KangGURU
Travels
to Jakarta and Manado - April 2006
Kevin
flew to Jakarta for meetings with AusAID personnel including project people
like Raisa at the Australian Development Scholarship
program office. Kevin also appeared on 'METRO Morning
News' and he interviewed Zelda Savitri and Tommy Tjokro immediately
afterwards. Kevin also met with Dewi Lestari for
an interview about her latest CD, 'Out of Shell'. He then moved on
to Manado to visit RRI Manado and their English
language presenters, and to work with AEC presenting brief KGRE Teacher
Workshops in Manado and nearby SMU Lokon
in Tomohon. While there Kevin met a young Aussie Alumni called Vicky. What a lucky girl she has been.
It was an early start leaving Denpasar at 6.30 am for the 90 minute flight
to Jakarta. The flight was smooth and I passed the time thinking and making
notes about the future of KGRE and what activities we were going to develop
and expand during 2006.
I was at IALF Jakarta just as their front doors opened
and that was a surprise to many of the staff there. KGRE on the door step
at the very start of the day. IALF CEO, Geoffrey Crewes, was at his desk
for the first day after his trip to Australia to attend the International
Education Forum. We caught up on news and then it was down to work
– new office, new desk, new environment but only for a few hours.
Mid-morning I went to the office building next door to visit David Spiller
in the Australian Development Scholarship office.
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I interviewed Raisa, Pubic Relations spokeswoman for the scholarship
scheme, about the entry requirements and criteria for the 2006 intake.
Check the KGRE website or the ADS
website for more information on those VERY important matters.
I also chatted with Julie about ADS alumni. Julie is the person in
the ADS office who takes care of alumni - those students who have
studied through ADS in Australia in the past and that have already
returned to Indonesia. KGRE is putting together an Aussie Alumni Page
on the website - all contributions welcome. |
I then walked up the road, Jl. Rasuna Said, to meet with
Mia Salim at the Australian Embassy. Mia works in the Public Relations
section at the Embassy and is primarily concerned with AusAID. We had
lunch together and chatted about promotion both of AusAID and KGRE. Mia
and I will be working together on this over the next few months.
In the evening I attended a charity night titled 'From
Us To The Children'. Julie from the ADS office is involved with the
charity and asked me to go along. There were about 250 people there enjoying
the music and the atmosphere while at the same time raising money for
children suffering from cancer. I also caught up with Delon as he was
a guest performer. Other performers included The Mollucas, Ari Wibowo
and Audy.
It was another early start on Friday
with a taxi trip to Metro
TV in Kebun Jeruk, Jakarta. KGRE was a special guest on their English
language morning news program - Metro This Morning. I was interviewed
by Zelda Savitri for just 7 - 8 minutes and it was an interesting and
somewhat daunting experience. I was a little nervous but according to
friends who were watching, the interview was okay. Immediately after the
interview it was my turn to be the interviewer. Zelda sat with me and
we talked about her study in Australia between 1999 and 2003 at the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Zelda studied Media and Film. Zelda loved living
in Melbourne and has very fond memories of her time there especially
window shopping, the easiness of life there and of course, here
studies. Later in the morning I sat down with Tommy Tjokro for an
interview with him. He was very easy to talk with and we had a lot
of fun talking about this career and his study times in Australia.
He actually lived there for 6 years and you can hear Tommy talking
about those years on KGRE radio during June and July AND beyond.
Check out the June magazine too. |
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From METRO I headed back to IALF Jakarta. A quick lunch
with the CEO, Geoff Crewes and then to the Aussie Embassy for a meeting
with Fiona Hoggart, the new Cultural Counselor based there. It was a long
meeting and finally returned to IALF Jakarta at 4.00pm. Some quick work
on the latest POUCH bulletin for Connection Clubs which I sent off to
Ogi at 5pm.
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Then into a car to Balia Sarbini
for a meeting and interview with Dewi
Lestari. Dewi found me sitting in Starbucks and as it was quite
noisy there we went into the theatre at Bali Sarbini. It was even
noisier in there as her husband, Marcell, was rehearsing for a show
later that night. Actually Dewi was also a part of the show. After
watching rehearsals I finally got Dewi in a relatively quiet place
for our interview about her life and especially about her new CD
called " Out
of Shell".
