Mover and shaker Pia turns 70

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

"Challenges and setting up new systems are what I like most in life."

Perhaps, as she wakes up on her special day, July 26, Pia Alisjahbana might be wishing to have another big challenge to start a new year, or rather a new decade. To make the challenge even more exciting, she might wish to set up a new system to face it all.

Today, Pia celebrates her 70th birthday. She may be senior in years, but her energy levels easily match those of the young. What makes her so special, though, is her drive particularly to advance the lot of young Indonesians.

One is struck by the strategic wit and compassion that runs as a red thread through the zillions of activities that she has either founded, presided over or pursued in one way or anther.

Whether it's her ingenious idea to set up the girls magazine Gadis -- the first and only one of its kind -- or to organize contests to spur the quality of young Indonesian fashion designers, organize the Indonesian contribution to the Concours International des Jeunes Createurs de Mode annual event in Paris, to found the American Studies Center, the Indonesian Fulbright Bi-National Commission, the Worldwide Fund for Nature Indonesia Foundation, or the foundation for the Indonesian National Archives Building -- for Pia, all of that interacts in her effort to raise the quality of Indonesia's youth and ultimately, the future of the country.

In addition, she spends time with the young, and "contaminates" them with her effervescent spirit, advises on a variety of initiatives, generously assists the needy, and swims, plays tennis and exercises for fun and fitness.

And so, instead of indulging in the good and easy life, as many of her age might do, Pia is always on the go.

To help build a world that is free of war and violence has always been her obsession ever since she wrote The World We Want, which earned her a trip to the U.S. sponsored by the New York Herald Tribune.

Her activities, filling six pages of her curriculum vitae, demonstrate her zealous endeavor. The youth forum in which she participated, thanks to her essay, had a lasting impact on Pia who was then barely 15 years old. It was there that she learned to socialize with the young from diverse countries and nationalities.

Multicultural and easily adaptable, she pursues her vision for the world of her dreams by also being a player in a large network of art and culture. As an International Council Member of the Asia Society New York she travels all over the world, and her excellent command of English makes her a favorite speaker at international forums.

As Pia, or Supia Latifah by her full name, reminisces on her life, she realizes that much of what she is now is rooted in her childhood. It wasn't all that rosy, she reveals. As her father was a civil engineer building roads, bridges and irrigation systems for the office of public works, his job took him and his family all over Java.

"We moved very often," says Pia, which, in hindsight, taught her to be flexible and adjust to changing situations. The Japanese invasion tore the family apart. Her father had to leave while she, her mother and her brother went into hiding. During the turmoil of the Revolution, her brother joined the Students Army, and was killed in action. Pia became an only child.

Growing up during difficult times makes one kind of tough and, in a way, quite independent, says Pia. Made strong by the flow of her youth, Pia then proceeded, without difficulty, for there was nothing she could not overcome. She began to love the challenge.

After she had graduated from the university where she majored in English, she became a teacher in the English department of the faculty of letters at the University of Indonesia, and climbed the ladder from secretary to head of department, to executive secretary of the Consortium of Letters and Philosophy, an advisory body to the director general of higher education.

In this position, Pia had to coordinate 10 faculties of letters from all over Indonesia, and worked out programs for their manpower development during twelve years. Her marriage to Sofjan Alisjahbana (1959) did not keep her from working outside the home.

Today, Pia is a member of and adviser to numerous boards and commissions, including the Femina group. She passionately advocates maintaining cultural heritage and development of the arts, and fervently fights against environmental degradation.

But it is her mother's legacy that she honors most. This includes the Asih Budi foundation, which maintains a school for slow learners. It started around her mother's dining room table and soon moved to their garage.

Pia's mother was a teacher, who helped children with learning problems. To keep the school going may be her greatest challenge, and it wouldn't be a surprise if Pia were to challenge us all to send a contribution to the foundation: The advancement of slow learners is part of the world that Pia strives for, a world of peace and equal opportunities. May she live to see her dream fulfilled.