VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla said at a national seminar themed "Format of Education to Enhance National Competitiveness" at Yogyakarta State University (UNY) that education must be developed based on future needs.

"Education must always be based on the future; otherwise it will turn into a museum," he said at the national seminar in Yogyakarta on Saturday, where he was the keynote speaker.

The Vice President then explained the clear differences between universities as educational institutions and museums. Although both are tools for learning, the orientation is different.

"Colleges look forward, museums look back; if universities do not look forward, they will become museums, and of course we do not want that," said the Vice President.

He stated that UNY as one of the teacher training colleges would certainly see students graduating, with 70 percent of its alumni becoming teachers.

"Nowadays, teacher education is improving in line with the rise in teacher welfare, where state universities or former IKIP are now more in demand," he said.

The Vice President explained that education is strongly influenced by four things. The first is the educator or teacher—the quality and level of knowledge of the teacher.

Second is the education system or curriculum, third are the facilities and infrastructure supporting education, and the fourth is the environment or cultural environment surrounding the educational institution.(ant)

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has appointed Indonesia to host the U-19 Asia Cup 2020 qualification scheduled from November 2 to 10, 2019.

The All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) warmly welcomed the AFC's decision, the association said on its official website on Friday.

"PSSI lauds the AFC's decision. As one of the countries with the highest enthusiasm over world football, we are determined to welcome the Asian public's trust by preparing well for the event," PSSI Secretary General Ratu Tisha Destria said.

Indonesia will not only serve as the venue of the U-19 Asian Cup 2020 qualification but has also been endorsed as one of the hosts of the U-16 Asia Cup 2020 qualification scheduled for September 14-22, 2019.

For the U-19 Asian Cup 2020 qualification, Indonesia, along with Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam will host the event for the east zone, while Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan will host the event for the west zone.

 Indonesia encouraged concrete cooperation among Asian countries during the 16th Ministerial Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) held in Doha, Qatar, recently.  

"There must be concrete cooperation from which the people of Asian countries can benefit to answer the challenge of the age," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in the press release of the Foreign Ministry issued on Wednesday.

The ministerial meeting themed "Partners in Progress" brought together ministers and top officials from 34 ACD member states. They discussed ways to enhance cooperation to address various issues of mutual concern including connectivity, education, food security, energy, water, culture, tourism, and sustainable development.

The meeting agreed upon, among others, the importance of enhancing cooperation in the energy field to create resilience, accessibility and sustainable practices in the energy field.

"I reiterate the commitment of Indonesia as co-prime mover of ACD in the energy field by promoting cooperation in the development of renewable energy. This is in line with the national policy related to the efficient use of new and renewable energy," she said.

To that end, the Indonesian government plans to host ACD Ministerial Meeting on Renewable Energy in the second half of 2019. Hopefully, the meeting will be able to create opportunities for ACD member states to cooperate in the development of new and renewable energy including investment and capacity building.

The 16th ACD Ministerial Meeting agreed on various efforts to promote ACD including formulating the standard structure and mechanism of ACD Secretariat, and synergy between ACD and other regional forums.

The ACD Ministerial Meeting this time is a historical momentum in line with the admission of Palestine as a new member.

During the course of the ACD Ministerial Meeting, the Indonesian foreign minister also held talks with her Thai and Malaysian counterparts to coordinate the three countries' steps to encourage cooperation within the framework of ACD to become more effective. (ant)

The Industry Ministry continues to encourage the Muslim fashion industry to become globally more competitive in order to showcase Indonesia's willingness to become one of the world's Muslim fashion centers by 2020.

"The market for Muslim wear is big, both outside and inside the country, and needs to be dominated by our Muslim fashion industry," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said at the opening of the 2019 Muslim Fashion Festival (Muffest), as quoted in his statement on Wednesday.

According to Hartarto, the increasing number of Muslims in the world has become one of the main triggers that have driven the growth of the Muslim fashion industry.  In 2018, the total population of Muslims reached 24 percent of the total global population.

Meanwhile, the State Global Islamic Economy reports that the fashion consumption among Muslims across the world is currently US$270 billion, which is projected to continue to increase at a growth rate of 5 percent. By 2023, the consumption will be US$361 billion.

The sale of Muslim clothing in Indonesia is at US$20 billion with a growth rate of 18.2 percent per year.

"One thing that makes us proud is that the Indonesian achievement in the international world has been very significant. According to data from the State of Global Islamic Economy Report of 2018/2019, Indonesia is the runner up among countries that produce the best Muslim fashion in the world after the United Arab Emirates," Hartarto noted.

Such an achievement proves that Indonesia can soon be in the first place and become one of the world's Muslim fashion centers.

"Looking forward to 2020, which is only a few months away, we must immediately declare that Indonesia is ready to become the world's Muslim fashion center in 2020," Hartarto concluded. (ant)