AMFA merupakan festival tahunan yang diikuti 15 negara di Asia, di antaranya Korea Selatan, Jepang, Thailand, China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Filipina, Singapura, dan Mongolia. tahun ini, AMFA diikuti oleh sekitar 60 model yang berasal dari 15 negara tersebut.

Pada ajang yang diadakan tanggal 16 – 18 Januari lalu ini, kedua model senior Indonesia, Agni Pratistha dan Dion Wiyoko berhasil mendapatkan trofi Asia Model Star Awards 2012 atas kontribusinya terhadap dunia model dan seni peran Indonesia, sementara Hege MS Wollan meraih penghargaan Best Dressed Award di kategori Asia New Face Model Awards 2012.

Keempat model Indonesia ini dipilih untuk mewakili Indonesia setelah sebelumnya melewati proses penelusuran dokumen, rekam jejak, serta rekomendasi dari praktisi dunia model dan periklanan Indonesia.

selain berhasil memenangkan beberapa penghargaan, model – model ini juga berhasil memamerkan budaya Indonesia dengan mengenakan kain tenun ikat asli Indonesia, sehingga mereka tampak mencolok diantara model negara lain yang menggenakan busana modern bernuansa Barat. tak heran kostum mereka mendapat banyak pujian dari peserta lain.

ditulis di Good News From Indonesia oleh Farah Fitriani (@farafit / farahfitrianifaruq@gmail.com)

Last year, Indonesia led the art world in auction revenue growth with 39 percent, followed by China’s 38 percent growth and Singapore’s 22 percent, according to a report by Artprice, a France-based world leader in art market data.

The report showed that global art auction sales rose to a record $11.5 billion last year (exceeding the $10 billion mark for the first time ever), with China cementing its spot as the top market, research showed Wednesday.

China, which took over the first place in global auction sales in 2010, held on to the top spot with $4.79 billion in sales, or 41.43 percent of the market.

“This exceptional growth did not fade through the year,” Thierry Ehrmann, Artprice founder and chairman, told AFP, adding that in a time of financial crisis “art has become a truly safe investment.

“Once a work of art is worth 15,000 euros [$19,800] or more, the buyer is not taking any risk of loss. At the worst, it will maintain its value,” Ehrmann said.

“And once you’re at 150,000 euros, the buyer can bank on earning 12 to 15 percent on his investment in years to come. In the 1950s there were 500,000 collectors. Now there are 300 million art consumers.”

The United States was in second place with $2.72 billion in sales, or 23.57 percent of the market, followed by Britain with $2.24 billion, or 19.36 percent of the market.

The year’s best result was also generated by an Asian artist, China’s Qi Baishi, whose 1946 painting of an eagle perched on the branch of a pine tree sold at auction in Beijing last May for 425.5 million yuan ($67.6 million).

Agence France-Presse

film terbaru Edwin yang berjudul ‘Kebun Binatang’ (di translasikan dalam bahasa Inggris menjadi ‘Postcards from The Zoo’) diputar pertama kali di Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) hari rabu kemarin. film ini akan bersaing dengan 4 film lain untuk memperebutkan beberapa trofi, termasuk di antaranya trofi Golden Bear untuk kategori film terbaik. film yang bercerita mengenai seorang gadis yang dibesarkan oleh pawang jerapah ini sebenarnya bukanlah film pertama Edwin yang diakui di dunia internasional. pada tahun 2007, film pendek Edwin yang pertama yang berjudul ‘Kara’ berhasil masuk ke dalam Cannes Film Festival. dua tahun sebelumnya, ‘Anak Sebatang Pohon’ (Son of a Tree), film Edwin yang lain, juga berhasil sampai di Berlinale.

sementara itu tahun 2008, film Edwin yang berjudul ‘Babi Buta yang Ingin Terbang’ (Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly) berhasil tembus ke dalam empat puluh lima festival film Internasional. film yang mengangkat cerita tentang masalah rasial dan ketegangan sosial yang terjadi di kehidupan perkotaan berhasil meraih FIPRESCI Award di festival film internasional Rotterdam.

ditulis di Good News From Indonesia oleh Farah Fitriani (@farafit / farahfitrianifaruq@gmail.com)

“We exhibited the special Indonesian culinary and our younger generation contemporary music during the World Economic Forum in Davos,” the minister said here on Wednesday.

