Selling the country

On Friday, 23 February 2007, we got Muhammad Al Aula for sharing session. He is a young diplomat from Indonesian Department of Foreign Affair. The two-hour discussion was so hot and lively, that we forgot there was another event to attend to.

We discussed many things, especially his experience as a diplomat. He shared with us what are the responsibilities of a diplomat. But in this session he gave more emphasis on public diplomacy -- communicating Indonesian foreign policy toward the Indonesian citizens first.

When we hear about that, we just thought how complicated the role of diplomats. They must make complicated decisions, and still they have to balance the national interest with public opinions established by the press.

It is quiet interesting to know how the department of foreign affair is doing their job. One of which interest me is how they approach prominent and influential leaders through a “breakfast meeting” to create awareness, change perception, and drive action. Well, to this part, it sounds pretty much like a PR practitioner -- in a sense that we also like to treat certain people for lunch or diner of course. :)

I think it is a good step to communicate to the public about Indonesian foreign policy. As the Indonesian society is patriarchic, people would believe respected individual leader, rather than the mass media for instance. :(

Aula also share that Department of Foreign Affair has been reforming itself for many years. Unfortunately they don’t socialize very well which make people’s perception the department stand still.

From the discussion, we can also learn that they haven’t really pushed the envelop, as they have so much potential, partly because the short numbers of diplomats. I hope in the future Department of Foreign Affair is more proactive to communicate what they have done, and why they make such measures.

But most important is what Aula calls the second track diplomacy. Any Indonesian can be the ambassador of the country, through interactions with people from other countries. Thus, every Indonesian must understand the nation’s foreign policy, so we can achieve the goal together.

Sounds like a great idea, isn’t it?

*written by Tuhu

FEMALOGRAPHY: a photo exhibition by Jerry Aurum

Jerry Aurum, a young and talented Indonesian photographer, finally holds his photo exhibition in Indonesia. Themed “Femalography”, this photo exhibition will be held in Senayan City from February 23rd – March 11th, 2007.

Jerry held his first international photo exhibition in September 2006 in Singapore. On the same day, he also launched the “Femalography” book. The book was chosen as “The 2nd Best Recommended Book” by Borders Bookstore, Singapore. What an achievement!

In yesterday’s press conference, Jerry said that in his artworks he positioned women as the subjects, not as objects. When asked, “How do you choose your models? It seems that all of your models are beautiful young celebrities in Indonesia”.

Jerry said, “That’s not true. Actually, in the Femalography book and photo exhibition there are more ordinary women than the famous ones. For me, the most important thing in choosing a model is that the model has to be able to express herself. So, it doesn’t matter whether she’s famous or not. She also doesn’t have to be skinny or has a perfect body image”.

For the past 5 years, Jerry has been preparing the Femalography project. More than 100 people from different background contributed in the project. Rachel Maryam, Aline, Dian Sastro, Dinna Olivia, Endhita, Adella Aletta, VJ Cathy, Indah Kalalo were voluntarily posing for Jerry. If it’s not because of his talents, for sure these celebrities won’t participate in Femalography.

“There are not many Indonesian photographers publish a book. So, in Indonesia, we don’t have that much literature or reference in photography. So, it’s very good that Jerry decided to publish a book of his artworks. His artworks are impressive”, said Andi Dewanto, a journalist of Tempo magazine.

For those who love photography, you can drop by at the Exhibition Space, Senayan City to enjoy 40 photographs by Jerry Aurum. The Femalography book is now available at Kinokuniya and Aksara bookstores.

Visit: www.jerryaurum.com

KONTAN: the Newspaper

On KONTAN 27 September 2006 10th anniversary, Editor in Chief Yopie Hidayat told Maverick that Kontan will publish a newspaper under the same name on February 2007. Guess what?! They are definitely on schedule.

The first issue of KONTAN newspaper will be published on Monday, 26th February 2007. I heard the news directly from one of the 30 new reporters they have hired for the daily.

As for the tabloid, they are moving the publication from Wednesdays to Sundays. So, for you KONTAN tabloid readers out there, who mostly living in Medan, Jakarta, or Surabaya, hope the newspaper will satisfy you as it is the tabloid.

'BRAVO' for children!

Penerbit Erlangga is well-known as publisher of text books. Since elementary school through high school, I saw the word "Penerbit Erlangga" printed in most of the text books I used. However, I just heard the news that Erlangga has published children’s magazine entitled BRAVO.

BRAVO is a magazine targeted for children age 8-12, and “aimed to equip children in pursuing their dreams” as stated by Uti, a contributor of this magazine. BRAVO is now available in news stalls in Jabodetabek area.

Bravo, BRAVO!

Para Group’s next move

I’ve heard a rumor that Para Group (Chairul Tanjung) is eyeing Indosiar and SCTV to further expand his media ownership in this country. The source said that Indosiar and SCTV would soon be transformed into Trans 8 and Trans 9 respectively.

Early this month, Tanjung was also reported to probe a deal with Dahlan Iskan on Jawa Pos group shares purchase (Tempo Interaktif, Feb 7)

Well if that is so, the media tycoon is about to spread his wings even wider then.