Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. – Barack Obama-
Update-Back to Campus July 1, 2008
Senang, terima beberapa email dari teman-teman kampus, almamater saya akan mengadakan gathering besar-besaran. Terus sempat check juga websitenya. Sepertinya banyak rencana yang ingin diwujudkan. Mungkin tak ada kaitannya antara tulisan saya tentang kontribusi alumni dan penyelengaraan acara tersebut, tapi semangat banget bahwa banyak orang punya visi yang sama dan juga mulai merealisasikan visi-visi tersebut. Pengen banget bisa ikut berpartisipasi, sayangnya saya tak terdaftar di direktori mereka dan belum menemukan cara untuk bisa berpartisipasi dari jauh. Baiklah, saya akan terus berusaha.
I will..I am.. July 1, 2008
I have not write a single thing since May and this is already July. This is not good. OK, this is just a reminder for myself. Need to regularly write. Share what you have in mind, what you’ve seen and heard. As Ghandi said : “Be the change you wish to see in the world “, I shall change this attitude and so does you. Change!
Parks: Here, there, and everywhere! April 5, 2008
Here in the US,as a contrary to my city Jakarta, you might be able to locate at least one park in your neighborhood. It could be just a green space where you can sit and enjoy yourself, big parks where you can jog or ride your bike and enjoy their plaza or attractions, playground for children,or even special parks for your dogs. I’m sure, there are many terminologies to differentiate these park according to their use or locations.
And I don’t need to explain, as I’m sure many of you have understood how crucial it is to have parks, open and green spaces in your surroundings. A park or green space brings nothing but goodness to our lives. For sure, it will reduce air polution and conserve energy by cooling the temperature. It can also be a place where citizens (children, youth, adults, and seniors) meet and socialize. I browse around and find some great ideas, that inspired me and hopefully other dreamers (well, we can call ourselves as advocates or social entrepreneurs 
) and also legislators.
The city of New York has a plan that within 10 years from now, New Yorkers will be able to find a park within 10 minutes walking distance from their homes!Wow, big dream!And they have great plans to ensure that it will happen. And I feel some of their plans might be doable for us (I’m sure Bloomberg will not mind if we copy their great plans called plaNYC, we’ re not copying, it can be a dissemination of might be an evidence-based practice). One think that I like from the plan is that they will utilizes the use of existed schoolyards. Government will work with schools so that schoolyards will accessible outside of school hours. And of course they would equipped school yards to be public park or yard. Another great idea to create green open space (not particularly for children, though) is to create community plazas, where pavements or aspalt streets can be transformed into plazas with the touch of greenery. Another project, that I believe has started in Indonesia few years ago is to create “green blocks” where residences will have mini gardens, potted plants, and plant sidewalks of their neighborhood with trees.
OK, another great idea comes from an organization called Kaboom. This organization focuses only on making sure that each child has access to a play area within walking distance!They work together with communities to build playgrounds for children, including private sectors and those who loves children. They provide trainings, equipments, and even people can volunteer to help build play areas. Check their website here.
And guess what??Indonesia has one great program, called Green Map. It started in NY, but then Marco Kusumawijaya brought the idea of mapping green areas to Indonesia. Green Map movement is aimed for creating sustainable living through greener spaces. This is a huge, globally social movement that we should be a part of it. The Green Map tools will help community members and also others with decision making power to create a sustainable environment. It will also help you to find green areas in areas or other parts of the world. I should try to go through their Jakarta Map when I’m home. Check their website here.
I will be back!I’ll post some pictures of parks, greenery, or playgrounds in my neigborhood. And you are welcome to do the same!
Kebijakan Ramah Keluarga? February 23, 2008
Sudah sejak lama saya begitu tertarik dengan Family-Friendly Policy atau Work/Life Policy. Apa yaa kira-kira terjemahan yang tepat?mungkin judul diatas kurang tepat, tapi intinya family-friendly policy atau work/life policy adalah kebijakan negara atau perusahaan yang mendukung pegawai mereka (terutama perempuan) untuk dapat bekerja atau berkarir dan membentuk keluarga tanpa harus mengorbankan satu atau yang lainnya.
