KAMI Conference: The MICo, Best Big Five National Service Project

Indonesian Youth Alumni Conference or KAMI Conference has completed done in 3 June 2012, closed with an activity visiting Sanggar Akar (alternative school for street children conducted by an NGO concerning education and culture in South Jakarta). On the KAMI Conference, Malang Interfaith Dialogue (The Mico) has become one of the best five service projects. On that occasion, the pilot projects presented before the jury to get an appraisal well as feedback on this service project.

KAMI Conference was conducted at @america Pacific Place Jakarta, attended by many visitors as the majority of the American program alumni. With those youth alumni, the conference there was an interesting discussion during the question and answer session. The questions presented include how to order interfaith discussions can get an idea of ​​common ground without having a conflict, how the response from the community toward this forum, and so forth.

The presentation lasted about 20 minutes and got positive responses from visitors. Despite there was a presumption that service project concerning on interfaith aspect in Malang is not urgent as needed in areas such as the conflict in Poso, Aceh, or Ambon, but the MICo is able to participate and as a media in conveying the aspirations and increase mutual respect and understanding in preventing further religious frictions.

The bog five other service projects in the KAMI Conference are: promoting green living for wealth in boarding houses of the college environment, child trafficking, women empowerment in schools, and also English clinic as an alternative school in the remote areas in Aceh.

The MICo, Bridging Religious Diversity in Malang

Malang Inter-faith Community (The MICo) is now being nominated in the KAMI Service Project Competition and Conference Program. The MICo is initiated by three young scholars of American sponsored program: Nurona Azizah (Medical School, Brawijaya University), Sueb, S. Pd (State University of Malang) and Rif'atul Lum'ah (State Islamic University of Malang). All three are alumni of exchange programs funded by the Government of the United States that is IELSP (Indonesia English Language Study Program) in 2011.

KAMI (Community Young Alumni Indonesia) is reserved exclusively for alumni scholarship recipients from the Government of the United States. Each is a study of the U.S. Institute (SUSI), The Indonesian Youth Leadership Program (IYLP), Linking Individuals, Knowledge and Culture (LINC), the ASEAN Young Leadership Program, and Indonesia English Language Study Program (IELSP).This event has several purposes including the development of personality alumni, improving organizational and leadership skills, and enhance mutual understanding in relation to Indonesia and the United States among the participants and the local community.

For this KAMI Service Project Competition and Conference Program consists of four themes. Four themes offered include environmental, community activities, volunteerism, and religious diversity. Into the category of religious diversity, The MICo is as a forum that mediates the dialogue between religious communities in the region of Malang, especially at campuses in Malang. Among the entities included in this forum are students, religious leaders, government officials at the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as academics.

To PRASETYA Online, Azizah conveyed, Malang is a city where education of various regions in Indonesia. They come from various ethnic, religious and class. Conflicts and frictions could arise if there is no common understanding among tribes, religions and classes. By specializing in religious dialogue forum, The MICo has carried out its program for a month starting February 22 until March 22, 2012. Activities that The MICo held was the first seminar being attended by some religious communities including Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

The next agenda was a meeting to discuss in more detail the establishment of this The MICo. "If the forum has been formed it will be followed by inter-religious discussion on a regular basis to foster mutual understanding and tolerance," said Azizah to PRASETYA Online. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to minimize friction and conflict that may lead to more severe conditions such as war, terrorism, radicalism, and humiliation.

Among the participants who attended the first seminar held on March 10, 2012 is the representative of the people of Harmony Forum (FKUB) as well as students from UB, UM, UIN and Ma Chung. The conference was attended by over 40 attendances representing the six major religions. Speakers at the occasion were KH, Abdul Karim Udin, SH; H. Pastor Sudjoko Santoso and Drs. John Hadi Susilo, M.Pd.

On programs that have been held, The MICo was elected to the KAMI Service Project Competition and Conference Program will be held at 1 to 3 June 2012 in Jakarta. This activity is organized by the Center for Civic Education Indonesia (CCEI) and is supported entirely by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

The article is adopted from PRASETYA Online of Brawijaya University Press.

KAMI Service Project Competition & Conference

Indonesian Youth Alumni (KAMI) Service Project Competition & Conference will be held in Jakarta next week! MICo is one of the many service projects nominated in KAMI Service Project Competition and Conference committee, and will be presented in Jakarta on June 1 to 3 next week. Pilot projects from MICo together with other young alumni from across Indonesia will present our service projects for this weekend.

Not only presentation about service project alone, the pilot projects consisted of young alumni will also be attending various workshops and seminars on leadership, organizational, youth activities, in developing a strategy projects and so on. The core of this three-day activity is that the youth alumni can better develop the potential and resources around them through their service projects.

MICo is also established from the initiative of some young alumni who are members of Indonesia English Language Program(IELSP). Other young alumni joining KAMI Conference Service Project Competition are American sponsored programs such as the Indonesian Youth Leadership Program (IYLP), Study of the United States Institute (SUSI) for student’s leadership and religious diversity, and so forth.

For my friends who are in Jakarta area (Greater Jakarta), if there is an opportunity just to come to the event WE Service Project Competition and Conference held at the Pacific Place Atamerica. For more information, you can access through the site AtAmerica or through social networks at @atamerica.