When you study abroad, there are moments when all you can think about is when you will be going home – to meet your family, your friends, or sleeping in your bedroom. However, after realizing that I’ll be leaving Melbourne for the next 4 months on a summer break, somehow I’m not that upbeat anymore on the prospects of holiday – which is an entirely new experience for me.
In Melbourne, I have found space for parts of myself that I don’t find in Jakarta, or anywhere else in the world for that matter.
It appears, then, that I have fallen for Melbourne, quite deeply.
People often talk about America and its New York as a melting pot of culture. But what about Melbourne? We are definitely under-rated in this respect. Australians, British, New Zealanders, Chinese, Arabs, Israelis, Indians, Sri Lankans, Indonesians, Malaysians, Vietnamese, Greeks, Italians, French, and Americans, even Samoa Islanders – we have the lot! I wouldn’t even be surprised if I run into an alien from Galaxy Zorg one day in this city. One would only need to hop into any Melbourne’s public transport to realise that this city is a true melting pot of culture.
Another interesting thing about this place is that we’re the capital of almost everything that matters. Arts? International festivals are annual. Music? Coldplay, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, Britney come here every now and then – we’ve even had MJ the late King of Pop himself. Education? We are home to some of Australia’s, and the world’s, best universities. University of Melbourne, Monash, Deakin to name a few.
Heck, what fun is it to have 4 seasons in one year? We can have them in one day.
Sports? Don’t even start. I think we have more sports here than anywhere else in the world, or in the galaxy. Footy, the ultimate Australian sport? Check. Rugby? Check. Cricket? Check. Soccer? Check. Golf? Check. Tennis? We have a major tournament, the Australian Open. Formula 1 racing? Our Albert Park is F1’s curtain-raiser series. Horse racing? Melbourne Cup is dubbed as ‘the race that stops a nation’ (quite literally, every Aussie is on a day off in that particular day, even in the universities!). Moreover, we have that majestic piece of architecture work, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with 100,000 seats, one of the 7 wonders of the sporting world. The only sport that’s missing here is space polo, and I’m pretty sure that at least some drunken bloke with a broken stick must have been playing the earth version of the game.
Talk about architectural wonders, we have the futuristic Southern Cross Station, the ‘Paris End’ of Collins Street, the classic Parliament Building, the beautiful parks, and the dynamic Federation Square. What’s more, we can fully enjoy the city’s beauty through its trademark trams. Food? We have the best food in the planet with Menya’s Gyu Tan Don and the best beverages in the planet with Max Brenner. No wonder aliens choose to drop by here first.
You can just go on and on and on in recounting Melbourne but the truth is it still won’t be enough; one would just simply need to experience this city personally to get a sense of this city’s vibe.
It will be a sad moment when I leave but when my holiday ends I will be looking forward in embracing the experience all over again.
P.S. We so rock better than Sydney. Ha!
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Vote for me!
Hi there, fellow earthlings! I need your help to vote for me to be an Indonesian delegate of One Young World. A little information about One Young World:
You can do it through clicking this link.
Thank you! I appreciate your help.
One Young World invites 1,500 young pioneers from every country in the world and a range of backgrounds to come together to attend the Inaugural Summit in London in February 2010 and help create a global resource of leadership and ideas.
You can do it through clicking this link.
Thank you! I appreciate your help.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Global Changemakers: a Hope
Hi everyone. How are you? It’s been a while since I write anything ‘personal’ – the last personal post was the one on my birthday I suppose. In that sense, I haven’t exactly been a good blogger/writer. Oh well, no time to dwell on my writing qualities now, because at the moment, I'm really anxious about something and rather than endlessly fretting over my fate, I might as well do something productive. So, I would like to share my story.
I have something really important going on in my life right now. Last month, I applied for a place at something called the Global Youth Summit, a programme that is part of a British Council-sponsored network, Global Changemakers. You can find out more about Global Changemakers in here. However, let me explain briefly what it’s all about.
Global Changemakers (GC) is a global network of young activists that advocate almost any causes imaginable in which they’re most concerned about – HIV/AIDS, climate change, youth empowerment – you name it. They are, basically, a group of passionate young people who ‘see something wrong with the world and try to fix it’.
In a particular GC event, like Global Youth Summit, they learn all the knowledge and the skill they need to know that will support their respective activism. After the event, they must apply all the skills they have learned into a Community Action Project (CAP).
