Aceh writing school to give humanitarian award

Aceh writing school to give humanitarian award

Banda Aceh's Do Karim creative writing school, part of the Tikar
Pandan cultural community network, is to present the Do Karim
Award at 8 p.m. on Dec. 15 at the Do Karim bookstore on Jl.
Iskandar, Banda Aceh.

The award is to be given to non-Acehnese writers who have
contributed their work toward humanitarian interests during the
past conflict in Aceh.

The jurors for the award are Acehnese writers and poets A.A.
Manggeng, Azhari, Nezar Patria and Reza Indria.

Tikar Pandan was established in 2002 in Banda Aceh by students
of Syiahkuala University and the Araniri State Islamic Institute
who aspired to becoming professional writers and aimed to promote
cultural and literary development in Aceh.

Currently, 15 students are enrolled at Do Karim, of which 70
percent are women writers.

Tikar Pandan has previously been supported by Jakarta-based
Tifa foundation and the Netherlands' Hivos Foundation in 2003 and
throughout 2005, respectively, while individual donors in Germany
have pledged to support Tikar Pandan's activities for the January
2006 through July 2006 period. -- The Jakarta Post