Day: September 24, 2021

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Sports Minister to shift base to Papua during PON

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali has said that he will shift base to Papua for easier coordination during the National Sports Week (PON), which will be held from October 2-15, 2021.

He said he will regularly visit the sports venues in the four regional clusters in Papua which are holding PON events to ensure the national multi-sporting event runs safely and smoothly.

“To facilitate the coordination and communication with the PON Organizing Committee who are there, my colleagues and I will move our office to Papua. I will be there during the PON to ensure that everything goes well,” he informed at a virtual press conference here on Friday.

“We will visit several match venues both in Jayapura district and city, Merauke district as well as Mimika district,” he said.

He said he had sought permission from President Joko Widodo to have his office moved to Papua till the end of the national sporting event.

He further said that he will attend any limited meetings held during the period virtually.

“Moreover, I have experienced the virtual limited meeting amid my prior visit to Jayapura,” he remarked.

Furthermore, he informed that there have been no significant obstacles to the implementation of the XX Papua PON to date.

In fact, the first match of the national event — which was the men’s softball match featuring Lampung versus Sulawesi Tenggara — in Jayapura city went smoothly, the minister said.

Strict health protocols have been implemented properly as directed by the Health Ministry and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) for the event, he added.

“Moreover, vaccination acceleration still continues to be carried out,” Amali said.

Source: Antara News

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President Jokowi to open PON XX National Games

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will officially launch the opening ceremony of the PON XX National Games at the Lukas Enembe Stadium, Jayapura district on October 2, 2021, Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali has confirmed.

“The National Games committee has coordinated with the National Sports Committee of Indonesia (KONI), the Youth and Sports Ministry, and other relevant parties to ensure President Jokowi’s attendance to officially open the PON Games,” Amali said at a virtual press conference originating from Jakarta on Friday.

Strict health protocols would be implemented throughout the opening ceremony, particularly during the athletes’ defile and athletes’ oath, he added.

He said the athletes’ defile would not be as lively as in the previous games due to physical distancing and COVID-19 prevention measures.

Regarding spectator attendance, the committee has set maximum attendance at the match venues at 25 percent of the total venue capacity, with the percentage including the athletes and other officials, the minister informed.

Only fully vaccinated spectators will be allowed to enter match venues, he confirmed.

“We have also conceived detailed health protocol arrangements specifically for popular sports such as football, volley, basketballs, and badminton that may attract wide public interest to attend the match. We will manage the public spectators so the maximum capacity would not be exceeded,” Amali said.

In view of the public interest in the PON XX National Games, the committee earlier hoped to open match venues to public spectators, but the low vaccine coverage in the four Papuan host regions forced the committee to reconsider the plan and set restrictions on spectator attendance in place, he added.

The PON XX National Games are scheduled to take place from October 2-15, 2021, and the XVI National Paralympic Games are scheduled to be held from November 2-15, 2021. The PON will be hosted by Jayapura city, and Jayapura, Mimika, and Merauke districts.

Source: Antara News

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Jakarta: No COVID-19 cases detected in 610 reopened schools

The Jakarta Education Office has confirmed that no positive COVID-19 cases have been detected in the 610 schools that have recommenced face-to-face classes since August this year.

“We have not registered a single COVID-19 positive case in the reopened schools,” head of the Jakarta Education Office Nahdiana informed in Jakarta on Friday.

However, the education office has conceived a handling procedure to mitigate possible COVID-19 positive cases at reopened schools, she added.

Under the emergency procedure, any school that reports confirmed COVID-19 cases will need to close for three days, Nahdiana said.

The three-day period will be used to conduct COVID-19 testing of students and to thoroughly disinfect the school, she explained.

The education office has also collaborated with the Jakarta Health Office to perform periodic COVID-19 antigen tests in the reopened schools to ensure pupils’ and teachers’ safety, she said.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Health Office’s disease prevention and control department head, Dwi Oktavia, refuted recent information that has been circulated regarding positive cases in reopened schools.

“We need to be cautious about labeling an area as a ‘COVID-19 cluster’. At least two confirmed cases should be recorded in an area before the designation of ‘cluster’ can be applied,” Oktavia said.

Several COVID-19 cases that were earlier recorded in schools were isolated cases and not cluster cases, she stressed.

The Jakarta Education Office has examined central authority data regarding COVID-19 infection clusters recorded in Jakarta province, she informed. The data recorded only positive cases in schools from January to September 2021 period, before school reopening, she clarified.