Family-friendly policy bukan sesuatu yang baru, terutama bagi negara-negara industri di Eropa, Swedia dan Denmark adalah beberapa negara pelopor. Banyak perusahaan-perusahaan multinational juga telah menerapkan policy ini, banyak diantaranya di Indonesia. Bentuk dari kebijakan ini bisa berupa part-time work, shared responsibility, flextime, dan cuti melahirkan atau cuti mengasuh anak baik untuk perempuan maupun laki-laki. Program pendukungnya juga beragam seperti support group, konseling untuk orangtua, atau tempat penitipan anak di tempat.
Di banyak negara industri, orangtua menjadi pengasuh utama anak. Tidak banyak dari mereka yang mampu membayar nanny, babysitter, atau si mbak. Umumnya mereka juga tidak bisa menitipkan bayi atau anak mereka kepada kakek-nenek atau keluarga lainnya. Daycare adalah tempat dimana anak-anak dititipkan (minimal setelah berusia 2 minggu). Dengan pemikiran bahwa orangtua sangat berperan penting dalam mengasuh anak, terutama bayi sampai dengan usia balita, kebijakan-kebijakan ini dinilai penting dan bermanfaat baik bagi orangtua maupun perusahaan.
Keadaan di Indonesia cukup berbeda. Sambil masih berpikir, kira-kira kebijakan dan dukungan seperti apa yaa yang dibutuhkan oleh orangtua bekerja di Indonesia?mungkinkah bentuk kebijakan yang sama akan bermanfaat bagi mereka?
Saya yakin bahwa para ayah dan ibu kelas menengah ke atas di Jakarta merasa miris setiap kali meninggalkan anak mereka dengan babysitter untuk bekerja dan mungkin hanya punya waktu di weekend untuk keluarga. Banyak dari ibu-ibu muda yang berhenti bekerja dan memilih untuk menjadi full-time mom. Mungkin akan ada yang berargumen bahwa keputusan itu adalah panggilan jiwa dan bukan karena tidak adanya kebijakan pendukung, tapi saya rasa ada juga yang memang tak punya banyak pilihan atau mereka yang tetap bekerja kadang dibebani stress untuk membagi antara karir dan keluarga.
Kehadiran pengasuh seperti nanny atau babysitter kemudian menjadi alternatif. Banyak nanny atau babysitter yang memang telah terlatih, tapi tentunya begitu banyak dari mereka yang kurang memahami tumbuh kembang anak dan kebutuhan mereka. Memang tak berarti bahwa anak-anak yang menghabiskan lebih banyak waktu dengan pengasuh mereka ini mengalami hambatan dalam perkembangan mereka. Secara rasional, anak yang berkembang dalam kondisi yang kondusif (adanya rangsangan, pengasuh yang berkomunikasi secara positif) dibandingkan dengan anak yang berkembang tanpa rangsangan positif, siapa yang kira-kira akan berkembang maksimal?
Sekolah kemudian memikul beban yang berat, menjadi pendidik utama. Memasukkan anak ke sekolah terbaik kemudian diharapkan dapat membantu orangtua bekerja untuk mendidik anak. Ini memang tidak salah, tetapi sekolah saja tidak cukup. Begitu banyak mainan edukatif jika tidak dimanfaatkan dengan tepatpun mungkin tidak akan maksimal manfaatnya.
Dari keadaan di atas, kebijakan apa yang dibutuhkan oleh Indonesia?Memfokuskan pada kelas menengah ke atas di kota-kota besar, flextime mungkin dapat diterapkan, dimana pegawai hanya perlu hadir di kantor beberapa hari dalam satu minggu. Kemungkinan untuk bekerja dirumah dengan bantuan tehnologi juga dapat menjadi pilihan. Orangtua tentunya butuh strategi, bagaimana memaksimalkan quality time dengan anak, membagi tips dan juga mungkin stress mereka. Support group atau hanya sekedar buletin kantor yang dikirim via email dapat memberikan informasi-informasi tersebut. Jika si mbak memang sangat dibutuhkan, maka mereka pun dapat dilatih dengan ketrampilan dan pengetahuan dasar. Bagi kelas menengah kebawah, community childcare juga dapat menjadi alternatif (di lain waktu yaa akan saya share konsep ini).