So, if you're familiar with the Gandhi mantra -- “be the change you want to see in the world” -- then you'd understand that that’s exactly what they’re doing.
And I intend to join them.
The odds, though, are against me; there are numerous challenges. For a start, there are around 1100 applications, a record high, coming in from all around the world to secure a mere 60 places. Moreover, just last week I got the news that one Indonesian has already been accepted. While it is allowed to have up to three persons per country, it still means that my chances are slimmer than ever.
However, although my track record may not have been the brightest -- I haven't been massively active in a certain NGO, nor have I founded them -- I still have full confidence in myself. Because at this moment, my strength lies not on the things that I have done; it lies on the things that I can and will do.
Two years ago, I had an epiphany when writing a blog post as I remembered prophet Muhammad SAW's saying: “the best a man can be is to be helpful to others.”
I believe, that Global Changemakers is a golden opportunity that can significantly help me learn how to bring about positive, lasting change to the society – to be helpful to others. I know that, Insya Allah, with His support, given the opportunity, I can and will do just that.
I’ve always had a say about what is wrong with the world that we live in today and have insights or ideas about how the world should be. I grasp these idealistic values close to my heart and I do so not for the sake of being young, thus, idealistic, but because I believe that these values are the ones which will get us and keep us out of trouble, the ones that we all share deep down in our heart, the ones that make the world that we live in a better place.
I used to only think about them, write them, talk about them with my like-minded friends; I had almost never really done anything real. I had never actually seize/create opportunities to be the change I want to see in the world – that’s why my 19th birthday resolution is to walk the talk. And, slowly but surely, that's what I have been doing for the past few months and that's what I will continue to do.
Throughout high school, my involvement with Deca Mayuda Cakrawaka, its student body, added a certain depth of experience in organizing major events. In a period of one year we managed to carry out at least 30 programmes -- ranging anywhere from educational, cultural, to social work. My experience as part of this 56-student team has truly been an unforgettable journey and while it may mot have been the smoothest rides, it sure did enrich me. DMC was an important part of my life; I will forever be thankful for it.
Last July, I went to Sydney to attend Power Shift, Australia's first national youth climate summit. I also volunteered as part of the new media team and served as a media assistant for a day. My experience in attending and volunteering in Power Shift has really opened my eyes. When you're surrounded by the insights, the inspirations and the overwhelming positive energy at such magnitude, you can just feel that anything is possible. I was and still am positive that we can create something similar in Indonesia; a movement, a youth movement, that demands those in power to step up and rise to the challenge, because their decisions today will ultimately shape the world that we will live in.
On another note, I've been organizing Indonesian Youth Conference, a CAP of Indonesia's current GC, Alanda Kariza. IYC is based on a simple platform: that our voices, the voices of 40 million Indonesian youth spread across this stunning archipelago, must be heard. It truly is rather shocking if we consider the sheer number of our youth population -- twice the size of Australia's entire population, and ten times that of Singapore's -- and yet, we Indonesian youth are seriously underrepresented and underestimated. That's why I commit myself in making sure that that won't be the case anymore.
The unique thing about my involvement in IYC is this: I've never actually met Alanda before. As you would know, I'm studying in Melbourne and she's studying back home in Jakarta (she's on a full scholarship from Bina Nusantara University International, by the way, majoring in International Business). We met and became friends purely online. And of course, communication is possible and easy thanks to God and the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and whoever created Yahoo, Hotmail and Blackberry. My experience in IYC has taught me that when you're really committed to something, especially if it's for a greater cause, not even the length of an ocean can stop you.
All of these activities that I've been involved in, now act as a platform for my candidacy in Global Changemakers. Without which I know I wouldn't stand a chance in the application. Not that now I've suddenly become a strong candidate or anything, but at least now I actually believe that I can make it. And believe me, I wouldn't have applied if I had felt I have done nothing.
But eventually, I did apply because I know that this is all just a start. Now that my eyes are opened, heart touched, mind sharpened, I feel that I am ready for something bigger. I'm ready for a bigger challenge, a bigger opportunity -- and Global Changemakers fits those criteria nicely.
Sometimes, while praying to God, I wonder, why do I deserve a place at GC? There are hundreds -- even thousands -- young activists out there that have also been ardent advocates of their respective causes. Why me?