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| The CD is fabulous and the totally English CD is so
nice to listen to that I play it quite often. In fact I listened to
it on the plane from Denpasar a few days back. I will play it on KGRE
too. Dewi's English is just superb and you know what? She told me
that her basic skills in English come from watching videos as a child
and especially 'The Muppets'. Amazing! I also met Marcell again and
we chatted briefly about the interview I did with Marcell
back in 2003 - he remembered it and so do I. Perhaps we can chat
with Marcell at some time in the near future? |
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| On Monday the 24th I flew to Manado. You know flying is a quick
way to travel but it takes longer than you may think. First of all
I had to leave my hotel at 8.00am. It took an hour to get to Jakarta
airport and as you probably know, passengers have to be at the airport
one hour before their flight leaves. Did you know that? |
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The actual flight all the way to Manado, via Makassar,
took over 4 hours. So leaving Jakarta at 10.10am meant I arrived in Manado
at around 3.00pm. I went to the hotel and that was a 45 minute taxi ride,
Manado must have the oldest taxis in Indonesia - actually they also look
a little like hotrods too. Finally I arrived in my hotel room at well
after 4pm. A long day BUT then again, a long trip too.
Tuesday began with an internet battle. For some reason
my laptop decided not to be as cooperative and helpful as usual. Some
of my favorite internet pages would not download including my KGRE email
site. That was a problem as I had emails to send that were quite urgent.
I called IALF Jakarta's internet whiz, Pak Hendro. He tried to help but
was just as puzzled as me with the situation. Eventually I 'gave up' and
did some other things before going off to RRI Manado.
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I met with Pak Talib and Pak Jopie Patiro at
the station and we discussed broadcast times, interactive English
and future promotion ideas for KGRE and RRI Manado to work on together.
It was not along visit but a fruitful one. Then back to the hotel
for some more work on the KGRE June magazine and editing my interview
with Dewi Lestari that we did a few days earlier.
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By twelve o'clock I was
off to Kantor DIKNAS high on a hill overlooking Manado. The Australian
Education Centre (AEC) had organized a teacher workshop for KGRE with
teachers from over 30 schools in the area. DIKNAS assisted with these
arrangements so that was terrific. They were almost all women and they
were pretty lively too. The workshop was just two and half hours long
but I suggested to them that they invite KGRE back soon to do full workshops
with more of the local teachers. I hope they do!
In the early evening I took part in an Australian Alumni
event at the Ritzy Hotel also organized by AEC. There were probably 12
Aussie alumni there and I managed to interview a few of them. I also promoted
KGRE to the 60 or so people, mainly high school and university students,
who attended the 'AEC Study in
Australia' Education Seminar immediately after the alumni gathering
that same evening. KGRE is developing an Aussie Alumni Page on the website
so I was keen to collect information and promote that. Keep an 'eye
out' for that page on the website, okay?
AEC and Kang Guru Activities in Manado - AEC Report
From 24 to 26 April, the Australian Education Centre (AEC) conducted an outreach program to Manado in collaboration with Mr Kevin Dalton of Radio Kang Guru. AECs conduct outreach programs to major cities around Indonesia visiting schools, talking with students and teachers, conducting workshops for school counsellors and principals meeting with Australian alumni. In their activities AECs often collaborate with provincial and city government Education Department (DIKNAS), local education institutions, alumni, education agents and partners such as the IALF and Radio Kang Guru.
In Manado, AEC Surabaya facilitated two KangGuru's English Teacher's Workshop run by Mr. Kevin Dalton for junior and high school teachers. Kevin's workshops are lively and interactive, focused on interactive teaching methodologies and effective ways to engage children in the classroom. AECs enjoy collaborating activities with Radio Kang Guru as the sessions are always lively and engaging and participants come away with a different perspective on teaching.
