PLENARY 1
Perspectives on Children and Media for a Culture of Peace (SE Asia)
From Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia Fr Boedi Prasetijo
Chiang Mai, 18 October 2009
I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN my presentation on the theme of SIGNIS World Congress on the perspective of Southeast Asia especially Indonesia by looking at the GOOD NEWS came from Cambodia. We can read it in SIGNIS.net
GOOD NEWS Came from Cambodia.
Seventy-five Church workers involved in media and communications from throughout Asia participated in the Assembly, held for the first time in Cambodia. Phnom Penh-based Catholic Social Communications of Cambodia hosted the event, which had the theme "Children and the Media". The participants, 33 of them Cambodians, decided to encourage communicators to make children’s rights a priority in their work, in preparation for the SIGNIS World Congress this year. "Media for a Culture of Peace - Children’s Rights, Tomorrow’s Promise" is the theme of that assembly, scheduled for October 2009 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The Asian Assembly kicked off with a Mass that featured traditional Khmer dance by children, some of whom have disabilities. A highlight of the Assembly was a presentation on Cambodian children by Chantal Rodier, a consultant on children’s issues here. In her presentation, which included a video screening, she pointed out that children in Cambodia are especially vulnerable due to their extreme poverty and because electronic media have a strong and uncontrolled influence on Cambodian society today.
Participants from the Southeast Asian sub-region agreed that values and cultural identity are slowly being eroded by the prevalence of violent video games, pornography in media, parents who are absent or who neglect their families, and uncritical absorption of negative and selfish attitudes.
They pointed out that modern media portrays as normal, or even promotes, values they consider blatantly anti-Christian. They cited consumerism; judging a person based on his or her physical beauty or material wealth; same-sex marriage; using violence to resolve disputes; and putting one’s self before family or community.
We were there also but not in the same group. I and Fr. Joseph Iswarahadi SJ
went to Jesuit’s communities in Battambang and Siem Reap. In Battambang I met
Mgr. Enrique “Kike” Figaredo. I spent several times to look at his activities related to the Children in Cambodia, especially in Arrupe Centre for the Disabled Houses. There are the good news came from Battambang. We can read in the media (UCAN):
GOOD NEWS FROM BATTAMBANG, CAMBODIA
BATTAMBANG, Cambodia (UCAN) -- A Church-organized traditional Khmer dance troupe that includes physically disabled children and teenagers recently went on a
six-week tour of Spain.
Monsignor Enrique Figaredo, apostolic prefect of Battambang, organized the tour for the Dance Group of Tahen, based in Tahen, outside Battambang town, about 250 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh.
During the Oct. 26-Nov. 5 tour, about 70 children and teenagers, of whom 15 are disabled, performed more than 20 times in more than 10 major cities. They also visited five schools for exchange activities with local Spanish students. According to Alvaro Figaredo, who helped organize the tour, the Spanish students enthusiastically welcomed the Cambodian performers "as if they were the Rolling Stones" rock band.
The layman, a cousin of Monsignor Figaredo, a Spanish Jesuit missioner, told UCA News the Cambodian dancers covered more than 10,000 kilometers traveling around Spain. Aside from performing and making friends, he said they also saw an amateur bullfight and attended Mass at the Holy Cave of Covadonga, a Marian shrine near Spain's northern coast.
Recalling the tour, which sometimes involved getting up early and eating at odd times in odd places, Alvaro Figaredo said, "We have learned a lesson on sacrifice, being positive, happy and flexible, and especially on companionship." He added,
"When one asks the Cambodian dancers what they like most about Spain, they inevitably answer: 'The people, the Spanish.'"
Some of the young performers spoke to UCA News, both in Spain and when they came back to Cambodia, on their experience:
Another girl, Pen, was 6 years old when polio struck her. "Being a disabled girl, I'm so proud to perform our Khmer classical dance, which is very hard to study," she said. Pen was thrilled to hear that some audience members planned to visit Cambodia. "I can help my country a little by letting the world know more about us. Before, the world knew Cambodia because of our war," she noted.
Cham Mech, 49, who was in charge of the troupe, commented: "We did not come only to perform our traditional and classical dances. We came as witnesses to our Catholic faith by the way we pray, celebrate Mass and also the way we sit and greet."
Alfonso Gonzalez Garcia, a volunteer who helped out during the tour, told UCA News he was impressed with how the troupe combines able-bodied and disabled youngsters in its dances. He also found the young Cambodians to be very respectful of elders and helpful to each other. In Spain, he remarked, it is difficult to find a child who smiles at a stranger.
After the tour, five young Spanish volunteers were set to go to Battambang to work with the Dance Group of Tahen.
One of them, Adela, told UCA News she was at first unsure of going to Cambodia but after being with the dance troupe for six weeks, "I truly want to go with the group and help out in Cambodia, especially in Arrupe and Tahen."
