Yayuk keeps everything under control<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When first approached for an interview, Yayuk questioned her
\nqualifications, "am I really worth it (for an article)?" she
\nqueried. But when looking at her contributions so far, one can
\nhave nothing but respect for this soft-spoken woman.<\/p>\n
"A person should have ambitions but should never be
\nambitious," said Yayuk Joesmintarti Rahardjo, 43, wisely. But her
\nown multifarious ambitions are already on the borderline of being
\noverly ambitious.<\/p>\n
She is a woman with the Midas touch. She is also restless by
\nnature, proven by the numerous projects she has been willing to
\nundertake at any one time.<\/p>\n
Yayuk Rahardjo is a public relations professional -- a
\nmanaging partner of PR consultant Yayuk Rahardjo & Rekan -- but
\nshe is also a patron of several music foundations.<\/p>\n
PR-ing was an occupation that she had not chosen for herself
\nbut one that -- in her own words -- she had been mapped out to
\nbecome.<\/p>\n
After graduating from the French Department of the University
\nof Indonesia's School of Letters at 19 years old, Yayuk worked as
\nticketing officer for a travel agent in Jakarta and was made
\nresponsible for handling the account for American oil company
\nMobil Oil. This was Yayuk's first brush with public relations.<\/p>\n
After only six months, she was asked to set up a
\nrepresentative office in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
"But my mother didn't approve of my working so far away and I
\nwas forced to come back," Yayuk said.<\/p>\n
Back in Jakarta, Yayuk worked as the sales manager for
\nBorobudur Hotel, a job that would polish her PR skills.<\/p>\n
"I don't know why but my work at that time always had
\nsomething to do with PR, although I didn't work in that
\ndepartment," she said.<\/p>\n
Her human skills may have come from the experiences she
\nreceived as a dancer representing Indonesia at various
\ninternational venues.<\/p>\n
"As the youngest member in the group, people always approached
\nand interviewed me, so I got used to dealing with people," Yayuk
\nsaid, explaining she had started classical Javanese and Balinese
\ndancing when she was just nine years old because she was such a
\ntomboy.<\/p>\n
She was also a former member of Retno Maruti's Pandecwara
\nJavanese classical dance group.<\/p>\n
In 1988 Yayuk set up her first PR company, Gayatri Putra &
\nRahardja (GPR), the names of two of her three children.<\/p>\n
GPR quickly expanded to become a production house, and
\nproduced Japanese language teaching programs on private
\ntelevision station RCTI and Asia's singing competition Asia Bagus
\n-- a program that launched Indonesian singing sensations such as
\nKrisdayanti and AB-Three.<\/p>\n
During her work with GPR, Yayuk met the late conductor Yazeed
\nDjamin. The two later established the Indonesian Youth Orchestra.<\/p>\n
"It was actually quite complicated. I was introduced to him
\nfrom a friend who knew him from my son's elementary school
\ngraduation," Yayuk said.<\/p>\n
Yayuk had organized a small music performance by students of
\nthe school and Yazeed was acting as advisor.<\/p>\n
"After the graduation performance, he asked me to join him in
\nestablishing the Indonesian Youth Orchestra," she said, adding
\nshe agreed on condition that she be allowed to watch and learn
\nfor a year.<\/p>\n
"I knew nothing at all about classical music, other than
\npassively listening to it," Yayuk said, explaining her
\nappreciation toward classical music had grown since her mother
\nhad insisted her children listen to it all the time.<\/p>\n
The 1998 economic crisis might seem to have come at an
\nopportune time for Yayuk, for the first time in many years she
\nhad time to pursue other interests, and during the hiatus she
\nfollowed all Yazeed's concerts in order to learn, absorb, and
\n"get a feeling about what classical music is all about".<\/p>\n
Yazeed and Yayuk established the Indonesian Youth Orchestra in
\n1997, whose members were students from the secondary school of
\nmusic in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
"I feel that another aspect to music is that it can improve
\nthe quality of human life. Teach people about discipline,
\nconsistency, social awareness, and teamwork, all the things that
\nbuild a person's character," Yayuk explained the reasons for the
\nestablishment of the youth orchestra.<\/p>\n
Feeling that Yogyakarta was too far away to recruit for
\nconcerts, she set up her own music school, the Indonesian Youth
\nOrchestra Music School. At the school, people between 6 and 25
\nyears old were taught to play different orchestral instruments.<\/p>\n
The school would perform concerts every six months.<\/p>\n
"But I also found that in order to develop their fullest,
\nchildren must have the support of the whole family, that's when I
\nbegan a new institution, the Gita Niti Para Samya Foundation, in
\n2000," Yayuk said, explaining that the foundation introduced
\nmusic appreciation to the whole family.<\/p>\n
"We invited noted musicians to come and play at the foundation
\nand at the same time to give a short lecture about the music or
\nthe instrument they play," she said.<\/p>\n
Going even further, Yayuk also established the Gita Niti Para
\nSamya music playgroup and kindergarten for children between two
\nand six years old.<\/p>\n
Her contributions to the development of classical music in
\nIndonesia has not gone unnoticed and this year the Belgium-based
\nJeunesses Musicales International (JMI) awarded Yayuk's National
\nYouth Orchestra Indonesia (NYOI) full membership, allowing
\nIndonesian youths to develop their potential at international
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
Besides her activities in the musical world, Yayuk has
\ncontinued her PR work with the establishment of Yayuk Rahardjo &
\nRekan last year, concentrating on public mental health, maritime
\nand fisheries, and intellectual rights.<\/p>\n
How does she juggle all those activities?<\/p>\n
"The key is good time management," Yayuk said lightly, she
\nadded the support of her whole family had also helped.<\/p>\n
"My whole family is involved in the activities that I do, it's
\nlike a family activity now," she said laughing.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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