Ms Josephine Ratna, Manager of AEC Surabaya conducted workshops for high school counsellors at the office of DIKNAS Kota. Ms. Ratna and Ms. Felicity Pascoe, Deputy Director of Australian Education International (AEI) conducted an information session about studying in Australia. Approximately 60 visitors attended eager for information about studying in Australia. Josephine, Felicity and Kevin visited SMA Lokon in Tomohon and spoke with students about studying studying overseas and choosing their career. Children were interested to learn what it was like to be a student in Australia and about the different courses of study available because about 20 percent of SMA Lokon students continue their university studies outside Indonesia. Felicity and Dr Venetia Danes spoke with radio staff on SMART FM about living and studying in Australia. Dr Venetia studied at the University of Melbourne and now works in Manado as a cardiologist and university lecturer. AEC Surabaya hosted an alumni gathering bringing Manado's Australian graduates together who are always keen to connect with other alumni and maintain networks with Australian graduates. Australian alumni from Indonesia are recognised not only for their value contribution to Australian society and culture, but to their country upon returning to Indonesia to take up their career. This gathering was also a great opportunity for Kevin to interview some alumni for his Kan Guru Radio English program.
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Australian Education Centres (AECs) are the official Australian Government source of information in Indonesia about the Australian education system and studying in Australia. AEC offices are located in Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Makassar and provide impartial and up to date information about studying in Australia. AECs provide counselling services to prospective students and their parents about courses of study, visit educational institutions, attend and organising education exhibitions, public seminars and presentations. For more information visit www.studyinaustralia.or.id
or email:
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Later in the evening I went back to catch the
end of the AEC Seminar and I am really glad I did. I met a young
girl called Vicky. She is an Aussie alumni too BUT not from a university
or college course BUT from elementary school. While her father was
studying in Melbourne, Vicky attended Clifton Hill Primary School
and year 7 Uni High in Melbourne. She was in that school for 3 years
along with lots of Aussie kids plus children from many other countries.
She couldn't speak a word of English when she started at the school
but says that after just three months she could speak English quite
well with her new school friends. Vicky will be on KGRE soon and
in the June magazine too. Right now Vicky is studying at high school
in Manado.
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On Wednesday I went up the hills for a visit with AEC to SMU
Lokon - a very nice boarding school about one hour from Manado.
The school was officially opened or inaugurated by the President
of Indonesia back in January 2006. It Is not a big school but
it certainly is a good one specializing in Science and English.
There are only 290 students at the school but the students come
from all over Indonesia. SMU Lokon is a boarding school. Students
study and live there.
I met with several of the students and they told me all about
their school. Caroline and Hendra can be heard on KGRE soon and
check them out in the June magazine too. They are both members
of the school's debating club and their English language skills
are pretty good. Caroline is in fact an Aussie Alumni as she studied
at primary school in Tasmania while her father was studying at
university under an ADS scholarship in the late 1990s. Soon that
Debating Club should be a member of the KGRE Connection Club network.
While at the school I also joined in with
'AEC Study in Australia' presentation
to students about Study
in Australia.
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In the
evening I met with Joice and James, RRI Manado's English language
presenters. They are both young and very keen. They were very interested
to hear about the KGRE
English Language Presenters' Network and are keen to join. That's
great. I left them with some small gifts and I will ask Ogi to contact
them next week re joining the network asap - as soon as possible! |
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On Thursday I attended at conference at the Santika Hotel
in Manado. The hotel is well away from the city and as my taxi driver
said, perfect for a holiday but not a hotel for businessmen. The theme
of the conference was “Innovative Ways to Teach English in Indonesia”.
It was sponsored by Van Deventer-Maas Stichting, a development group from
the Netherlands. There were around 25 participants at the meeting including
a woman from Goulburn TASFE in Victoria, my home state. Her name is Mrs.
Donna Harpera and she is teaching at a place called Padamara in Tobelo,
North Mollucas. It was nice to finally meet her and to give her some KGRE
teaching materials. It was also a great opportunity for me to tell all
of the participants about KGRE in Indonesia. I stayed for the morning
but then had to head to the airport for the flight home to Bali.
The flight from Manado to Makassar was on time BUT once again, Garuda
was plagued with problems. The flight to Dps was first delayed from 5pm
to 7pm. Okay not so long to wait BUT then further delayed from 7pm to
11pm – the plane was there at the airport BUT guess what? NO pilot!
Maybe I should start flying Lion or another airline?
Return to Past Travels of KGRE in Indonesia
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