Keliling-keliling

Peter Dawson
peterdawson@hotmail.com

Indonesia Elected to UNSC

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) announced Monday that Indonesia had become a nonpermanent UNSC member for 2007-2008, with 158 votes from member states.

Indonesia's strongest competitor in the race to represent Asia was Nepal, following the sudden withdrawal of South Korea last month.

Indonesia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Rezlan I. Jenie, said the country's membership on the UNSC is an acknowledgment from world nations that it plays a key role in maintaining global peace, security and  stability.

"There will be a number of key issues, one of which will be Indonesia's role in the Middle East. We want peace in that region," Rezlan told The Jakarta Post by phone.

The assembly also elected Belgium, Italy and South Africa to the council. Guatemala led the voting for the remaining seat, but failed to amass enough votes to be confirmed. The five countries elected Monday will replace Denmark, Greece, Tanzania, Japan and Argentina, all of which will leave the council at the end of the year.

Indonesian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Makarim Wibisono said the election was a positive sign for Indonesia and its role in promoting global peace.

He added that this gives the country momentum toward playing a key role in the international arena.

"Indonesia's membership in the UNSC allows us (Indonesia) to implement our constitution to ensure global peace and security based on justice and fairness,"
said Makarim.

"Indonesia's agenda ought to concentrate on re-energizing multilateralism as a central principle in international relations," said Indonesia's former envoy to the UN in New York.

Makarim stressed that reforming the Security Council was essential. To ensure the council's legitimacy, he said, it was important to make it representative, responsive and effective.

Minutes after the official results were announced, a top Indonesian official in Jakarta told The Jakarta Post that Indonesia now faces a great deal of responsibility as the government will play an international role in a world still rife with conflicts and hot spots.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal stated that Indonesia is positive it can contribute to the UNSC. He said that Indonesia had a very independent foreign policy, had no state enemies and had close relations with major powers, Asia, and all UNSC members. He said in addition it had strong diplomatic assets, which will allow the country to act as a bridge to promote international peace
and stability.

"As an Asian country with a long history of diplomatic activism, Indonesia under Yudhoyono's presidency is uniquely positioned to address critical security issues in Asia," Dino said. He added that Myanmar, North Korea, Iran, and the Middle East are listed as prominent issues in the UNSC agenda.

Dino said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would issue an official statement welcoming Indonesia's UNSC membership Tuesday.

Avian E. Tumengkol, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dancing For 24 Hours - Gelar Tari 24 Jam Menari

An interesting dance event took place at the Jurusan Tari Surakarta ISI on 29 April.

 "Gelar Tari 24 Jam Menari" was held in order to commemorate Hari Tari Internasional - International Dance Day which was established by uNESCO in 1982.

During 24 Jam Menari, each dance piece took place one after the other without a break for 24 Hours involving dancers from Surakarta, Jakarta, Jawa Timur, Yogya, Bandung, Aceh, Minang, Bali as well as foreign dancers.

The event took place from 6am Sunday 29 April to 6am Monday 30 April. The dance performances took place travelling around the campus of ISI Surakarta from Sector A Gedung F, Sector B Teater Humardani & lobby Jurusan Tari,Sector C Taman Eden,Sector D Lapangan Rektorat, Sector E Pendopo & Teater Kapal and finally to Sector F Teater Besar.

contact persons: Dwi Wahyudiarto,Eko Supendi, M Guntur and Anhar Widodo Jurusan Tari, Institut Seni Indonesia,Surakarta Jl.Ki Hadjar Dewantara 19, Kentingan, Jebres Surakarta 57126 INDONESIA Tel : +62-271-647658 Fax : +62-271-646175
http://www.isi-ska.ac.id/

Bali Through the Eyes of its Children

A Special Exhibition of Children's Art at the Bali Dynasty Resort April 20- June 20 2007 in Support of the East Bali Poverty Project.

The award-winning East Bali Poverty Project (EBPP) has earned world-wide praise for its life-changing success in improving the hygiene, nutrition and education of some of Bali's poorest people living in the shadows of sacred Mt. Agung.

Working closely in support of community improvement projects identified and requested by the local populace, one of the cornerstones of EBPP's success has been its ability to impact the wider community through bringing clean water, schooling, and practical life skills to children who share both their enthusiasm and new skills with the families.