Out of the 25 Jakarta schools where COVID-19 clusters were recorded, only two are among the 610 schools that reopened in the first stage of school reopening, which commenced on August 30, 2021, Oktavia said. Those schools are Cindera Mata Indah Junior High School and Yadika 2 High School, which are both located in West Jakarta, she informed.

Source: Antara News

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DPD speaker seeks protection of rights, jobs of PAUD teachers

Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Speaker AA LaNyalla Mahmud Mattalitti has asked the government to protect the rights and jobs of early childhood education (PAUD) teachers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think the government should intervene to protect the rights and jobs of PAUD teachers. They are an extension of early childhood care that replaces the role of mothers at home. Their role is not small,” he said in a statement received here on Friday.

Limitations of the online teaching model for PAUD have caused PAUD teachers to become one of the most vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 period, he noted.

One of the obstacles faced by PAUD teachers is the difficulty of adapting early childhood learning that is very psychomotor in nature to online learning, Mattalitti said.

“This causes PAUD schools to suspend and even discharge their teachers. Especially in PAUD schools that are managed by the community and the private sector,” he added.

Moreover, he said, the wages earned by PAUD teachers are far from the minimum wage standard. In fact, many of them become PAUD teachers voluntarily without any clear agreement on wages, he added.

“Since many PAUD cannot operate amid the pandemic, PAUD teachers have become one of the most vulnerable groups at risk of losing their jobs,” he said.

Therefore, he urged the Indonesian government to take note of the issue and carry out social interventions to protect the rights and jobs of PAUD teachers.

The DPD speaker said PAUD teachers can be assured job security by making them PPPKs (contract-based government employees) or they can be provided social assistance.

“Because this group (PAUD teachers) has not received attention since cash transfer (BLT) or other social assistance was launched,” he added.

Source: Antara News

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BKKBN invites college students to support stunting-reduction efforts

The National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) has launched the Student Program for Stunting Care to encourage students to support efforts to reduce cases of stunting.

Stunting is chronic malnutrition that interferes with the growth of children, thereby causing their bodies to grow shorter than others of their age.

“Stunting is a problem that creates a disruption and obstacle to the realization of Golden Indonesia 2045,” BKKBN Head Hasto Wardoyo stated at the launch of “Penting,” a program for college students for tackling child stunting, on the BKKBN Official YouTube channel here on Friday.

Wardoyo expounded that stunting can occur if in the first thousand days of an infant’s life, it experiences poor health or nonoptimal nutritional situation, so it fails to grow and develop fully, thereby increasing its susceptibility to diseases.

The BKKBN head believes that the problem of stunting will affect the quality of human resources in future, so the government is attempting to prevent and handle stunting.

“Unfortunately, the understanding of (childhood) stunting is still low,” Wardoyo remarked.

According to the BKKBN head, the program aims to support endeavors to improve the community’s understanding of meeting the nutritional needs and the prevention and care of stunting.

Wardoyo expounded that students involved in the program are expected to convey information about the children’s nutritional needs and stunting prevention to the community.

Coordinating Deputy for Health Quality Improvement and Demographic Development of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Agus Suprapto stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused the poverty rates to rise.

He noted that the increasing poverty rates had thrown new challenges in dealing with nutritional problems in children.

“We must continue to fight hard to overcome TB (tuberculosis) and stunting. We must not give up during the pandemic. We must work together,” he stressed.

According to Suprapto, the students can support the prevention and handling of stunting in areas where cases of stunting are still high, such as the provinces of West Java, East Java, Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara.

Director General of Learning and Student Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Aris Junaidi, stated that the Student’s Stunting Care Program is implemented through the thematic lectures of real work activities, which are regularly held in the Kampus Merdeka Program.

“This program is in line with the essence of the Kampus Merdeka Program (freedom in learning), which is driven by students, a form of universities’ Tri Dharma (responsibilities) in providing solutions to problems existing in the community,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

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Jakarta Arts Council opens International Ethnic Music Festival

The Music Committee of the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) is organizing the International Ethnic Music Festival 2021 from September 24 to 26, 2021 to nurture and promote traditional music, which is adapting to changing times.

“Indonesia has very diverse and strong roots in tradition, including its music that is getting a lot of attention in the global world,” DKJ Music Committee Chairman Andra Karim remarked at a press conference on the festival’s virtual opening here on Friday.

Indonesian music is not only about sound, but also serves to interpret life’s necessity, worship, life cycle, mark death ceremonies, as an aid in therapy, and for entertainment, he said.

According to him, traditional music has become an asset for Indonesia to compete internationally.

“And let us not forget that we must always honor traditional music artists,” he said.

He said he hoped that through the International Ethnic Music Festival, people will remember and honor traditional music and artists.