The first reason I can think of is my proposed CAP. What about it? Well, I really do want to make it happen since I have thought about it. I want to fulfill a little promise I made to myself in Sydney, "I'm bringing Power Shift to Indonesia." I want to do so mainly because although Indonesia is one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions -- thanks to our staggering deforestation rate -- somehow, climate change hasn't been part of our mainstream discussion. So I thought, who has better authority to raise the issue other than we the Indonesian youth ourselves, the generation that will inherit the world that is shaped by the decisions of today's leaders.
But so far, I haven't got a clue how to start -- until I found out about GC, that is. My participation in GC would strongly leverage my intention to initiate a youth climate movement in Indonesia, similar to the ones in Australia and other countries (US, UK) by organising an Indonesian version of Power Shift. Now, it has become clear to me that GC would be the perfect media to fulfill that promise.
Ever since I found out about Alanda and her GC activities, I was jealous. I was jealous at the opportunities that she has had because I felt that, given the same opportunity, I would've made a great contribution myself. But then I thought, she's managed to get all those opportunities because she has done lots of things for the community and worked so hard until enough doors are opened -- and the key to her success is that she's managed to make the most out of those opportunities, those opened doors. I guess that's my main motivation in setting off into activism -- to contribute and to open doors that will allow us to make an even bigger contribution.
And now I see a door opening in front of me.
I believe that this is my time. My opportunity. I feel that I can be a great Global Changemaker. I know that this is my opportunity to do great things -- greatness that is not measured as a personal glory or pride but rather as a contribution to the society. I know that, with the right knowledge and the right approach, I can be an effective agent of change. There is this faith I cannot explain, and I do not know where it comes from, that somehow, I feel that GC is where I should be; it's what I should become.
Furthermore, the prospect is even brighter knowing that, if I make it, I already have a partner-in-crime in Alanda. I guess in certain ways, she is exactly why I have such faith in GC. Her commitment, her professionalism, her task-oriented approach, her effectiveness, her passion -- all of which are, I'm sure, her original qualities, but GC has played an important role in sharpening them. The ‘think globally, act locally’ spirit truly is alive and well in her. And if it worked for Alanda, I'm sure it'll work for me.
I am confident that I can be a GC that will be able to create something that is big enough up to the point that it's impossible to be ignored. Something that's meaningful, something that strikes right through the core of the public mindset; because I believe that if we want to bring about positive and lasting change, we have to do it from the core. As my nation's president, Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono once said, "the most important change is the change of mindset." Should I have the opportunity to collaborate with Alanda and other GC from Indonesia, I am even more confident that this can be achieved.
Having said all that, I am fully aware that Global Changemakers is not everything. It’s not the only way to make a contribution to the society. It’s certainly not the only way to learn. The world is full of opportunities – neither you nor I should be worried about running out of them. It’s just that, I feel so strongly about GC and have high hopes for it because it sure is one heck of an opportunity to make a contribution to the society.
All in all, GC has the potential to help change my life. In fact, it already has, as GC helped changed Alanda’s life and she’s helped changed mine. It is with profound gratitude that I thank Global Changemakers for that. That is also why I hope that I can do the same -- do good and inspire others.
I know I can do this; I know I will do this. I believe that GC can take me to a path that will make me a better human being by being helpful to others, by being the change I want to see in the world. That’s why I pray to God, literally day and night, so I can have this golden opportunity.
In the end, though, it’s all up to Him. He is the one who determines which path is the best for me. I do not know yet which path will He present me. What I do know is that whichever one He presents, I can and will make sure that ‘up’ is the only way to go from here – whether it’s by launching off to the moon or by jumping into a giant trampoline.
Meanwhile, I'm keeping the faith. I'm keeping the hope that GC is indeed, the right path. For a guy named Barack Hussein Obama once told us, "there has never been anything false about hope."
P.S. Dear friends, I do hope for your prayers so that everything will turn out just fine. I would be most grateful for them. So, make sure you tune in to the next chapter of my life! Aren’t you looking forward to it? I know I am. See you then. Adios and thanks!
I have something really important going on in my life right now. Last month, I applied for a place at something called the Global Youth Summit, a programme that is part of a British Council-sponsored network, Global Changemakers. You can find out more about Global Changemakers in here. However, let me explain briefly what it’s all about.
