Students hone skills, ideas at Hitachi leadership forum

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur

"I think this forum is very inspiring. That is why I am enthusiastic to be here attending this event. For me, this is a comeback," Nina Juliana said, referring to the 7th Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative (HYLI) held in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Nina was one of four Indonesian students participating in the 5th Initiative in Singapore in 2002. Three years later, she attended the same forum not as a student, but as a representative of the Jakarta-based Gogirl Magazine, a lifestyle publication for young women.

Nina, who is also a marketing lecturer at the Atmajaya University in Jakarta, recalled that she learned a lot from her previous participation in the forum. The forum gave her a rare opportunity to interact with students from different countries and share ideas with them.

"This forum motivates students to move forward. That's what I feel," she told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the event.

Hitachi, a Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer, launched the forum in 1996 in Singapore in order to prepare and nurture young potential leaders in the region. The 7th HYLI in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, titled "Balancing People, Planet and Profit in Asia's Future", ran from July 10 through July 15.

As in the previous forums, there were 24 student participants, who came from six countries: Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Each country was represented by four students, who had to undergo a selection process in their respective country to attend the forum.

The four student participants from Indonesia were Angelin C. Sumendap and Marcella Widiarta from Parahyangan University, Bandung, Maesy Angelina from Atmajaya University, Jakarta, and Muhammad Donny Eryastha from University of Indonesia, Jakarta.

During the forum, the students discussed various issues that are now challenging the region, particularly economic and environmental issues.

Some senior government officials and academics from across the region also conducted presentations during the forum, including Malaysian Minister of Higher Education Dato' Shafie Mohd Salleh, Masahiro Kawai of the University of Tokyo, former secretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Philippines Victor O. Ramos and Leila Komala, deputy to the State Minister for National Development Planning in Indonesia, who all presented their thoughts at the seminar.

Unfortunately, the smaller workshops where the 24 students exchanged ideas and debated various topics were closed to the press. The organizer barred reporters from covering the workshop in order to prevent the students from being disturbed.

After completing the seminar and workshop programs, the students took on two days of community work, during which they visited a dormitory run by the Malaysia Federation of the Deaf.

There, the students were briefly taught how to communicate with deaf people using sign language.

The students concluded the forum by presenting recommendations on how to build a better region and stronger solidarity among Asian countries.

"It is a very good experience. We meet people from various backgrounds," said Marcella.

"In the beginning, I felt uneasy speaking in the forum. Later, I found the atmosphere very stimulating as all of the students were open-minded," Maesy added.

They called on Indonesian students who will take part in similar forums as the HYLI to improve their English-language skills and their knowledge of contemporary issues.

"We must understand national and regional issues to get involved in the discussions. There is no other choice for Indonesian students but to improve their English and knowledge," said Donny.