How the EBPP project has fundamentally changed the life of the people of East Bali is brilliantly told in a book written and illustrated by the children benefiting from the program entitled "The Art of Learning by Doing". [See: The Art of Learning by Doing]

Because of the popular success of the book and numerous requests to purchase art work by the children, a special 2-month long exhibition of paintings will be held at the Bali Dynasty Resort from April 20 ­ June 20, 2007. The paintings on display share simple lessons learned on the value of a good healthy meal each day, precious potable water, and the value of group effort in overcoming problems facing their community. As the accompanying pictures taken from the exhibition demonstrate, the creativity and technique of the children¹s art shows a maturity beyond the years of these your painters. Perhaps most importantly, each painting provides a privileged glimpse into Balinese rural life in the isolated villages high on the slopes between Mt. Agung and Mt. Abang.

These young artists are the first generation in the history of their region to experience a curriculum which includes subjects such as health and hygiene, nutrition and organic farming, as well as art.

Never fortunate enough to benefit from the tutoring of a qualified art teacher, the 42 paintings in the exhibition by the children of Cegi and Pengalusan schools represent both art and important documents recounting the improving quality of life in an area where hope was once the rarest commodity. As creative as the paintings themselves, the children created their own frames for each work using recycled materials ranging from empty milk cartons to local bamboo.

The official opening of the Exhibition will be at 4:00 p.m. on April 20, 2007 at the Bali Dynasty Resort's lobby featuring a dance performance by the children.

Proceeds from the sales of the art will be used to support the continuing work of the East Bali Poverty Project.

The Exhibition closes on June 20, 2007.

No kitchen is complete without a refrigerator door bearing a painting by one of the children of East Bali!

East Bali Poverty Project Website: http://www.eastbalipovertyproject.org

BALI UPDATE, © Bali Discovery Tours, All Rights Reserved.

2007 ASILE Conference

The 9th Biennial Australian Society of Indonesian Language Educators Conference will be hald at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland 5-8 July 2007.

"Is Indonesian Language Teaching at the point of no return?" Join Indonesian educators from around Australia and have your say on this pressing issue, or simply come along to build networks and listen to some enlightening speakers including author and ABC personality Mark Bowling, Di Priyono from the university of Mataram, and Indrawati Zifirdaus from Curtin University.

The program will include performances by Srikandi Women's Group, St John's Gamelan Orchestra and Stella Maris Angklung group as wellas lunch with the Indonesdian Ambassador Bapak Teuku Mohammad Hamzah Thayeb. For further info:

http://intranet.usc.edu.au/wacana/ASILE/index.html

To register email Phillip Mahnken : asile@usc.edu.au

Solo Dance Festival IV 2007

The Solo Dance Festival 2007 was presented by Mataya Arts & Heritage and took place on 28-29 April 2007 in the DHC'45 Building, Solo.

The dance festival offered a range of fascinating events including a Gambyong Dance by 1,000 women. The Festival aimed to explore local genius through dance and to celebrate World Dance Day 2007 by expressing univeral values and togetherness in the present multicultural era through dance.

The idea behind the festival was to examine the concept of 'City' as a continously growing organism through infrastructure, economy, society, arts, tradition and urbanism. The 'City Face' is always changing in response to the needs of society. The City and society seek to make cultural identity meaningful.

In the Solo Dance Festival 2007, the solo dancers expressed the biography of their bodies to express how they are influenced by intercultural interaction in the present globalization era.

Five dancers performed: Krishna Lin (Taiwan), Jefriandi Usman (Jakarta, Indonesia), Sen Hea Ha (South Korea), Fitri Setyaningsih (Yogyakarta, Indonesia), S.Pamardi (Solo, Indonesia), and Ni Kadek Yulia Moure (Solo, Indonesia).

On April 29 at 8am in the morning, 1,000 interdiscipline, inter-profession inter-religious and inter-ethnic female dancers- children, teenagers and adults to performed the Gambyong Dance. Teh Gambyong Dance is a traditional Javanese dance which was performed along the street of Jl. Mayor Soenaryo in front of the old building of Gedung DHC'45 to celebrate World Dance Day 2007. This performance was created in order to express universal values and togetherness through dance and to perform and appreciate traditional dance.

Historically Gambyong was the name of a female dancer. She lived in the era of Sinuhun Paku Buwono IV (1788-1820), a King of Kasunanan Kraton in Surakarta/Solo. She was known to be a very beautiful and skilful dancer, admired by many. She is famous for creating the traditional Javanese dance Gambyong. The dance expresses harmony, refinement, and flexibility. Artistically it is a harmonization of rhythm, movement and kendang.