Yang terpenting adalah kesadaran dari pemerintah dan perusahaan akan pentingnya kebijakan -kebijakan ini. Orangtua bekerja sebagai pemeran utama bisa mencoba untuk menyuarakan ini kepada perusahaan. Sekolah pun mungkin dapat membantu mengadvokasi. Saya terutama mendukung orangtua bekerja untuk bekerjasama dan mungkin mulai menyuarakan pentingnya kebutuhan ini. Memulai dan mencoba tidak ada salahnya, siapa tahu bisa membawa perubahan positif terutama bagi anak-anak kita sendiri (meskipun harus extra sabar menunggu perubahan). Saya juga ingin membantu . Sampaikan ide ini dan kembangkan juga, jangan lupa untuk berbagi disini.
Back to Campus February 22, 2008
Now that I’m away from my Alma mater, I miss my undergrad years more than ever. No, I don’t miss my classes, mostly I’m missing my peer who have become an important part of my life. And by reading this, you can tell that I was not spending enough time in the library. I miss the before and after class, to sit and chat on that table on that corner, almost everyday. We had good-times and I’m sure many would have agreed with me.
I’m not bragging that I am now a new person with a new set of perspective just cause I’m now a grad student. But looking back on those days, I wished I had to some things differently. On those days, I felt spending time in the library was not that useful. I though debate was something artificial. Reading was just another homework. Why?Cause my surroundings seemed to make me think of these things in such cheezy way. There were limited facilities to accomodate an excited learning experience, the classes were not challenging enough to make students learn and read. And I never quite figured out what skills do I need to build to survive in the real world.
Im still picking up along the way about how alma-mater in ivy league schools could make such a huge impact for their schools. I realize this was something that is not happening in my school. Well I know they’ve been doing stuff but I just haven’t seen the results, or worse I just don’t know cause they have never contacted the alumni.
This again, just another idea that I have in mind that might bring about change in a positive way. I guess it wont hurt if alumni shares their strugles and successes to inspire young ones. It wont be that costly to give contributions (I won’t call it endowment, maybe some of us haven’t reach that point yet) for scholarship, building networking with students and graduates or just making sure that the faculty could subscribe to online journals. Some time I feel that its not the money, but the involvement of alumni and the networking that would make such a different. Maybe I should not wait for my uni to give me a call, maybe if we could get together and make them listen to us, we might bring a whole new perspective for them, particularly for our future generations.
PS: Calling all alumni of FISIP UI to make a change. And if you have started, feel free to share your work and ideas and invite all to join.
Enlightened Self-Interest Continues January 24, 2008
I was just browsing through random fashion websites. It turned out that I found some answers to the dilemma I wrote yesterday. H&M provide a full report of their CSR programs within their website. Some of the programs are funding for AIDS and using organic cotton. These are great and I know many in the fashion industry have also started these movements. What I really apreciated from them is their policy regarding protection to their garment factory workers around the world. The company gives attention to low wages, long working hours and child labor. You can also check MNG’s CSR Report regarding their environment and similar labor policies.
Im really hoping that their missions are not only on the reports but are implemented for a good cause. Go and check the websites to read the full report and to check out their latest collection. At least we know that they are trying not to harm others :)
http://www.hm.com/us/corporateresponsibility__responsability.nhtml
A Shopaholic with Enlightened Self-Interest January 23, 2008
I have a confession to make, I do consider myself a shopaholic. There were times when I considered shopping as a therapy and many times when I buy things that I don’t actually need or use. Along the journey of curing myself, I discovered the importance of being a ’smart shopper’, that is to shop with an enlightened self-interest. This is how I balance my urge to shop and the other side of me who is fighting for social justice.
