Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Peter MacArthur, is pleased to announce Canada’s support to two Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) Projects in Indonesia supporting women’s grassroots organizations with funding totalling $6.23 million: $1.8 million to Yayasan Pemberdayaan PEKKA, and $4.43 million to Hivos.  A release from Embassy of Canada received by the Voice of Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday said the support was in the form of funds totaling 6.23 million US dollars, which was given to the PEKKA Empowerment Foundation and Hivos. Peter MacArthur said by supporting PEKKA and HIVOS through its Women’s Voice and Leadership Program, Canada is continuing to take substantive action to strengthen grassroots women’s groups which understand the challenges that women and girls face so as to help Indonesia advance its Sustainable Development Goals agenda (SDG 2030). Canada has partnered with Indonesia in advancing gender equality and women empowerment to meet broader socio-economic goals. (Release Embassy of Canada/AHM)

New British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins on Wednesday launched the application window for Chevening Scholarships in Jakarta. Chevening is a good platform for exposing young and future Indonesian leaders to world-class education,said Owen Jenkins.

Chevening, the UK government’s global scholarship program with an overall budget of 57 million pounds, offers future leaders the chance to pursue one-year master’s degrees in any subject at any UK university, according to the British Embassy Jakarta.

Owen Jenkins, who works on diverse issues from climate change and economics to international security, and links between prosperity and sustainability, stated that the Chevening Scholarships symbolize all these issues.

“They have been an incredible bridge between countries and the UK, and I already can see Indonesia is no exception to that at all,” he added.

“Who we are looking for are Indonesia’s futureleaders, who can take the opportunity to go to the UK to do a master’s degree, to get the skills and expertise and the contacts they will need in their chosen field,” said Owen Jenkins at his office in South Jakarta.

“We are very proud to send over 60 young Indonesians to the UK every year, in a range of fields from environmental science through economics and politics to law design, among others,” Owen Jenkins told Antara. “I think that reflects the breadth of the UK-Indonesia relationship, which covers all these areas and more."

Around 1,700 Indonesians from across the country have won Chevening Scholarships over the last 35 years. Around 68 Chevening scholarships were awarded to Indonesia and 5 to Timor-Leste last year, and the British Embassy Jakarta hopes to award at least another 63 to Indonesia and 4 to Timor-Leste in 2019.

“It really is an astonishing opportunity for a career diplomat like me to be in this country at this time, I think there is absolutely extraordinary potential for British-Indonesian relations,” Owen Jenkins said at his first official event as an ambassador in Jakarta.

“Indonesia is going to be one of the giants of the 21st century; it is one of the powers which is going to determine how the century goes,” Owen Jenkins added.

House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo on Tuesday in Jakarta, encouraged an in-depth study of the discourse of reviving the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN). According to him, the development of geopolitics and the global economy is one of the considerations of whether or not the State policy Guidelines needs to be revived. After meeting President Joko Widodo at the Jakarta Presidential Palace, Bambang Soesatyo said that the study on whether or not the guidelines needed to involve all relevant parties, both academics and the community. However, Bambang Soesatyo ensured that the House would support the discourse on the revival of the state Guidelines if the public really want it. "I am of the view that the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) needs to be studied further because the dynamics of the current global political economy are extremely different from those of 20 or 50 years ago. So whether we need to review the guidelines or not, it involves all of our people, academics, too, because once we decide, it will be binding for decades to come because it outlines the direction of our country, while the dynamics of the global political economy are very fast. If the people need us in parliament to fight for, but if the people say they don't need it because they don't answer the challenges of the times, then we will follow the people's will," said Bambang Susatyo. It is known, the discourse of reviving the state guidelines reemerged by carrying out a limited amendment to the 1945 Constitution. The guidelines was considered important so that the direction of national development was more focused and the use of the state budget will be more measurable. Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said, political parties in the House of Representatives had agreed to revive the State-Policy Guidelines with amendments to the 1945 Constitution. He said that the revival of the guidelines had long been discussed jointly by the review bodies in the People’s Consultative Assemby (MPR) and political parties. (VOI/ANDY/AHM)

Indonesia, through the Directorate General of Immigration, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, has been regularly conducting information sessions on various policies to embassy representatives and international organizations for the past six years through coordinating meetings. This year the Foreign Representative Coordination Meeting took place on Tuesday, August 13 in Jakarta. At least 93 representatives of the embassies of friendly countries and international organizations attended the meeting. The Coordination Meeting this time discusses the 4 latest regulations. One of them is related to Government Regulation Number 28 of 2019 concerning Immigration Rates. The Director General of Immigration, Ronny F. Sompie, said that there was a change in costs related to Immigration Rates, which was considered important to be conveyed to foreign representatives. Ronny explained, the coordination meeting opened participants to discuss other matters, including opening a network together with representatives from the Directorate General of Immigration. "The tariffs are inter related, for example overstaying, when overstaying how much the foreigners must pay for overstaying? Now we also need to convey to them, because there are changes of tarrifs," said Ronny F. Sompie. The sixth Foreign Coordination Meeting also focused on the socialization of Presidential Regulation number 20 of 2019 on the Use of Foreign Workers and Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation number 16 of 2018 on procedures for visa applications and residence permits for Foreign Workers. The coordination meeting also disseminated the latest information technology developments in immigration, namely, an application called Immigration Management Information System (SIMKIM) version 2.0. This is the implementation of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 program launched by President Joko Widodo. (KBRN / RETNO / AHM)