Monsignor Figaredo runs Arrupe Center, a care center in Battambang for disabled children.
During its tour of Spain, the troupe collected enough funds to finance two rural projects to support underpriviledged children in Battambang prefecture.
Empowering disabled children and promoting Khmer culture are just two of the many ministries that the local Church has undertaken since it revived in the early 1990s after two decades of civil war and religious persecution. Almost all Khmer, the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, are Buddhists.
REFLECTION ON “SUPERMAN” FROM MALAYSIA
The SIGNIS ASIA Assembly also featured a one-minute video production contest on the theme "Children and Media". A Malaysian production entitled
Superman emerged the winner among six entries.
In The Jakarta Post we read the article entitled “Families flick the switch off for No TV Day this Sunday”. Media activists begin nationwide campaign to limit children's exposure to low-quality TV programming.
Prodita Sabarini wrote, “At least 12,000 citizens have pledged their support for the No TV Day on Sunday; there will be no fake crying from soap opera actresses as television sets are switched off in many homes across the country. “
In a bid to reduce children's exposure to low-quality television programs, activists are starting this year's nationwide campaign for the No TV Day this Sunday.
The Children's Media Development Foundation (YPMA) along with universities and NGOs have set up the National Coalition for No TV Day in conjunction with National Children's Day on July 23. The coalition is promoting a campaign for parents to turn off their television sets at home and encourage children to get involved in other activities.
For one day, thousands of families will not tune into infotainment presenters espousing the latest showbiz-spin, hours of slapstick comedy or lay people confront their cheating partners on reality TV shows. Coalition Steering Committee head B. Guntarto said Saturday the campaign was intended to inspire parents to limit their children's exposure to television.
He said that according to YPMA's 2006 study, Indonesian children in cities watched 30 to 35 hours of television a week or 1,600 hours a year, more than they spent studying at school, which adds up to 750 hours per year. He said that in recent years, programs that were dangerous for children were magical shows.
"Even though these shows are aired at night, there is also a children's version. With children being very curious, showing dangerous scenes such as people being unharmed by sharp knives -- even with warnings -- still gives them the wrong idea," he said.
He said television stations also aired programs such as infotainment, reality shows and soap operas (sinetron) that were inappropriate during the hours children watched television. The coalition utilized the Internet to spread the word about the campaign. Up to Saturday, its Facebook group had more than 12,000 members.
To raise awareness, the coalition carried out a rally with theatrical performances at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout on Friday. He said that on Sunday, the coalition would hold a fun day for the children at the National Monument Park, simultaneously with other cities in Bandung, Bogor, Purwokerto, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Makassar.
"It's important for parents to provide alternative activities for their children when they tell their children not to watch television," he said.
Despite the campaign, working mother Astri Wahyuni said that she did not know about Sunday being a no TV day. She said that she believed children could learn from the experience and that she would limit the time her 11-month-old daughter would watch TV in the future.
For fifth-grader Zahrah Diva Shasya the idea of not watching television for a day did not bother her. She said she liked to watch cartoons for 2 hours a day, but would not mind not watching them.
"I like to read story books, so if I don't watch television, I read books," she said.
Almost All TV Programs 'Unfriendly' for Children
Information minister also criticizes newspapers for emphasizing sensational news, such as violence against children (The Jakarta Post, Wednesday, April 15, 2009).
Only 10 percent of the programs aired on local television are appropriate for children, says the Indonesian Commission on Child Protection (KPAI)."There is an acute shortage of child-friendly entertainment in the country," KPAI chairwoman
Masnah Sari said Tuesday at a seminar. "Children are exposed to movies, music videos and news programs that do not aid their development."
Children make up a third of Indonesia's total population.
"There are about 79 million children in the country, yet they have little access to proper entertainment for their age group," Masnah said. She added this led them to watch programs such as sinetron (local soap operas), horror movies and so-called infotainment (gossip shows). "These shows contain scenes involving sex and drugs, which may influence them."She also claimed that each year, more children were exposed to "negative" lifestyles, in which the media played a part.
Data from the KPAI shows children here watch around 1,500 hours of TV per year, while TV stations air 67 hours of infotainment each week. "More than 20 percent of the country's children need urgent attention because of exposure to negative lifestyles, such as prostitution and drug abuse. This figure has risen in the past few years," Masnah said.
Information and Communications Minister Muhammad Nuh said Indonesian media still had a long way to go to be truly child-friendly. "Some newspapers only print news considered sensational, such as politics, on the front page," he told the seminar.
"And when there is news about children, it tends to be shocking, such as reports of sexual violence."
"Any interference would mean a return to the New Order way," he said.
