Day: July 21, 2022

Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Pate called on the younger generation to possess qualifications and competencies in the digital world to participate in global digital transformation.

“Our digital natives are large in number, (and) same (is the case) with our millennial generation. We must focus on building our digital space by increasing our digital human resources, especially millennials and the generation Z,” Plate stated during the third session of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, (NTT), in a press release received on Thursday.

The DEWG is one of the working groups of the G20 that focuses on issues regarding the digital economy and highlights the role of digital transformation on economic and social growth.

Plate later noted that the government was currently accelerating the development of digital infrastructure to reach all regions in Indonesia.

“Our digital infrastructure is better than the previous one. Hopefully, by the end of the service period of the Advanced Indonesia cabinet, Indonesia will have a better digital ecosystem,” he affirmed.

According to the minister, the government not only built digital infrastructure but also planned to develop global cooperation, through ways including international forums, such as the DEWG G20.

The discussion in international forums is an effort to prepare governance for future generations, he remarked.

“The development of digital infrastructure, the G20 meeting, and discussion of priority issues at the DEWG will be useful for our future generation,” the minister emphasized.

Plate noted that the third DEWG meeting involved participation of youngsters to help them build awareness and connect them to the digital world and policy making.

“We invite millennials to this event. There are three representatives from senior high schools in the Manggarai, Labuan Bajo, and Ruteng areas. The students take part in organizing the DEWG. I think this is a good experience for them,” Plate noted.

He affirmed that involvement of members of the younger generation in international events, especially those discussing digitalization, was one of the efforts to open up opportunities for millennials to partake in accelerating digital transformation.

Source: Antara News

State-run electricity company PT PLN (Persero) will increase its power generation capacity by around 40 gigawatts, 50 percent of which would be new and renewable energy (NRE)-based plants.

“In the next 10 years, PLN will build (power plants), with around 40 gigawatts (of capacity), and more than 50 percent of it will be sourced from renewable energy,” Vice President of Financial Institution and Market Research of PT PLN Maya Rani Puspita noted in the Task Force 8 T20 2022 here, Thursday.

Puspita said the plan was stipulated in the company’s Electricity Supply Business Plan for the 2021-2030 period, as one of the efforts towards achieving Net-Zero Emissions (NZE).

According to Puspita, the move to include NRE-based power plants is a step in achieving the renewable energy mix percentage target of 23 percent by 2025.

“In the business plan, we were assigned to (reach the target of) fuel mix in 2025, some 23 percent of it must come from renewable energy. This means that we have to add more renewable energy plants,” she stated.

PLN continues to coordinate with various financial institutions to support Indonesia’s efforts to achieve NZE.

On the other hand, she said, supply from non-NRE power plants is still very large, so it would need to be balanced to achieve NZE.

“This requires balancing because there needs to be a trade-off on how we get to NZE, with the large costs that must be borne by PLN,” she stated.

Currently, Indonesia’s renewable energy contribution is holding at 12 percent. Some 88 percent of the national power capacity is still sourced from fossil fuels.

In 2021, the electricity generation capacity in Indonesia amounted to 74 gigawatts.

Source: Antara News

The Association of Indonesian Traditional Textile Admirers (Wastraprema) showcased 138 rare woven fabrics and other unique collections of the Wastra Jo Seda House at the Jakarta Museum of Textile.

The exhibition, themed “The Nuances of the Gleaming Indonesian Woven Fabrics: Sumatra, Timor and Sulawesi,” is held from July 20 to August 31, 2022, at the Jakarta Textile Museum.

“The efforts of the Wastraprema association to hold an exhibition is a means of preserving ancestral heritage tenun (woven fabric) and increasing the love for Indonesian fabrics,” Deputy Chairwoman of the Jakarta Crafts Council, Ellisa Sumarlin, who is also the wife of Jakarta Deputy Governor, Ahmad Riza Patria, stated here on Thursday.

Sumarlin expressed optimism that the next generation would learn a lot from this event through a series of activities, such as training, a virtual tour, and some competitions, that will also be held.

Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Hilmar Farid highlighted the government’s continued efforts to propose woven fabrics to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as intangible cultural heritage.

In addition, Farid stated that although this exhibition only displays woven fabrics from three islands in Indonesia, it can already reflect the richness of the archipelago’s fabrics.

In the world of fabrics, Wastraprema’s acting chairwoman Sri Sintasari Iskandar highlighted that the island of Sumatra has the unique songket woven fabric, which is usually made from gold, silver, silk, and cotton threads.

Meanwhile, Timor Island in East Nusa Tenggara is known for its colorful fabric tradition, while Sulawesi’s tradition of fabric can now only be witnessed in some areas.

An award was also bestowed on Mrs. Ratmini Gandasubrata Soedjatmoko, 97, for having played an imminent role in preserving the archipelago’s fabric heritage until now.

Source: Antara News

German carmaker, Volkswagen (VW), will build a production and processing plant for nickel ore in Indonesia, for the first time, Indonesian Investment Minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, told a press conference yesterday.

The investment will be realised this year, taking place in Batang regency in Central Java province and on Sulawesi island, according to the minister.

“However, we’re still negotiating the value of the investment, as VW still bargains for some incentives and counts the nickel ore reserve capacity,” Lahadalia said, adding that, he already met VW Chief Procurement Officer, Jorg Teichmann, at his office in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Indonesia is known as rich in the reserve of nickel ore, a primary component of electric vehicle batteries.

Indonesia is estimated to have deposits of at least 72 million tonnes of nickel reserves, in areas of domestic mining operations, accounting for 52 percent of the world’s total reserves of around 139 million tonnes, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Data from Indonesia’s Central Statistic Agency, shows that, in the first quarter of 2022, the country’s export of nickel products saw a significant increase of 330.43 percent, compared to the same period of 2021.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The Communication and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) emphasized the importance of building understanding on data sovereignty and global data governance during the third session of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.

“Therefore, the discussion of the third priority issue on data free flow with trust (DFFT) and cross-border data flow (CBDF) at the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting this time will be more essential,” Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate said on Thursday.

The world increasingly needs data governance that is accepted based on common views, he noted. One of the approaches and practices that pay attention to global data sovereignty is encapsulated in the principles of DFFT and CBDF.

“A condition that has not yet materialized. These commonalities certainly take into account various important values, including fairness, lawfulness, transparency, and in certain aspects, reciprocity between countries,” said Plate.

It is believed that the recognition of these aspects will not only be beneficial for global economic recovery, but also for encouraging concrete synergies and collaborations to accommodate the development of comprehensive digital technology innovations.

The issue does not only exist in developing countries, but also in developed and poor countries, the minister pointed out.

“This discussion will be very useful in a world that is increasingly influenced by data exchange between countries,” he added.

The G20 presidency, which is being held by Indonesia this year, is encouraging the global community to understand data governance issues. The minister said that the use of data is useful for all parties and is a natural and common goal.

“Without proper and inclusive data governance practices, it is certain that the use of data will be unbalanced and have the potential to make data only a limited commodity and result in the use of compartmentalized or grouped data,” said Plate.

The discussion on the framework for the use of data between countries was scheduled to be held during Thursday’s session.

Source: Antara News