VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Ciletuh-Pelabuhanratu geopark has officially been declared as part of the UNESCO Global Geopark (UGG) which will be a new history for tourism in West Java. West Java governor Ahmad Heryawan said here on Sunday besides Ciletuh UNESCO has also confirmed 12 geoparks in 11 countries as UGG at the 204th meeting of UNESCO Executive Board, External Relations and Program Commission, in Paris, France, on Thursday.

Aher said he received information about the declaration of Ciletuh as UGG from the head of tourism and culture of Sukabumi district, Budiman, who represented West Java in the UNESCO meeting.

"Two days ago we heard from a UNESCO meeting in Paris, France, that UNESCO has agreed to confirm several geoparks in the world," he said.

"Two of them are from Indonesia which are Ciletuh-Pelabuhanratu and Rinjani geopark in West Nusa Tenggara," Aher said.

He said the process of confirmation had been very fast as usually it takes ten years after being nationally confirmed.

"Three years ago the central government declared Ciletuh-Pelabuhanratu as a national geopark and after that we immediately submitted it to UNESCO for confirmation as UGG and thank God it has been accepted," he said.

"It was found that it is the fastest process. It takes only three years before it is declared as UGG," he said.

The handing over of the certificate is scheduled in September 2018. The decision has been made and the certificate will be handed over together with those of others in Portugal, Aher said. (antara)

At least 74 delegates from neighboring countries are scheduled to attend the commemoration of the Asian-African Conference packed in a carnival on April 29. This was conveyed by the Head of Marketing Department of Culture and Tourism of Bandung, West Java, Aswin Sulaeman, as quoted by Antara, on Saturday(14/4). It will be the 4th carnival event held in Bandung. Aswin Sulaeman also said that delegates will walk on the main streets or tracking the history of the 1955 Asian-African Conference. In addition to the Asian-African carnival, the technical implementation unit of the Asian African Conference Museum also held various activities. Moreover, a series of commemorations of the Asian-African Conference has been going on since last March. The series of activities will be closed with flag-raising ceremony of 109 Asian-African countries and the United Nations by 400 scouts from Bandung Scouts Movement. (Antara/trs.Rezha)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated Mount Rinjani in the Indonesian island of Lombok as a world geopark, a spokesman stated.

"Thank God, I have just received news at its meeting in Paris on Thursday (Apr 13) that the UNESCO executive board has designated Geopark Rinjani as a new member of the UNESCO Global Parks," General Manager of Geopark Rinjani Chairul Mahsul stated on Saturday.

Mahsul, who is also an assistant for economy and development of the secretariat of the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, expressed gratitude to all parties for their assistance in achieving the Global Geopark status.

"I should like to thank all my Rinjani friends that have helped achieve the Global Geopark status," he noted.

Mount Rinjani is located in the Mount Rinjani National Park that straddles the four districts of Lombok Utara, Lombok Barat, Lombok Tengah, and Lombok Timur in West Nusa Tenggara Province.

One of the charms of the national park is Lake Segara Anak, located 2,010 meters above sea level. Part of the lake is located in the 3,726-meter-high volcano. (ANTARA)

To protect Indonesian citizens abroad, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes use of information and communication technology by launching the Safe Travel application. The Android and iOS smart phone-based application was officially launched by Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, in Jakarta, on Saturday (14/4). Minister Retno Marsudi said the launch of Safe Travel application is one of Indonesian foreign policies that prioritizes the protection of Indonesian citizens.

“So, we’ve just launched Safe Travel application. The application can be accessed through multiple platforms, because previously in January 2017 we launched in the form of maps, now we can access through various ways. The question is why Safe Travel, the shortest answer is in the framework of protection. Because the protection of Indonesian Citizens, as it was stressed by the President, is a priority of Indonesian foreign policy,” Retno Marsudi said.

Minister Retno Marsudi moreover added there are several advantages of the Safe Travel application. Through the application, the Indonesian citizens will get complete information about 180 countries related to security level and vulnerability of  a country marked with color indicator, as well as information related to complete address and contact from Indonesia’s representatives in that country. Complete information related to the rule of law, currency, place of worship, culinary, and tourist attraction in a country can also be known through this application. In addition to present various kinds of information from 180 countries in the world, the Safe Travel application can also be used to organize travel and direct contact with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs both at home and abroad. One of them can be done by using panic button feature or emergency button to send photos, videos, coordinates of the location, and to contact the nearest Indonesian representative offices. (VOI/Rezha/NT)