Date Posted: 4/15/2009
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FROM INDONESIA
National Children’s Day: 3 children receive “Young Leaders Award 2009”
Jakarta, 23 July 2009 - The UN agency for children and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment today honored teenagers Andi Fardian from West Nusa Tenggara Barat, I Gede Wahyu Adi Raditya from Bali and Aan Fajar Lestari from Yogyakarta with the prestigious 2009 Young Leaders Award.
“The government acknowledges that children are able and must participate in matters that affect their lives. Their opinions, hopes and achievements must be recognized.” The Minister of Women’s Empowerment, Prof. Dr. Meutia Hatta Swasono said. “This award is the government’s recognition of the children’s achievements not just as students in schools but as active citizens.”
At the National Children Day celebration in Taman Impian Jaya Ancol on 23 July morning, the three winners received trophies from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“This award is an acknowledgement of the children’s achievements. One of finalists rightly said: children’s rights should not just be pretty words on posters but they should be the focus of deep reflection and a strong motivation for us to do something to ensure that children survive and thrive and are protected,” Niloufar Pourzand said on behalf of UNICEF Indonesia Country Representative, Angela Kearney.
The winners also received certificates from UNICEF and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment as organizers and prizes worth Rp 5 million from Bank Niaga at a separate afternoon ceremony at Hotel Borobodur.
Ten Children Guilty of Gambling at Jakarta Airport
(AFP Photo)
As if to underline what some believe is a farcical trial, the accused schoolboys wear festive masks as they are declared guilty of gambling by the Tangerang District court judge.
The Tangerang District Court on Monday found 10 children guilty of gambling in a controversial ruling that sparked outrage among Indonesia\'s child welfare activists, even after the court ordered the juveniles returned home to their parents.
The case drew national attention after prosecutors in Banten, already under fire for a recent defamation case involving a woman who had complained via e-mail about a local hospital, insisted on prosecuting the children and had them locked up for nearly a month.
The 10 boys, aged 12 to 16, were arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in late May after police claimed they were playing a coin-tossing game for a Rp 1,000 (10 cents) prize and shining shoes without a license.
“The justice system is played with like a toy and ironically it takes its toll on children,” said Arist Merdeka Sirait, secretary general of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak). “We will file a motion against their arrest, which violates the Child Protection Law, and we will report the prosecutors to the Commission for Public Prosecution for using the Criminal Code to prosecute children.
Although presiding Judge Retno Pujiningtyas opted not to give the children prison sentences, she ruled that if they were summarily acquitted, they could potentially repeat their crimes.
She said the verdict conformed to prosecution demands as well as recommendations from the child protection commission, which quickly denied that it supported finding the children guilty.
“We never agreed to that,” said Magdalena Sitorus, a commission member.
“We recommended the children be unconditionally acquitted, with no guilty verdict whatsoever.”
Defense lawyers immediately said they would appeal the verdict, which is the latest black eye for the country’s troubled justice system.
“The judge used Article 303 [of the Criminal Code] on gambling to deliver the verdict,” defense lawyer Ricky Gunawan said.
“She has ignored the fact that the children were really just tossing coins for fun, not for the money.”
According to the law, gambling for profit is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The 10 children were arrested by three police officers at a bus parking area of the airport on May 29.
According to the children’s lawyers, one of the officers, Fachrozi Hanapi, threatened the children with his gun and kicked three of them after their arrest.
In an earlier hearing, the children said they were hiding from a security operation to round up illegal visitors to the airport and were playing with the coins at the parking area to kill time. They did admit to working at the airport by shining shoes without permits, saying they earned up to Rp 20,000 a day.
Prosecutors and police came under fire for allegedly treating the children like hardened criminals, and were mocked for having them wear festive colored masks, ostensibly to hide their identities, when they appeared in court.
Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jasman Panjaitan, however, said prosecutors had done nothing wrong in pursuing the case, and claimed their detention was based on orders from the police.
“But children aged 12 to 18 are liable to sentencing if convicted. We consider that the judge’s verdict is correct and lawful.” (Heru Andriyanto).
LEARNING FROM “LASKAR PELANGI” MOVIE IN INDONESIA
After success being best seller novel, sold more than 500.000 copies, now
Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops) ready to be made into big screen movie. Produced by Miles Film co-operates with Mizan Cinema Productions, “B” Edutainment and Iluni UI in Indonesia.
Laskas Pelangi is a story about struggling of teacher and 10 students for education in Belitong, South of Sumatra Island. This film production idea begins from how Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza were admiring Andrea Hirata masterpiece which was published on 2004 for the first time.
Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops), is a film adaptation of Andrea Hirata’s literary work that first appeared on shelves in 2004, based on his childhood memories about his devoted teachers, Muslimah (Cut Mini) and Pak Arfan (Ikranagara), and their ten students (mostly children of poor laborers). The story sensitively captures the struggles of marginalized people to achieve their dreams, the beauty of friendship and its ability to save humanity, against the background of what was once one of Indonesia’s richest island, Belitong.
