VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

On June 4, 2019, a typical dance of Sikka regency namely Soka Papak was held to welcome Sikka’s regent Fransiskus Roberti Diogo and vice regent Romanus Woga in the event of welcoming Roro Windu Karsa Dwitya ship which will operate from Maumere to Surabaya. The Soka Papak dance was carried out by Doka Tawa Tana dance studio. Literally, Soka Papak dance consists of two words, namely Soka means dance and Papak means to welcome, to honor and to accompany. So, Soka Papak means the dance to welcome and to accompany honorary guests.

In the past, the Soka Papak dance was conducted to welcome and to accompany great and honor guests who visited Sikka regency. During the kingdom era, the dance was conducted when the king and queen visited the hamlet. All villagers together went down to the central hamlet to welcome the King and the Queen along with their entourage. The dance is usually performed by 10 females and one male. Because its function to guard honorable guests, the dancers carrying swords, matches and spears while dancing. When happening trouble, the  Soka Papak dancers will directly secured the King and Queen from the trouble makers. In the past, only certain people were allowed to perform the Soka Papak dance . They must have the skill in guarding and securing the King and the Queen. The Soka Papak dance is also called as a mass dance which is performed by dozens of selected people.

The first story for today’s Diplomatic Corner is from Seoul, South Korea.

Contemporary lurik weaving with theme “Cross Border" which designed by Lia Mustafa from Yogyakarta attracted the attention on ASEAN Week staged in Seoul, South Korea on June 14-16, 2019. Lia looked different and stole the attention when presented her works with other 10 designers from ASEAN member countries and also from South Korea. Lia, Mustafa, who is also senior manager of Indonesian Fashion Chamber (IFC), said that traditional material or motif with cultural identity which is very strong, can be changed to be outfit or cloth which is very modern and contemporary. Reog Singo Mudo Korea performance, Fashion Carnival worked by Alma Naibaho, and also various kinds of interactive events got prizes at Indonesian Booth.

The next information is from Austria.

Two singers from Indonesia, Vidi Aldiano and Vadi Akbar were involved in a collaboration musical project with Erwin Gutawa entitled "Tribute to S. Darsih Kissowo" in Vienna, Austria. In the collaboration work, Erwin Gutawa re-produced songs of keroncong singer, Darsih Kissowo in orchestra arrangement which was played in Vienna SynchronStage Orchestra with conductor Johannes Vogel. S.Darsih Kissowo was a well-known keroncong singer in her era. In this collaboration project voiceof Darsih Kissowo will be recorded again and combined with Vidi Aldiano and Vadi Akbar vocal.

The last information is from London.

A collaboration of three gamelan groups from Bali, Java and Sunda enliven the commemoration of the 70th Indonesia-England Diplomatic Relation in London, on Monday evening (17/6), which was presented in Indonesian art and cultural night performances. Balinese gamelan performance from Lila Cita group, Javanese gamelan by Southbank Gamelan Player and Sundanese gamelan by Sekar Enggal, and followed by ensemble performance of Kyai Fatahillah group, led by Iwan Gunawan, succeeded to amaze around 800 audiences who flocked Cadogan Hall, London, Monday evening (17/6). In addition, the Indonesian Embassy in London also cooperates with Indonesian and British artists to performvarious kinds of dances, giant shadow and doll puppet and also film show. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister, Retno Marsudi and State’s Minister of UK to Asia and Pacific, Mark Field also attended as honorable guest in the event.

That was Diplomatic Corner.

The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry conducted a working visit with a group of ASEAN representatives to Surabaya City, East Java as the pilot city and the highest award recipient in the field of environmental management, Adipura Kencana. In one of the series of events, the Working Dinner and Discussion on Policies on Environment and Forestry in Surabaya, recently, Secretary General of ASEAN, H. E Dato Lim Jock Hoi in his speech expressed his appreciation for the steps taken by Indonesian government in managing the environment and forestry. He conveyed his admiration for Indonesia's commitment to safeguard the environment through the implementation of a real-time mitigation technology system.

"... I'm very much heartened, by visiting BMKG and the law enforcement center. It is the last great of Indonesia's strong commitment and great achievement in the many aspects of environmental protection and conservation. Such as forest fire prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness and combating illegal wildlife in particular support systems enable streaking of illegal activities on the ground, real-time monitoring of environmental issues" Secretary general said

According to Dato Lim Jock Hoi, ASEAN countries are blessed with extraordinary natural resources, such as marine resources, flora-fauna, water and food. He added that these natural resources often get complex pressure so that cooperation among ASEAN countries is needed to jointly protect their natural wealth for the welfare of the ASEAN community. (VOI-Rifai)

The World Surfing League, the 3rd Krui Pro 2019 is held again at Tanjung Setia Beach, Pesisir Barat regency, Lampung, Indonesia. The international surfing championship that has begun on April 29 to May 4 is the leading tourism of Pesisir Barat regency located along the western coast of Lampung province. This was stated by Chairperson of the event committee, Anggi Yuhista at Tanjung Setia Beach, Lampung on Friday (4/5/20199).

“ ... Promoting tourism is not only Bali, in our opinion. Because on surfing, there is a better point; there is something more different than the current point in Bali. Take for example in Mentawai, Semeuleu, Nias, Padang or Bengkulu. Fortunately, the government of Pesisir Barat has an agenda to promote tourism every year. Well, one of them is surfing. The tourism of Pesisir Barat that can be visited is only surfing tourism activity. It’s very appropriate when Regent of Pesisir Barat, Agus Istiqlal chooses this event in Krui region." Anggi said. 

Anggi added that professional surfers from 23 countries take part in this event. This world surfing league, Krui Pro 2019 is also broadcast live through streaming networks. (VOI-NK)