on July 10-12, 2019.

Baswedan, who will be present at the summit at the invitation of Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez, will speak on "Enhancing Economic and Environmental Security" during the second session.

Baswedan noted in a statement here on Tuesday that the 10th Summit will be themed "Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Building a High Trust City."

Moreover, the Jakarta governor is scheduled to speak during a roundtable discussion of the C40 High-Level Event themed "How to make low carbon mobility in cities a bigger movement?"

"This forum is organized annually and has been held 10 times. At present, we live in an era where competition among cities and regions is growing fast," he stated.

Jakarta has directed its focus and efforts to recruit the finest human resources and develop sophisticated infrastructure to make the capital city a model not only for other regions in Indonesia but also at the global level.

Attendees at the WCSMF will comprise 74 selected governors and mayors, who will share their views and experiences in responding to urban challenges and bringing about improvements in urban living conditions.

The summit will be enlivened by an exhibition on urban infrastructure development, the latest urban planning methods to be presented by international organizations and private companies.

At the meeting, Jakarta will shed light on its best practices including in building public trust and dealing with urbanization.

"Moreover, this forum is a highly valuable platform to gain insights on ideas of other city leaders from all over the world on their understanding of sustainable cities," Baswedan stated.

On the sidelines of the summit, the governor planned to hold meetings with Singapore's National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, Medellin Mayor Federico Gutiérrez, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. The 2018 World Cities Summit was held in Singapore on July 7-10.

The World Cities Summit is an international conference series on effective public governance and sustainable development of cities. It brings together practitioners and policy makers with leading experts in their fields to identify innovative solutions to the toughest challenges facing cities (ANTARA)

Indonesian Consulate General in Kuching, Malaysia, Yonny Tri Prayitno undertook a work visit with Sarawak Chamber of Commerce Head Augustine Chi to Singkawang, West Kalimantan, to explore partnership opportunities with the local government and Chambers.

“We went to Singkawang to meet members of the local Chamber of Commerce as a follow up to our initial meeting during the Sarawak Expo, in which Singkawang City’s participation was big,” Consulate General Prayitno stated on Tuesday.

During the initial meeting, talks were ongoing on visiting Singkawang in order to strengthen the relationship with local chambers.

Prayitno further noted that the meeting in Singkawang had surpassed the expectations, as the entourage was greeted by the Singkawang mayor. He then seized the opportunity to highlight his aspirations for stronger relations between Singkawang and Sarawak, in terms of trade and industry.

“Partnership in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be heightened, and we also hope for Singkawang to continue participation in the next expo in Sarawak. We have also received an invitation from Madame Mayor of Singkawang for Sarawak to participate in the Singkawang Expo this coming August,” he stated.

Prayitno also affirmed that he will give confirmation in the next week or two on the products that will be brought from Sarawak and showcased in the expo.

He believed that Singkawang and Sarawak shared mutual interests. “For instance, some products might exist in Singkawang but not in Sarawak. Hence, we can bring these products for sale to Sarawak and the other way around,” he noted.

Moreover, tourism products and destinations in each area can be promoted in the other.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Singkawang Tjhai Chui Mie welcomed the partnership initiative on offer.

She is keen on exploring which specific items can be incorporated in the trade partnership and can ensure mutual benefits for both sides.

“Before signing the memorandum of understanding, however, we need to observe how the game plan is, considering this partnership will be between two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia. When it is agreed on, we can strengthen the partnership again and become Sister Cities,” she stated.

Once the partnership is established, she is optimistic that the revitalized roads, such as Aruk, would reduce the travel time from Singkawang to Kuching Sarawak and vice versa.

She believed that the works of President Joko Widodo for infrastructure development had provided opportunities that should be capitalized upon to boost the people’s welfare, especially the people of Singkawang. (ANTARA)

The Tourism Polytechnic of South Sulawesi province's capital of Makasar collaborates with Breda University of Applied Science from the Netherlands to work together to improve the quality and competency of Indonesian tourism human resources, especially lecturers and students.

Acting Director of Makassar's Polytechnic Muhammad Arifin said here on Sunday that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with Dr. Elisabeth Minnemann, President of the Executive Board of Breda University of Applied Science in Breda City, the Netherlands, on July 4, 2019.

"We agreed to implement several points of cooperation including the development of competencies and qualifications of lecturers and students at the master level of tourism destination," said Muhammad Arifin.

The two institutions also agreed to carry out training in strengthening the role of the tourism polytechnics as a Marine Tourism Study Center, rural tourism, village tourism, and international journal research and publications.

He said the submission of the collaboration paper was a follow-up to the visit carried out with the Head of the Makassar State Polytechnic Cooperation Unit Dr. H. Syamsu Rijal, M. Pd. to Breda University of Applied Science in November 2018.

Arifin appreciated the collaboration with Breda University of Applied Science which he said was one of the strategies to realize the Makassar Polytechnic as "World Class Polytechnic".

"Breda University of Applied Science has a number of tourism-related study programs such as Tourism Management, Leisure & Event Management and Hotel Management, Tourism Destination Management, so I feel it is appropriate to collaborate with Breda University of Applied Science," he said.

Arifin explained that currently there are 11 students and three lecturers of Breda University of Applied Science who visited the Makassar Polytechnic campus.

"In 2017 we conducted a Joint Lecture with Breda University of Applied Science which was facilitated by Swisscontact, a non-profit organization that has been collaborating with the Makassar Polytechnic, due to which we are interested in continuing official cooperation" he said. (ANTARA)

Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto has been designated as the World Heritage by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This determination was announced at the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee Meeting on July 6, 2019 in Baku City, Azerbaijan. The Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Hilmar Farid, during a press conference at the National Museum in Jakarta, Sunday (07/07), said Ombilin coal mine deserves to be a world cultural heritage because it has a prominent universal value.

“This Ombilin coal mining site deserves to be included in the list of world heritage because of its outstanding universal value, so there is a provision that every world heritage must have an outstanding universal value, so it stands out as a universal value. It means that from universal this means important, has significance for humanity,” said Hilmar Farid.

The determination of the Ombilin Sawahlunto Coal Mine Heritage as a world heritage in Baku, Azerbaijan, was witnessed by the Indonesian Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prof. Dr. H. Husnan Bey Fananie, MA, accompanied by Deputy Permanent Representative of Indonesia for UNESCO, Prof. DR. Surya Rosa Putra; Mayor of Sawahlunto, Deri Asta; and other delegates. (VOI / AHM)