They study in a poor Elementary School - SD Muhammadiyah -, which only has ten students, they are Laskar Pelangi. Each of them has a special characteristic. For example Lintang who is the smartest. He is really addicted with education. He likes to explore new things. Even, he must take eighty kilometers vice versa a day to reach the school. Another figure is Mahar who has a talent in art. He has a beautiful imagination to create something. And also, the main figure of this Tetralogy is Ikal.
Laskar Pelangi is not only kind of book literature, but also scientific reference. Even, this novel has been a reference to compose recommendation of education policy in Indonesia.
Laskar Pelangi or “The Rainbow Troops” wins SIGNIS Award at Hong Kong International Film Festival 2009
The SIGNIS Award, introduced to Asia once again at the 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival, went to The Rainbow Troops directed by Riri Riza
(Indonesia). Reverend Dominic Chan, Vicar General of Diocese of Hong Kong, presented the award at the ceremony on March 31st 2009.
“In two hours the film takes the viewer to a world we perhaps know very little of but dream much about - a world that gives us hope for the future. In this world, the dignity of human person is of prime importance, and equality is possible for rich and poor alike. Here, compassion, caring for others matters more than cash and worldly success bringing out the best in every person it touches.”
SIGNIS Award is co-organized with SIGNIS Hong Kong and introduced in the Hong Kong international film festival since 2004. It is a salute to quality films with significant artistic, human, social, and spiritual values. Members of the SIGNIS Jury were: Teresa Tunay (Philippines), Pablo Marcet Bonel (Spain) and Shirley Tsang
(Hong Kong).
Group Photo
PROUD OF NEWSPAPER: 'Berani' Pioneers Newspaper for Children
By Desy Nurhayati
Concerned with the low literacy rate among Indonesian children, teacher and journalist Witdarmono started a newspaper for elementary and junior high school students three years ago. Berani (meaning brave) stands for the paper's slogan,
Berita Anak Indonesia (news for Indonesian children), and is the first such publication in the country.
The Jakarta-based daily, published every weekday since April 2006, aims to develop children's interests and abilities in reading and understanding what they read.
The 16-page newspaper measures a bit larger than an A4 sheet of paper. It contains articles on current issues, written in a light style easy for children to grasp. "We started this paper because we found Indonesian children ranked poorly among other countries in terms of literacy, with only 30 percent understanding the material they read," Witdarmono says.
That figure came from the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Reading literacy, according to PISA, means to understand, use and reflect on written text to achieve one's goals, develop one's knowledge and participate in society.
"The children's poor ability to understand the reading material is because they are not really interested in reading. We want to encourage them to read,"
Witdarmono says."By reading a lot, children will be accustomed to figuring out topics of the articles they read and developing their thoughts about the issues." But why a newspaper?
"By reading a newspaper every day, children will fall into a habit, and they will also be aware of what’s going on in the world," he explains.
"Besides studying at school, it also helps if they're well-informed about current issues, including issues that are relevant to their lives, that they don't learn at school."
Understanding current issues also raises their concern for their surroundings, he adds. Articles in Berani include various scoops, both national and global. The paper also has sections on prominent figures, science and technology, literature and ethics.
Berani has seven adult reporters trained to write articles using easy words that children can understand.
With 30,000 copies printed of each edition, the paper has more than 100,000 readers. Eighty percent of the copies go to subscribers, including schools and parents.
The monthly subscription rate is Rp 39,000 for readers in Java and Rp 45,000 for those elsewhere, while the retail price is Rp 2,000 per copy.
Some schools use the newspaper as a reference for teachers and students.
"We also invite and receive submissions from students for the paper. We want to encourage them to write and express their ideas."
Last October, the newspaper added a special section called News for You, which contains English-language articles.(Date Posted: 3/11/2009).
CONCLUSION
FROM the Good News and Bad News we can look at the realities of the children in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia. There are a lot of storytelling on children and media for a culture of peace from Cambodia and Indonesia that published by media such as local newspapers, especially The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Globe and some sites in internet. We face the future of children in Cambodia and Indonesia through a little story-teller, news and other non-fictional narratives. We find out also the stories of children in the movie entitled “The Rainbow Troops” as media for a culture of peace!
REFERENCES
1. Across the Border: Southeast Asian Chronicles, SEAPA FELLOWSHIPS 2002-2004, Edited by Cecile C.A.Balgos, SEAPA, Dusit Bangkok, Thailand, 2005
2. Bill Tarrant, Reporting Indonesia, The Jakarta Post Story 1983-2008, Equinox Publishing, Jakarta-Singapore, 2008
3. Jostein Gripsrud, Understanding Media Culture, Arnold, London, 2002
http://www.signis.net/article.php3?id_article=2656 http://www.hkdavc.com/hkiff2009awards_eng.html