According to Pangestu, culinary offering included Rendang and fried-rice is expected to become a promotion mechanism and attraction to participants of the World Economic Forum about Indonesia in general.

Minister Mari on the occasion who led the country`s delegate brought an entourage of young Indonesian contemporary musicians and singers.

“We promoted Indonesia in various types in effort to raise the country`s performance in the international forums,” Mari who was the former trade minister said.

According to her, the implementation of nation branding through culinary and musical performance appeared to become an effective effort to promote Indonesia through tourism and the creative economy.

In addition, she said, the World Economic Forum in Davos late last month concluded that the highest growth of the tourism sector would take place in Asia.

“Growth will take place in Asia so we will continue to increase promotional efforts and seek the way to build more effective connectivity,” the tourism minister said. (*)

Ternyata, bukan cuma Indonesia yang menerapkan pelajaran bahasa Indonesia. saat ini bahasa Indonesia juga dipelajari di lebih dari 45 negara di dunia. beberapa diantaranya adalah Australia, Jepang, Vietnam, Mesir, dan Italia. hal ini membuat bahasa Indonesia masuk ke dalam peringkat 10 besar bahasa yang paling banyak digunakan di seluruh dunia.

perlu kita akui, Bahasa Indonesia memang semakin diminati warga dunia. di Australia, bahasa Indonesia merupakan bahasa paling populer keempat. ada sekitar 500 sekolah pada tingkat pendidikan dasar yang mengajarkan bahasa Indonesia disana (187 diantaranya berada di Australia Barat), dan biasanya Bahasa Indonesia merupakan bahasa yang wajib dipelajari di tingkat sekolah dasar. belum lagi jumlah perguruan tinggi yang menyediakan jurusan bahasa atau sastra indonesia, membuat Australia menjadi salah satu negara yang paling intens mengembangkan bahasa Indonesia. jadi tak heran bila di Australia kita menemukan anak – anak SD yang bisa menyapa kita dengan sapaan khas orang Indonesia ‘Selamat pagi, apa kabar?’

sementara itu di benua Afrika, Mesir tercatat sebagai negara yang paling utama mengembangkan bahasa Indonesia. di negara yang paling pertama mengakui kemerdekaan dan kedaulatan Indonesia itu baru saja dibangun Pusat Studi Indonesia. Pusat Studi ini ada di Suez Canal University, dan merupakan langkah awal untuk lebih mendalami Indonesia dari semua aspek, mencakup ideologi, politik, sosial dan budaya, ekonomi dan pertahanan keamanannya.

terbang jauh ke benua Eropa, ada Italia yang juga memiliki minat mendalam terhadap bahasa Indonesia. hal ini dapat dilihat dari jumlah klub sepakbola asal negara tersebut yang telah meluncurkan situs resmi mereka dalam bahasa tanah air yang disebut – sebut sebagai bahasa tersulit ke – 3 di Asia ini. sejauh ini ada tiga klub Italia yang memiliki situs dalam bahasa Indonesia yaitu Juventus, Intermilan, dan AC Milan.

di benua Asia kita menemukan Jepang yang terbilang sebagai negara yang juga intens mendalami bahasa Indonesia. di negara matahari terbit ini telah lama didirikan pusat-pusat studi Indonesia. Salah satunya yang didirikan oleh Nihon-Indonesia Gakkai atau Perhimpunan Pengkaji Indonesia Seluruh Jepang tahun 1969. anggota organisasi ini terdiri dari kalangan akademisi Jepang yang mengajar bahasa dan berbagai aspek tentang Indonesia di berbagai Universitas di Jepang. Sejak tahun 1992 organisasi ini mulai melakukan ujian kemampuan Bahasa Indonesia. Hingga kini tercatat lebih dari 12.500 peserta yang telah mengikuti tes kemampuan berbahasa Indonesia dalam berbagai level atau tingkatan.

