RI students take part in peace mission voyage<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Nine Indonesian students left for London, Britain on Saturday to
\ntake part in a \"reconciliation voyage\" aimed at promoting mutual
\nunderstanding among people from various backgrounds, cultures and
\nfaiths.<\/p>\n
The program, which is called the Voyage of Understanding, is
\norganized by Encompasstrust -- the Daniel Braden Reconciliation
\nTrust -- a foundation established by Braden's family, following
\nthe Bali blast in 2002.<\/p>\n
Braden was one of those killed in the Bali terror attack on
\nOct. 12, 2002 that killed over 200 people and injured some 300
\nothers.<\/p>\n
The participants of the program from Nov. 7 to Nov. 17 on
\nboard the Tall Ship Prince William will come from various
\ncountries including Indonesia, the United States, the United
\nKingdom, Palestine and Israel.<\/p>\n
Encompasstrust representative in Indonesia Heroe Soeprapto
\nsaid on Saturday that the program was initiated by Alexander
\nBraden, the father of the Bali bomb victim, in trying to promote
\nmutual understanding among young people from all over the world.<\/p>\n
Citing Braden's viewpoints, Heroe said radicalism, which is
\nthe root of terrorism, could grow well among people, if they had
\nno opportunities to witness and experience differences.<\/p>\n
\"Through this program, Indonesian youngsters are given the
\nopportunity to get together with their colleagues from different
\ncultures and religions. They discuss their differences freely to
\nreach mutual understanding,\" Heroe added.<\/p>\n
Heroe said his Agadipha Foundation, which is mostly focused on
\nenvironmental issues, was tasked to recruit 18 Indonesian youths
\nevery year to take part in the program.<\/p>\n
He said that initially, he recruited only students of Islamic
\nboarding schools for the program.<\/p>\n
But this year, he recruited students from secular universities
\nwith the hope that more young people from various backgrounds
\nwould have the opportunity to expand their horizons.<\/p>\n
According to Heroe, only 13 Indonesians took part in the
\nprogram this year, four of whom had taken part in the Land
\nJourney of Understanding, which was organized in Scotland in
\nSeptember.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the nine others, all of whom are students from
\nuniversities in Malang, East Java.<\/p>\n
Team leader Singgih Kiswantoro, who is also a student at the
\nUniversity of Malang, said the Indonesian team had prepared
\nseveral papers to be presented to the other participants.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, we want to convince them that Indonesia, which is
\npredominantly Muslim, is only a victim of terrorism. We will also
\nsay that there is no relationship between Islam and terrorism,\"
\nasserted Singgih.<\/p>\n
According to Rila Kristanti, 20, another Indonesian
\nparticipant, the participants will visit ports in France, Belgium
\nand the Netherlands.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-students-take-part-in-peace-mission-voyage-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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