Mover and shaker Pia turns 70<\/p>\n
Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
"Challenges and setting up new systems are what I like most in
\nlife."<\/p>\n
Perhaps, as she wakes up on her special day, July 26, Pia
\nAlisjahbana might be wishing to have another big challenge to
\nstart a new year, or rather a new decade. To make the challenge
\neven more exciting, she might wish to set up a new system to face
\nit all.<\/p>\n
Today, Pia celebrates her 70th birthday. She may be senior in
\nyears, but her energy levels easily match those of the young.
\nWhat makes her so special, though, is her drive particularly to
\nadvance the lot of young Indonesians.<\/p>\n
One is struck by the strategic wit and compassion that runs
\nas a red thread through the zillions of activities that she has
\neither founded, presided over or pursued in one way or anther.<\/p>\n
Whether it's her ingenious idea to set up the girls magazine
\nGadis -- the first and only one of its kind -- or to organize
\ncontests to spur the quality of young Indonesian fashion
\ndesigners, organize the Indonesian contribution to the Concours
\nInternational des Jeunes Createurs de Mode annual event in Paris,
\nto found the American Studies Center, the Indonesian Fulbright
\nBi-National Commission, the Worldwide Fund for Nature Indonesia
\nFoundation, or the foundation for the Indonesian National
\nArchives Building -- for Pia, all of that interacts in her effort
\nto raise the quality of Indonesia's youth and ultimately, the
\nfuture of the country.<\/p>\n
In addition, she spends time with the young, and
\n"contaminates" them with her effervescent spirit, advises on a
\nvariety of initiatives, generously assists the needy, and swims,
\nplays tennis and exercises for fun and fitness.<\/p>\n
And so, instead of indulging in the good and easy life, as
\nmany of her age might do, Pia is always on the go.<\/p>\n
To help build a world that is free of war and violence has
\nalways been her obsession ever since she wrote The World We Want,
\nwhich earned her a trip to the U.S. sponsored by the New York
\nHerald Tribune.<\/p>\n
Her activities, filling six pages of her curriculum vitae,
\ndemonstrate her zealous endeavor. The youth forum in which she
\nparticipated, thanks to her essay, had a lasting impact on Pia
\nwho was then barely 15 years old. It was there that she learned
\nto socialize with the young from diverse countries and
\nnationalities.<\/p>\n
Multicultural and easily adaptable, she pursues her vision for
\nthe world of her dreams by also being a player in a large network
\nof art and culture. As an International Council Member of the
\nAsia Society New York she travels all over the world, and her
\nexcellent command of English makes her a favorite speaker at
\ninternational forums.<\/p>\n
As Pia, or Supia Latifah by her full name, reminisces on her
\nlife, she realizes that much of what she is now is rooted in her
\nchildhood. It wasn't all that rosy, she reveals. As her father
\nwas a civil engineer building roads, bridges and irrigation
\nsystems for the office of public works, his job took him and his
\nfamily all over Java.<\/p>\n
"We moved very often," says Pia, which, in hindsight, taught
\nher to be flexible and adjust to changing situations. The
\nJapanese invasion tore the family apart. Her father had to leave
\nwhile she, her mother and her brother went into hiding. During
\nthe turmoil of the Revolution, her brother joined the Students
\nArmy, and was killed in action. Pia became an only child.<\/p>\n
Growing up during difficult times makes one kind of tough and,
\nin a way, quite independent, says Pia. Made strong by the flow
\nof her youth, Pia then proceeded, without difficulty, for there
\nwas nothing she could not overcome. She began to love the
\nchallenge.<\/p>\n
After she had graduated from the university where she majored
\nin English, she became a teacher in the English department of the
\nfaculty of letters at the University of Indonesia, and climbed
\nthe ladder from secretary to head of department, to executive
\nsecretary of the Consortium of Letters and Philosophy, an
\nadvisory body to the director general of higher education.<\/p>\n
In this position, Pia had to coordinate 10 faculties of
\nletters from all over Indonesia, and worked out programs for
\ntheir manpower development during twelve years. Her marriage to
\nSofjan Alisjahbana (1959) did not keep her from working outside
\nthe home.<\/p>\n
Today, Pia is a member of and adviser to numerous boards and
\ncommissions, including the Femina group. She passionately
\nadvocates maintaining cultural heritage and development of the
\narts, and fervently fights against environmental degradation.<\/p>\n
But it is her mother's legacy that she honors most. This
\nincludes the Asih Budi foundation, which maintains a school for
\nslow learners. It started around her mother's dining room table
\nand soon moved to their garage.<\/p>\n
Pia's mother was a teacher, who helped children with learning
\nproblems. To keep the school going may be her greatest challenge,
\nand it wouldn't be a surprise if Pia were to challenge us all to
\nsend a contribution to the foundation: The advancement of slow
\nlearners is part of the world that Pia strives for, a world of
\npeace and equal opportunities. May she live to see her dream
\nfulfilled.<\/p>",
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