Sejarah pengajaran bahasa Indonesia di Jepang tidak lepas dari sejarah berdirinya Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Tokyo Gaikugo Daigaku). Universitas yang didirikan pada tahun 1899 ini mulai mengajarkan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa asing kedua setelah bahasa Inggris pada tahun 1922. Diikuti 3 tahun kemudian oleh Universitas Tenri yang mulai mengajarkan bahasa Indonesia pada tahun 1925. saat ini ada beberapa perguruan tinggi di Jepang yang membuka jurusan bahasa Indonesia antara lain Universitas Kajian Asing Tokyo, Universitas Tenri, Universitas Kajian Asing Osaka, Universitas Sango Kyoto, dan Universitas Setsunan. Sementara yang mengajarkan bahasa Indonesia sebagai mata kuliah pilihan ada lebih dari 20 perguruan tinggi di Jepang.

Selain itu, Vietnam juga merupakan negara yang menghargai bahasa Indonesia. di Vietnam, posisi bahasa Indonesia sejajar dengan bahasa Inggris, Perancis dan Jepang sebagai bahasa resmi yang diprioritaskan. Bahkan sejak akhir 2007, pemerintah daerah Ho Chi Minh City menetapkan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa resmi kedua setelah bahasa Vietnam, menempatkan Vietnam sebagai negara kedua setelah Indonesia yang menggunakan bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa resmi.

kepopuleran bahasa Indonesia pada skala internasional dapat juga dilihat dari berbagai situs terkemuka seperti Facebook dan WordPress. di Facebook, bahasa Indonesia berada di peringkat ke 5 bahasa yang paling populer digunakan. sementara itu di situs blogging WordPress, Bahasa Indonesia adalah bahasa terbesar ketiga setelah Inggris dan Spanyol. hal ini membujuk beberapa situs terkenal lain untuk turut mengeluarkan situs mereka dalam bahasa Indonesia seperti Twitter dan Linkedin.

jadi, berbanggalah selalu terhadap bahasa Indonesia karena melihat kenyataannya, bukan hanya mimpi bila suatu saat Bahasa Indonesia dapat menjadi bahasa internasional.

disadur dari dikti dan antara news

ditulis di Good News From Indonesia oleh Farah Fitriani (@farafit / farahfitrianifaruq@gmail.com)

Erick Setiawan adalah novelis asal Indonesia yang sejak tahun 1991 pindah ke Amerika dan menetap disana. ia terkenal karena novelnya yang fenomenal, Of Bees And Mist, yang terbit tahun 2009. Berbeda dengan Andrea Hirata yang sukses lebih dulu di negara sendiri, Erick Setiawan pertama meraih kesuksesannya di Amerika.

Penulis kelahiran Jakarta tahun 1975 yang pernah menuntut ilmu di Stanford University, Amerika Serikat dalam bidang psikologi dan komputer ini adalah seorang kutubuku dan suka menulis. Sebelum Of Bees and Mist, Erick telah menulis dua novel namun dua naskahnya tersebut mendapat ratusan penolakan dari para agen sastra, sehingga ia tidak pernah mendapat kesempatan untuk menerbitkan karyanya.

Penolakan tersebut untungnya tidak menyurutkan semangatnya dalam menulis. Erick lalu menulis of Bees and Mist yang diselesaikannya dalam waktu 4 tahun. berbeda dengan dua naskah novel terdahulunya, kali ini dalam waktu yang tidak terlalu lama ia memperoleh agen sastra hingga akhirnya pada tahun 2009 novelnya ini diterbitkan oleh penerbit kenamaan Simon & Schuster. Tak hanya itu saja, Of Bees and Mist mendapat sambutan yang positif dari pembaca dan kritikus sastra. Novel ini menjadi finalis QPB New Voices Award 2010 dan masuk dalam longlist penghargaan sastra bergengsi internasional IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2011.

Of Bees and Mist sendiri merupakan kisah epik cinta, drama keluarga, dan misteri yang berlangsung selama tiga puluh tahun. Tokoh sentralnya adalah seorang wanita bernama Meridia yang memiliki ‘konflik’ dengan ibu serta mertuanya.