Moreover, he said, the festival is expected to create a new generation who will inherit the wealth of the archipelago’s traditional music, and open the possibility for traditional music artists to collaborate with new media in the digital world development.

With music archives now starting to digitize traditional music, its practitioners must become familiar with digital work practices, he said.

“This year’s International Ethnic Music Festival will be held online for three days and feature a series of events consisting of discussions, masterclasses, and traditional music performances,” he added.

Six performers will perform at the festival—Jayadwara, Taufik Adam, Baseput, Margasari, Dony Koeswinarno, and Candasuara, he informed.

While the discussions and masterclasses will be presented by Angela Lopez Lara, Gabriel Laufer, Palmer Keen, Andi Ferdiansyah Anwar, Amar Afrizal, and Djoni Theendens, and will explore many things about Indonesian music traditions, Karim said.

The International Ethnic Music Festival 2021 events will be broadcast live through the Jakarta Arts Council’s YouTube channel from 2 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesian Standard Time) on September 24.

Source: Antara News

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Govt focusing on advancing traditional music: official

Director of film, music, and new media at the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry, Ahmad Mahendra, has said that the government is working on advancing traditional music.

This is part of the implementation of Law Number 5/2017 regarding the Advancement of Culture.

“Traditional music is one of our targets of cultural advancement which aims to build national character, cultural resilience, prosperity, and cultural diplomacy,” he said during a virtual press conference at the International Ethnic Music Festival on Friday.

Indonesia’s rich culture, which includes its traditional music, has proved both a blessing and a challenge, especially when it comes to preserving and advancing it, he added.

“Indonesian people often lack confidence in their own traditional music — especially the younger generation. Hence, they have to know that traditional music is wonderful. All of us must take pride in our traditional music,” he added.

Thus, a number of attempts have been carried out by the ministry to promote traditional music, he said. They include the organizing of the recent Traditional Music Congress, he added.

In addition, Mahendra said that the ministry has advised that traditional music be included in school curriculums.

“The minister has also welcomed (the suggestion) to include traditional music in school subjects,” he remarked.

Moreover, the ministry has held various workshops for music performers and is conducting several festivals in Toba, North Sumatra and Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, he said.

The ministry will always remain open to suggestions to advance traditional music in Indonesia, he added.

“We are ready to support any great idea from any parties, especially for traditional music,” Mahendra said.

Furthermore, he lauded the organization of the International Ethnic Music Festival by the Jakarta Arts Council from September 24 to 26, 2021.

The festival will not only feature traditional music performances, but also discussions and masterclasses on traditional Indonesian music, he noted.

“We laud and fully support the event since we are also focused on the advancement of traditional music this year. Hopefully, it will become a new forum for all parties to express their works on traditional music and strengthen our music ecosystem,” he added.

Source: Antara News

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Indonesia launches apprenticeship program in tourism destinations

The Indonesian Manpower Ministry has said it will massively develop skilled human resources in five super-priority tourism destinations — Lake Toba (North Sumatra), Borobudur Temple (Central Java), Mandalika (NTB), Labuan Bajo (NTT), and Likupang (North Sulawesi).

“The apprenticeship program implemented in the five super-priority tourism destinations marks the start of the massive development of skilled human resources in the tourism sector,” Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah said in Likupang, North Minahasa District, North Sulawesi, on Friday.

The program is part of the government’s efforts to optimize as well as solve various challenges regarding Indonesia’s demographic bonus, which it is predicted to experience in 2030-2040, she added.

The challenges comprise the digitalization era, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment sector, and the low quality of Indonesian human resources’ skills, she said.

Thus, in order to take advantage of the potential and employment opportunities as well as respond to the challenges, the ministry is improving the quality of Indonesian workers through a triple skilling policy — skilling, upskilling, and reskilling, Fauziyah informed.

Furthermore, graduates of vocational schools, diplomas, and universities who still need to develop their competencies and work experience can participate in the apprenticeship program in collaboration with various industrial stakeholders, she said.

“The program is one of the right solutions to overcome employment problems, especially in preparing skilled workers with the right competencies in accordance with the labor market,” she added.

During the program, participants will be able to gain real work experience, which will build their attitudes, working behavior, and competencies, in accordance with the demand of the labor market, the minister said.

The ministry, through the director general of vocational and productivity training, has allocated the domestic apprenticeship program budget through the deconcentration funds every year, she added.

In 2021, it is targeted that 7,800 apprentices will be disbursed to 34 provinces across Indonesia, she said.

In particular, for supporting the five super-priority tourism destinations, there will be an additional 470 apprentices — 110 of whom will be from North Sulawesi, she added.

Source: Antara News

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