Performing Schedule

28 April 2007 7pm Solo Dance Performances Special Performing Opening by Krishna Lin (Taiwan) Ni Kadek Yulia Moure (Solo, Indonesia) S. Pamardi (Solo, Indonesia)

29 April 2007
7am Celebrating World Dance Day 2007 1,000 women performed Gambyong Dance
7pm Solo Dance Performances Fitri Setyaningsih (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) Jefriandi Usman (Jakarta, Indonesia) Sen Hea Ha (South Korea)

Contact Person: Mr. Heru Prasetya - infomataya@yahoo.com MATaYA arts & heritage: address: Jl.Slamet Riyadi 275, Gapura Seni Taman Sriwedari Solo tel/fax: +62-271-717571

On Thrones of Gold

Three Javanese Shadow Plays James R. Brandon University of Hawaii Press 1993

A book review by Danny Yee http://dannyreviews.com/h/Thrones_Gold.html "On Thrones of Gold" contains translations of three wayang kulit shadow plays.

Preceding those is the best eighty page introduction to wayang kulit I have found anywhere. In this Brandon describes the subject material of the plays, their types and occasions, and their meaning and structure. He looks at play scripts, puppets and other equipment, gamelan music, and the speaking and movement techniques used by the dalang or puppeteer. And he introduces the three plays which are translated.

The three plays illustrate the variety of mood and subject possible within the same formal structure, using standard elements. The Reincarnation of Rama involves mystical wahyu_ or gifts, infusion by the spirits of Rama and Leksmana being bestowed on righteous kings; it doesn't have much in the way of tension or drama.

Irawan's Wedding is a farcical comedy, involving a princess who is promised in marriage to two princes, one Pandawa and one Kurawa, and lusted after by an ogre king.

The Death of Karna is much more serious, describing the tragic death of Karna at the hands of Arjuna, at the climax of the Great War between the Pandawa and Kurawa.

Alfira's Dance Classes

In this workshop, you will get a taste of 2 different Indonesian styles: Ratoh Duek and Yapong.

Ratoh Duek is the Acehnese traditional style, which is a sitting dance involving body percussion and song.

Yapong is a Traditional Javanese dance mixing traditional movements from the Betawi (Jakarta) and Sunda (West Java) regions.

This is not only a dance workshop but also a cultural experience. Beginners welcome.

Alfira was born in Perth from an Indonesian mother and Australian father. Formally trained in Classical Ballet she learnt Traditional Indonesian dances on her frequent family trips to Indonesia. In Sydney, she created her own dance company "Suara Indonesia Dance Group" and has performed since 2001 at Indonesian and Multicultural events and festivals, functions held at Parliament house, the Rocks and The Opera House. The group was also featured on Channel Seven Sunrise, and on several TV documentaries.

She has recently returned from a year long Indonesian government dance scholarship at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Surakarta, in Central Java.

Note: Loose comfortable clothing, Sarong. Socks essential. Bring a cushion or yoga mat (lots of kneeling and sitting involved).

Venue: KJRI 236 Maroubra Rd, Maroubra Every Sunday
Javanese 12.30-1.30
Acehnese 1.30-2.30
$10 for 1hr class $15 for 2hr class

*( disc coupons available) For kids classes please call Alfie

For more info call Alfie: 0415 431 453

Gender group at Wintermoon festival May 2007

Richard Kaal has invited a gender group from Gianyar Bali, to join him at Wintermoon festival this year.

Richard is an Australian musician recording a library of traditional Balinese music,living on Gunung Batukaru in Tabanan, Bali. He has been working with Yayasan Suara Dana, writing new music in collaboration with Gender and Salonding.

This music is about the various characters of the Wayang Kulit puppet stories and are in the form of songs in English with Guitar, vocals, saxophone, gender, kendang and gongs.

They will be performing these songs at the Wintermoon festival near Mackay in QLD on the weekend starting 4th May 2007.

Subandi will also perform a Jauh Manis dance.Subandi is a highly respected teacher of many forms of Balinese music.(gender,Gong (all instruments),dance,to name a few.

They will be in Brisbane from 24th April and are keen to meet and play for interested groups.(schools etc).

Richard

Indonesia Council - Open Conference

The 2007 Indonesia Council Open Conference will be hosted by Monash University in Melbourne with the support of Inside Indonesia Magazine. This multi-disciplinary Conference will provide a foirum for the presentartion of new and innovative work on Indonesia, with particular emphasis on bringing established scholars and newer Indonesians together. Registration is FREE. Register by 3 September 2007. Proposals for papers and panels were to be recieved by 1 May 2007. For further information go to: http://indonesiacouncil.anu.edu.au/icoc2007.php