Global Changemakers (GC) is a global network of young activists that advocate almost any causes imaginable in which they’re most concerned about – HIV/AIDS, climate change, youth empowerment – you name it. They are, basically, a group of passionate young people who ‘see something wrong with the world and try to fix it’.
In a particular GC event, like Global Youth Summit, they learn all the knowledge and the skill they need to know that will support their respective activism. After the event, they must apply all the skills they have learned into a Community Action Project (CAP).
So, if you're familiar with the Gandhi mantra -- “be the change you want to see in the world” -- then you'd understand that that’s exactly what they’re doing.
And I intend to join them.
The odds, though, are against me; there are numerous challenges. For a start, there are around 1100 applications, a record high, coming in from all around the world to secure a mere 60 places. Moreover, just last week I got the news that one Indonesian has already been accepted. While it is allowed to have up to three persons per country, it still means that my chances are slimmer than ever.
However, although my track record may not have been the brightest -- I haven't been massively active in a certain NGO, nor have I founded them -- I still have full confidence in myself. Because at this moment, my strength lies not on the things that I have done; it lies on the things that I can and will do.
Two years ago, I had an epiphany when writing a blog post as I remembered prophet Muhammad SAW's saying: “the best a man can be is to be helpful to others.”
I believe, that Global Changemakers is a golden opportunity that can significantly help me learn how to bring about positive, lasting change to the society – to be helpful to others. I know that, Insya Allah, with His support, given the opportunity, I can and will do just that.
I’ve always had a say about what is wrong with the world that we live in today and have insights or ideas about how the world should be. I grasp these idealistic values close to my heart and I do so not for the sake of being young, thus, idealistic, but because I believe that these values are the ones which will get us and keep us out of trouble, the ones that we all share deep down in our heart, the ones that make the world that we live in a better place.
I used to only think about them, write them, talk about them with my like-minded friends; I had almost never really done anything real. I had never actually seize/create opportunities to be the change I want to see in the world – that’s why my 19th birthday resolution is to walk the talk. And, slowly but surely, that's what I have been doing for the past few months and that's what I will continue to do.
Throughout high school, my involvement with Deca Mayuda Cakrawaka, its student body, added a certain depth of experience in organizing major events. In a period of one year we managed to carry out at least 30 programmes -- ranging anywhere from educational, cultural, to social work. My experience as part of this 56-student team has truly been an unforgettable journey and while it may mot have been the smoothest rides, it sure did enrich me. DMC was an important part of my life; I will forever be thankful for it.
Last July, I went to Sydney to attend Power Shift, Australia's first national youth climate summit. I also volunteered as part of the new media team and served as a media assistant for a day. My experience in attending and volunteering in Power Shift has really opened my eyes. When you're surrounded by the insights, the inspirations and the overwhelming positive energy at such magnitude, you can just feel that anything is possible. I was and still am positive that we can create something similar in Indonesia; a movement, a youth movement, that demands those in power to step up and rise to the challenge, because their decisions today will ultimately shape the world that we will live in.
On another note, I've been organizing Indonesian Youth Conference, a CAP of Indonesia's current GC, Alanda Kariza. IYC is based on a simple platform: that our voices, the voices of 40 million Indonesian youth spread across this stunning archipelago, must be heard. It truly is rather shocking if we consider the sheer number of our youth population -- twice the size of Australia's entire population, and ten times that of Singapore's -- and yet, we Indonesian youth are seriously underrepresented and underestimated. That's why I commit myself in making sure that that won't be the case anymore.
The unique thing about my involvement in IYC is this: I've never actually met Alanda before. As you would know, I'm studying in Melbourne and she's studying back home in Jakarta (she's on a full scholarship from Bina Nusantara University International, by the way, majoring in International Business). We met and became friends purely online. And of course, communication is possible and easy thanks to God and the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and whoever created Yahoo, Hotmail and Blackberry. My experience in IYC has taught me that when you're really committed to something, especially if it's for a greater cause, not even the length of an ocean can stop you.
All of these activities that I've been involved in, now act as a platform for my candidacy in Global Changemakers. Without which I know I wouldn't stand a chance in the application. Not that now I've suddenly become a strong candidate or anything, but at least now I actually believe that I can make it. And believe me, I wouldn't have applied if I had felt I have done nothing.
But eventually, I did apply because I know that this is all just a start. Now that my eyes are opened, heart touched, mind sharpened, I feel that I am ready for something bigger. I'm ready for a bigger challenge, a bigger opportunity -- and Global Changemakers fits those criteria nicely.