Bono U2 in his speech for the World Economic Forum in 2006 launched the RED product. Companies like GAP, Converse sneakers, Giorgio Armani, and American Express took part. This is just an example, a part of the growing interest of the business society to have Corporate Social Responsibilities Programs (CSR). CSR can take up many forms, from producing goods like RED where some of the profit will be donated for a cause (AIDS, poverty, education, etc), doing fair trade (such as Body Shop) that promotes local economy, producing products that are environmental friendly (products that use organic cotton or recyleable containers), providing adequate benefits for its employees, or giving back to the community through community development programs or volunteering.
The power to keep the CSR movement to grow and give benefits the community lies in YOU the consumers. In industrialized countries such as US and UK, consumers now are more self-conscious in selecting the products they buy and use. A research in UK shows that consumers prefer to buy products that promote fair trade, environmental friendly, or benefiting a cause particularly AIDS and ending global poverty. Consumers have the power to endorse products from companies that support good causes. On the other side, these companies, realizing the power of consumers are giving more attention toward CSR programs that would eventually give positive contributions to the community and their own brands. The media and many organizations also give credits to companies that are implementing this enlighted self interest. Here we can see a change in the system. Guess what? its us the consumer that are making the change!
This is how I do it. I follow news regarding companies’ CSR programs. For instance, I know that “X Indonesia” have some environment projects and they are providing more benefits for the employees such as childcare. Comparing to other companies in the same field, they are doing more good deeds, so I choose to buy there products, knowing that the profit they gain could also benefits others. If the a company are selling stocks in the market, remember to review their CSR programs before deciding to buy their stocks.
It would be easier if the companies are actually promoting their good cause, like GAP with their RED products or Body Shop. But since there aren’t may companies who are doing this in Indonesia, that is how I tried to be a ’smart shopper’. But I do know, that some products have tried things such as :”buy this for Rp.A and B % will be donated for the C program” which could also help you to make a decision.
If you want to support fair trade, you can go back to the traditional system of buying from the local market and your ‘tukang sayur’. And more companies are promoting organic food. Be proud of our products: buy local fabrics such as batik, wear accessories made by local crafters, or use locally made furnitures by Indonesia’s creative designers or artisants.
It does not says that you have to change your live styles 360, it just a matter of balancing your ways of buying things. And I do still face some dilemmas, for example I have suspected that some of my fave clothing lines might have come from sweatshop factories that give minimum pays for women with long working hours and without any benefits. How do I prove this?And if I stop buying, would that be more trouble for the labors?Well, lets just put those doubts aside, and just start taking the steps that we could do now. For now, Im just trying to discipline myself on shopping, keeping in mind of the effect to others.
With a bigger movement, maybe we do could affect the system in Indonesia and make those companies to pay more attention to CSR programs. If you are a business owner, how about trying to be an innovator of social entreprenurship?And Im not proposing on banning a certain product here, but just keeping in mind the need of enlightened self-interest that would generates a change.
PS: Check this video http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html to understand the effect of our consumption to the environment [this really inspired me to be a 'smart shopper' although still under the terms of shopaholic ]
Biopori-Langkah Kecil Menyelamatkan Bumi January 19, 2008
Dapat informasi ini dari salah satu blog. Sepertinya tidak sulit untuk membuat lubang-lubang biopori ini. Kegiatan sederhana ini bisa membantu daya peresapan tanah yang nantinya bisa menghindari bahaya banjir dan juga menyimpan persediaan air yang sangat kita butuhkan. Untuk informasi lengkap tentang manfaat dan cara pembuatannya, please go this link http://www.biopori.com
Selamat mencoba yaa, sayangnya disini saya tak bisa mencoba karena kami tak punya lahan.
Introduction to Profiles January 17, 2008
Under the profiles categories, I will be featuring “real” activities around the world, particularly in Indonesia which are done by groups, NGOs, or individuals who are making a change in and for their communities. Hopefully this feature would inspire us to start making changes and also links those interested in doing similar things to colaborate and share experiences. Stay tune for the updates on our profiles!
