RI educational mission to U.S.
JAKARTA (JP): A. R. Ramly, former Indonesian ambassador to the United States and now chairman of the widely-diversified PT Astra International, is excited about an educational mission to be conducted by Indonesian businessmen in the U.S. next month.
"Business meetings are simply normal and even a standard agenda for a business delegation. But when a business mission also distributes teaching guidelines, that is rather unusual," Ramly noted.
Ramly was referring to the Scholastic Ambassador Program for Indonesia, under which posters and teaching guidelines on Indonesia will be distributed to around 70,000 high school teachers throughout the U.S.
The program is one of the two main agendas of an Indonesian business delegation which will make a ten-day visit to the U.S. beginning on Sept.10.
Ramly said as a former ambassador in Washington he was often dumbfounded by the extreme lack of knowledge on the part of the American people about the basic facts on Indonesia.
"I think the scholastic ambassador program is a long-term endeavor but a very important one to promote mutual understanding between the two countries," added Ramly, who will also join the delegation.
The business mission, to be led by Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto, will include Bank Indonesia's Governor Soedradjad Djiwandono, East Java's Governor Basofi Sudirman and several other officials as well as 30 businessmen.
The mission is being organized jointly by the U.S. Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KIKAS), the American- Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-ASEAN Council.
Guidelines
KIKAS Chairman Tony Agus Ardie said the teaching guidelines are being prepared in cooperation with Scholastic Education Inc., the largest publisher and distributor of textbooks for high schools in the U.S.
Two teaching materials are being prepared under the supervision of Alwi Dahlan, a noted mass communications scholar and vice chairman of the Team for the Propagation and Application of Pancasila, the state ideology.
Colorful posters that depict Indonesia's geography, history, culture, economy and tourism will be used, along with a teacher's guide and student resource materials.
"The education program is a long-term project but is vital to strengthen cooperation and mutual understanding between the two countries, their leaders and their peoples," Tony said.
He said future U.S. government leaders and businessmen will come from the estimated 16 million high school students in that country now.
The other program of the delegation will consist of business meetings in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The Indonesia-U.S. business meeting in New York will discuss investment and trade opportunities, infrastructure, tourism and banking.
The program in Washington will include a U.S.-Indonesia business roundtable and an economic policy roundtable, which will be co-chaired by Hartarto and American Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.
"These roundtable discussions will be unique as they will also be attended by U.S. congressmen," Tony added.
In Chicago, the U.S. ASEAN Council is arranging individual meetings between Indonesian businessmen and their U.S. counterparts.
The programs in San Francisco and Los Angeles will consist of small group meetings and business panel presentations.
Among the 30 Indonesian businessmen who will join the mission are Aburizal Bakrie of the Bakrie Group, Sukamdani S. Gitosardjono of the Sahid Group, Sofyan Wanandi of the Gemala Group, Hashim S. Djojohadikusumo of the Tirtamas Group, Murdaya W. Poo of the Murdaya Group, Suyanto Gondokusumo of the Dharmala Group, Rudy Pesik of PT Birotika Semesta and Hari Darmawan of the Matahari Group.(vin)