Kang GURU Travels to Jakarta, February 15/16, 2008

Kevin went to Jakarta to attend the Australian Alumni Awards 2008. The Australian Alumni Awards 2008 aim to recognise outstanding talent, achievements and contributions made by Australian alumni living and working in Indonesia today. It is estimated that there are more than 30,000 Australian alumni living and working in Indonesia today. Many of the Australian alumni are high achievers and leaders in their field. They include Ministers of State, successful entrepreneurs, academics and researchers, fashion designers, furniture designer and popular musical talents. While in Jakarta Kevin also interviewed Davina Veronica and Dewi Sandra for the March 2008 Kang Guru magazine.

Kevin flew to Jakarta early Friday morning, Feb. 15th, leaving a very wet and stormy Denpasar. Jakarta was wet too but not as wild and windy as Denpasar had been. He went straight to the hotel and booked in before heading off to interviews for the March 2008 Kang Guru magazine – fashion and design edition.

First interview was on a movie set with actress/model Davina Veronica. She was shooting a movie on the 25 th floor of the Menara Imperium building in Kuningan. There were lights and cameras everywhere as well as actors and actresses hanging around waiting for their next scene shoot to take place. Tora Sudiro was there – as noisy and funny as ever. I sat down with Davin and we talked many things including her career, her attitudes to fashion and her dreams of opening a restaurant in Bali of all places. Davina was very good to chat with and I guess the interview lasted 30 minutes or so. You can hear Davina on Kang Guru in Series 60

Media Release - 16 February 2008

Australian Alumni Award Winners 2008

Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said he was delighted to have been able to congratulate the winners of the inaugural Australian Alumni Awards announced at a gala awards dinner in Jakarta on 16 February.

Among the winners were Lippo Group Deputy Chairman, James Riady, who won the Entrepreneurship Award, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Boediono, for his contributions to Indonesia’s economic and social development, and Managing Director of General Motors Indonesia, Mukiat Sutikno, for business leadership.

“It was just fantastic to see so many outstanding alumni celebrating together at the first ever Australian Alumni Awards,” Farmer said. “The winners and all the finalists in each category have shown great leadership and achieved remarkable things in their respective fields and I am pleased to think their Australian education has contributed to their success.”

The following is a full list of award winners in 2008, which were decided by a panel of fellow alumni, along with the selection panel’s rationale for conferring each award:

Australian Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship - Awarded to Dr James Riady, Deputy Chairman of the Lippo Group, in acknowledgement of his success in developing profitable businesses in areas which promote the common good, such as education and health, and in a manner characterised by good corporate governance principles.

Australian Alumni Award for Sustainable and Economic Development - Awarded to Dr Boediono, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, in recognition of his considerable contribution to Indonesia’s economic development throughout his distinguished period as Minister, as well as through his academic career as a teacher and mentor for future Indonesian economists.

Australian Alumni Award for Research and Innovation – Awarded jointly to Dr Kusmayanto Kadiman, State Minister for Research and Technology, and to Dr Herawati Sudoyo, Principal Scientist and Executive Manager of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology.

Dr Kadiman won the award in recognition of his leadership role in the development and setting of national science and technology policies and targets and, in particular, for his important leadership role in forging closer relations between the Indonesian and international scientific communities.
Dr Sudoyo’s award was in recognition of her outstanding research in the field of molecular biology, which focuses on the genetic diversity of the people of Indonesia and other parts of South-East Asia, and which has contributed significantly to health management in Indonesia and for victim identification purposes in disasters.

Australian Alumni Award for Business Leadership - Awarded to Mr Mukiat Sutikno, Managing Director of General Motors Indonesia, in recognition of his rapid rise through the ranks of the Indonesian automotive industry and his strong business acumen, leadership and ethical business practices.

Australian Alumni Award for Culture and Arts - Awarded to Mrs Marussya Naingollan, Director of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, in recognition of her considerable achievements as an exceptional pianist and composer, and for her dedication to the promotion of classical music in Indonesia.

Australian Alumni Award for Creativity and Design - Awarded to Mr Budiman Hoolan Hendropurnomo, Director of PT DCM Jakarta, in recognition of his outstanding talent as an architect whose well-known buildings demonstrate his innovation and creativity.

Australian Alumni Award for Journalism and Media - Awarded to Ms Meutya Hafid, Senior Anchor for Metro TV, in recognition of her dedication to quality journalism, achieved through her understanding of cultural issues, and in recognition of her handling of significant media events which exemplifies her high journalistic standards and professionalism.

More than 600 alumni attended the gala event, held at the Shangri-La Hotel on Saturday. Guests were treated to performances by fellow alumni, including renowned jazz guitarist I Balawan, a dance performance by Jakarta belly-dancers, an exclusive fashion show by Sally Koeswanto, and a performance by DJ Delizious Devina.

The Australian Alumni Awards is the Australian Embassy’s major public event for 2008. It is designed to acknowledge the contributions to Indonesia made by tens of thousands of Indonesians who have studied at Australian schools, universities and technical colleges.