German magazine for intercultural dialogue with Indonesia

German magazine for intercultural dialogue with Indonesia

Christina Schott, Contributor, Jakarta

If it where not for terrorism or natural disasters like the tsunami, Indonesia would rarely fill the headlines of German media.

Even the popular travel stories on Bali became rare after the bomb attacks that have occurred in the archipelago over past years.

Nevertheless, an Indonesian and a German journalist put their knowledge together to found a special interest magazine, Panorama, monthly published from their own small publishing company starting one and a half years ago.

The various topics of the partly bilingual magazine are of the kind one usually does not find in German press -- travel stories from Dieng Plateau to Komodo island, artist portraits from Raden Saleh to W.S. Rendra, social reports from the life of rickshaw drivers to the activities of Islamic women's organizations.

Among the contributors are German journalists and academics with particular knowledge of Indonesia as well as some Indonesian writers. In its service part, every issue includes news of Indonesia-related events in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, a step-by-step language course and Indonesian recipes from the masterly cook Musta In.

"The first idea was born a few years ago, at the birthday party of a friend who has always been crazy about Asia," Michael Laser, editor-in-chief and founder of Panorama, said.

"I met for the first time several Indonesians, who soon became part of my circle of friends. I was curious to learn more about the somehow mysterious culture of their far-away country."

So grew the idea of a project about Indonesia. By that time, 47-year-old Laser had already worked for a long time as a freelance journalist and published a magazine about Greece together with a Greek colleague living in Berlin for more than ten years.

So, nothing seemed more obvious than creating a magazine about Indonesia; all the more, since there was no other regular media on Indonesia published in the German language.

The difficulty was to find an Indonesian counterpart to fill the lack of insider knowledge and contacts on the spot. This is where Musta In got into the venture at the end of 2003.

"I met Michael by accident when he was visiting Borobodur on a research trip. By that time, I was working as a travel guide. He mentioned his plans for Panorama and I was immediately enthusiastic for the idea," said the former music editor from Magelang.

"I saw all the German tourists coming to Borobodur and therefore knew about the basic interest of Germans in Indonesia, however I could not really believe that this interest would be enough for a special magazine on Indonesia in the German language."

However, the 32-year-old bachelor agreed to travel to Berlin to help with the start of the project. Two trips and several issues later, he decided to stay in Germany and even took over the responsibility for the small publishing company in his name.

"It is terrific to be able to work independently in a foreign country, even more since my work is all about my own country, my origins -- that makes me really happy," Musta In said.

The basic message of Panorama is an intercultural dialogue for better understanding and knowledge between Indonesia and Germany by fair and rather nonpolitical coverage. The target group is a readership in that is interested in Indonesia -- either because they have already a personal or professional connection with the country or because they are keen on discovering another culture. Overseas subscriptions in Indonesia are available as well. To support the interaction between different readers, the magazine just started a new website and a service with news about Indonesia-related activities in and from German-speaking countries.

One of the most difficult parts of the work is to connect these different reader communities interested in Indonesia. Panorama is exclusively distributed by subscription and depends on mouth-to-mouth marketing, since the budget is not yet big enough for advertising.

"Although promotion is hard work, the number of our clients rises slowly but constantly," Michael Laser says.

"In times of information overkill, it is definitely not easy to convince people to bind themselves permanently to a new media. But this is the basis of our existence. In a long term, we want to establish ourselves as a special interest magazine, which people here automatically think of, when they hear the word Indonesia."

Also due to the small budget, Panorama is printed in black-and-white. Nevertheless, feedback by subscribers is overwhelmingly positive: "Who cares about color, as long as I could not find such detailed reports on the situation of the people in Aceh in any other German media," a reader stated in an email after receiving the special issue about the tsunami at the beginning of this year. Other special issues were published last year about Borobodur and Ponorogo, their history, art and culture.

"This project requires a lot of passion, curiosity and a big portion of idealism. Since the start of Panorama, we have not had any holidays. But we are repaid by the gratitude of our German readers and especially by the warmth of the Indonesians, which helps a lot to sometimes forget the tough daily working life in Germany," Laser and Musta In both agreed.