My Article in Asia Media

My article on Facebook Activism that was published in the Jakarta Post was also re-published by Asia Media, the UCLA Asia Institute's website. Here is the link: http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=111084 :)

My Article in the Jakarta Post

Having my article published by a national media has been my dream since I very young. I love to express my thoughts and imaginations through my writing, and started by writing short fiction stories for some local teenage tabloid, and later in a national teenage magazine.

I still remember how thrilled I was when someday in 2005 I found my story featured in special Christmas and New Year's edition of Aneka Yess magazine. It was the first story that I sent to a national magazine, and it was published so easily. And oh, by the way, to add to the excitement, the cover of that mag was Agnes Monica, a top teen star in Indonesia. :)

However, even if I love writing, personally I feel that I haven't really been a consistent, nor a productive writer. I've been writing a lot for my personal blogs and notes in Facebook. I did write some stories for newspapers, newsletter and reports on behalf of the organization where I used to work, as well as the scripts of the disaster risk reduction public service announcement (DRR PSA) for radio and TV, yet I have not written anything for mass media on behalf of my own self.

Then as a graduate student who is free from the embedded identity of my previous organization now, I feel the need to share my thoughts to a wider public than the readers of my blog and my notes. This month I have moved a step ahead. My article was published in the Jakarta Post, the most prominent English newspaper in Indonesia on August 2, 2009. I wrote about the power of Facebook Activism, and here is the link to it:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/02/facebook-activism-how-powerful-can-it-be.html
It was, just like my case with Aneka, the first article that I have ever sent to the Jakarta Post.

I know that ideas come in every ways of life, yet it takes strong commitment, and a certain degree of freedom to be a good writer who produce good readings. I will try my best to be one. :)

Report from the Disaster Risk Reduction Unit

I found that the report of the United Nations Development Programme Emergency Response and Transitional Recovery(UNDP - ERTR) included the report from the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Unit. If you flip to page 52, there is a picture of me when I was introducing the Stop Disasters Game to the children of Banda Aceh. The report also describes our duties and activities regarding to the DRR. Here is the link:

Report on DRR Unit's Activity.

Aku menemukan laporan tentang kegiatan unit pengurangan risiko bencana di buku laporan kegiatan badan pembangunan PBB. Di halaman 52 ternyata ada fotoku yang sedang mengajari anak-anak di Banda Aceh untuk memainkan modul dalam Stop Disasters Game! :) Laporan di bagian tersebut juga memaparkan pekerjaan yang kami lakukan di unit kami.

Berikut tautannya:
Report of DRR Unit's Activity

The Fruitful Duties...

flying with UNHAS, on the way for a mission in Nias

The most fruitful and rewarding work experience has been my works with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Aceh. I worked with a wonderful team led by a very smart girl, Malikah Amril, whom I respect so much, a great mentor, Robin Willison, and wonderful colleagues. These are some publications in UNDP Newsletters on those exciting duties...

Pengalaman kerja yang paling berwarna dan terasa sangat bermakna adalah pekerjaanku di Badan Pembangunan PBB (UNDP) di Aceh. Aku bekerja dalam tim yang luar biasa, yang dipimpin seorang perempuan cerdas, Mbak Malikah Amril, mentor yang hebat, Robin Willison, dan teman-teman yang luar biasa. Berikut adalah publikasi di Newsletter UNDP tentang beberapa pekerjaan yang kulakukan di sana...

• March 2007, Turning Up The Volume to Disaster Risk Reduction (page 8)
• May 2007, Reaching A Milestone in Disaster Risk Reduction (page 7)
• September 2007, Back to School with Disaster Risk Reduction (page 4)
• November 2007, Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School (page 9)

Ah... those good old days...

Now, I am a student pursuing another level of life. I'm learning Political Communication now, in a country said to be the most democratic country on earth. I will keep my days alive and kicking, and let's see, how far will I fly from here. I want to continue my service, to help making this world a nicer place to live.

World Vision Documents

I found my name in the World Vision Asia-Pacific documents. Back some months ago, my colleagues and I in the UNDP DRR Team were interviewed by the Asia-Pacific Disaster Monitor publisher to provide some insights and information for World Vision's report and disaster fact sheet. Those documents are good resources for those who would like to learn more about DRR issues in the region:

Asia - Pacific Disaster Monitor Factsheets

Planet Prepare, Asia - Pacific Disaster Report

Aku menemukan namaku di dokumen World Vision Asia-Pacific, karena Tim Pengurangan Risiko Bencana merupakan salah satu narasumber dalam penyusunan laporan dan lembaran fakta WV. Dokumen yang disusun WV ini sangat menarik karena memberikan gambaran tentang kondisi pengurangan risiko bencana di wilayah Asia-Pasifik.

Asia - Pacific Disaster Monitor Factsheets
Planet Prepare, Asia - Pacific Disaster Report

Disaster Risk Reduction Works

UNDP DRR Team at Rebuilt Tsunami Ground Zero, Ulee Lheue, Aceh

Working in Post Tsunami Aceh as a Liaison Associate for Disaster Risk Reduction Project involved me into related news by local media. Not all of them are published online, however these are some of the news that I could track online:

Bekerja di Aceh Pasca Tsunami sebagai Liaison Associate untuk Pengurangan Risiko Bencana membuat aku masuk dalam berbagai berita di media lokal. Tidak semuanya bisa terlacak di internet, namun berikut adalah beberapa catatan yang bisa kutemukan online:

• Aceh Recovery Forum
• Antara

Global Voices

It was an honor to find that Global Voices Online, a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, aggregated 2 of my blog articles.

"Global Voices seeks to aggregate, curate, and amplify the global conversation online - shining light on places and people other media often ignore..."

And, they picked my writings on 9/11 Tragedy, and my thoughts on Education from my old blog. It motivates me to be a "more responsibleful blogger", to write something meaningful than just a diary in my blog. Because blog is worldwide, and it can be the windows for others to see the other sides of the world.

These are the links:

• Five Years on from the 911 the World Remembers
• Indonesian Alternative Education

Adalah satu kehormatan saat aku menemukan bahwa Global Voices Online, sebuah lembaga nirlaba yang didirikan di Harvard Law School's Berkman Center untuk Internet dan Masyarakat, mengambil 2 artikel blogku. (Lihat links di atas)

"Global Voices meng-agregasi, mengumpulkan dan menyuarakan percakapan global secara online - menyebarkan "cahaya" di berbagai tempat, dan di diri banyak orang, yang sering diabaikan oleh media..."

Dan, mereka mengambil tulisanku tentang Tragedi 9/11, dan pemikiranku tentang pendidikan dari blog lamaku. Hal ini memotivasiku untuk menjadi blogger yang lebih bertanggungjawab, yang menulis hal-hal yang lebih berarti dalam blogku. Karena blog dapat diakses dari seluruh dunia, dan bisa menjadi "jendela" bagi orang lain untuk melihat dunia dengan mata yang berbeda.