Sometimes, while praying to God, I wonder, why do I deserve a place at GC? There are hundreds -- even thousands -- young activists out there that have also been ardent advocates of their respective causes. Why me?
The first reason I can think of is my proposed CAP. What about it? Well, I really do want to make it happen since I have thought about it. I want to fulfill a little promise I made to myself in Sydney, "I'm bringing Power Shift to Indonesia." I want to do so mainly because although Indonesia is one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions -- thanks to our staggering deforestation rate -- somehow, climate change hasn't been part of our mainstream discussion. So I thought, who has better authority to raise the issue other than we the Indonesian youth ourselves, the generation that will inherit the world that is shaped by the decisions of today's leaders.
But so far, I haven't got a clue how to start -- until I found out about GC, that is. My participation in GC would strongly leverage my intention to initiate a youth climate movement in Indonesia, similar to the ones in Australia and other countries (US, UK) by organising an Indonesian version of Power Shift. Now, it has become clear to me that GC would be the perfect media to fulfill that promise.
Ever since I found out about Alanda and her GC activities, I was jealous. I was jealous at the opportunities that she has had because I felt that, given the same opportunity, I would've made a great contribution myself. But then I thought, she's managed to get all those opportunities because she has done lots of things for the community and worked so hard until enough doors are opened -- and the key to her success is that she's managed to make the most out of those opportunities, those opened doors. I guess that's my main motivation in setting off into activism -- to contribute and to open doors that will allow us to make an even bigger contribution.
And now I see a door opening in front of me.
I believe that this is my time. My opportunity. I feel that I can be a great Global Changemaker. I know that this is my opportunity to do great things -- greatness that is not measured as a personal glory or pride but rather as a contribution to the society. I know that, with the right knowledge and the right approach, I can be an effective agent of change. There is this faith I cannot explain, and I do not know where it comes from, that somehow, I feel that GC is where I should be; it's what I should become.
Furthermore, the prospect is even brighter knowing that, if I make it, I already have a partner-in-crime in Alanda. I guess in certain ways, she is exactly why I have such faith in GC. Her commitment, her professionalism, her task-oriented approach, her effectiveness, her passion -- all of which are, I'm sure, her original qualities, but GC has played an important role in sharpening them. The ‘think globally, act locally’ spirit truly is alive and well in her. And if it worked for Alanda, I'm sure it'll work for me.
I am confident that I can be a GC that will be able to create something that is big enough up to the point that it's impossible to be ignored. Something that's meaningful, something that strikes right through the core of the public mindset; because I believe that if we want to bring about positive and lasting change, we have to do it from the core. As my nation's president, Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono once said, "the most important change is the change of mindset." Should I have the opportunity to collaborate with Alanda and other GC from Indonesia, I am even more confident that this can be achieved.
Having said all that, I am fully aware that Global Changemakers is not everything. It’s not the only way to make a contribution to the society. It’s certainly not the only way to learn. The world is full of opportunities – neither you nor I should be worried about running out of them. It’s just that, I feel so strongly about GC and have high hopes for it because it sure is one heck of an opportunity to make a contribution to the society.
All in all, GC has the potential to help change my life. In fact, it already has, as GC helped changed Alanda’s life and she’s helped changed mine. It is with profound gratitude that I thank Global Changemakers for that. That is also why I hope that I can do the same -- do good and inspire others.
I know I can do this; I know I will do this. I believe that GC can take me to a path that will make me a better human being by being helpful to others, by being the change I want to see in the world. That’s why I pray to God, literally day and night, so I can have this golden opportunity.
In the end, though, it’s all up to Him. He is the one who determines which path is the best for me. I do not know yet which path will He present me. What I do know is that whichever one He presents, I can and will make sure that ‘up’ is the only way to go from here – whether it’s by launching off to the moon or by jumping into a giant trampoline.
Meanwhile, I'm keeping the faith. I'm keeping the hope that GC is indeed, the right path. For a guy named Barack Hussein Obama once told us, "there has never been anything false about hope."
P.S. Dear friends, I do hope for your prayers so that everything will turn out just fine. I would be most grateful for them. So, make sure you tune in to the next chapter of my life! Aren’t you looking forward to it? I know I am. See you then. Adios and thanks!
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