Walau inti dari kisah dalam novel ini adalah perseteruan antara anak dan mertua namun Erick mengemasnya dengan begitu menarik sehingga novel ini menjadi tidak membosankan. Di novel ini ada begitu banyak konflik yang dikisahkan, selain perseteruan antara Meridia dan mertuanya, dikisahkan pula konflik antara kedua orang tuanya, Revena dan Gabriel, lalu ada juga kisah kedua adik iparnya, hingga Patinna, pembantu mertuanya yang ternyata memiliki kisah rahasia antara dirinya dengan Eva.

Yang membuat kisah ini semakin menarik adalah balutan misteri dan mistis yang membungkus kisah cinta dan drama dalam novel ini. Baik keluarga Meridia maupun keluarga mertuanya memiliki sisi kelam yang sedikit demi sedikit akan terungkap di sepanjang novel ini. tak heran novel setebal 416 halaman ini mendapat ulasan bagus dari banyak media di Amerika. (baca ulasannya disini)

Novel ini ditulis dalam Bahasa Inggris dan telah diterjemahkan ke dalam empat bahasa yaitu Spanyol, Belanda, Cina dan tentu saja, Indonesia. novel yang dipuji oleh Washington Post ‘Drama rumah tangga yang mengagumkan’ ini telah beredar di empat benua, Amerika, Asia, Eropa dan Australia. Novel ini juga bisa dibeli secara online melalui toko buku terkenal,Barnes and Noble, dan situs jual beli internasional lain seperti Powell’s, Indiebound serta Amazon.

sumber: official website of Of Bees and Mist

ditulis di Good News From Indonesia oleh Farah Fitriani (@farafit / farahfitrianifaruq@gmail.com)

Ia menceritakan pengalamannya yang sempat dipingpong oleh penerbit lokal dan beberapa penerbit menyatakan jika ceritanya belum biasa untuk diterbitkan di Indonesia karena tokoh utamanya seorang iblis perempuan.

Saat ini novelnya itu sudah beredar di Eropa, seperti Inggris, Jerman, Prancis, Italia, Jepang, dan negara tetangga Singapura, serta Amerika Serikat. Novel itu pun sudah mendapatkan resensi dari majalah Reader’s Digest.

Novel tersebut bercerita tentang sisi lain dari hubungan malaikat dan iblis. “Ceritanya cinta, persahabatan, dan peningkhianatan. Tapi kalau mau ditarik lagi, intinya Tuhan itu tidak ada yang ngalahin,” kata Aya.

Novel ini bisa dipesan amazon.com, ebay.com dan toko buku tertua di Inggris “Barnes and Noble”. Sedangkan peluncuran novel setebal 448 halaman tersebut di Indonesia akan dilakukan di Jakarta dan Bali dalam waktu dekat.

News source: Yahoo

Picture source: gettyimages

During the event, ASEANTA announced five winners for the nine awards being contested.

A photo titled “Traditional Wedding in Minangkabau” by M. Shiddiq of Indonesia was awarded best ASEAN tourism photo, while Beverly Rodrigues of Malaysia won best ASEAN travel article for his article “Follow the Star”, which was published by Travel 3Sixty, the inflight magazine of Air Asia.

Wonder Full, a light and water show at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, launched by Laservision, was named the best ASEAN new tourist attraction.

“Post Crisis Campaign for Thailand’s Tourism Industry Recovery” by MSL Software [Thailand] Co was granted best ASEAN marketing and promotional campaign.

The winners were awarded at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Tourism Forum on Thursday evening at the Grand Kawanoa Convention Center, which was officially attended by Vice President Boediono. (mtq)

Source: The Jakarta Post

“The Madame Tussaud Museum to be set up in Ancol Beach City will be the largest in the South East Asian region,” Ancol Beach City manager Lukman Azis said here Wednesday.

He said Madame Tussaud museums in several countries were usually built on land lots of 2,000 square meters but the one in Ancol Beach City would sit on 3,000 square meters of land.

In addition to wax duplicates of international figures, the museum in Jakarta would also display wax statues of famous Indonesians.

However, the number of wax statues to be displayed in the museum in Ancol Beach City was still confidential.

Ancol Beach City, built on a total area of 58,000 square meters, would also feature supermarkets, children`s play grounds, 77 culinary booths, and 42 shops.

Ancol Beach City would also offer facilities for beach activities such as beach volley , banana boats, jetskies and other recreational pastimes, an international standard auditorium that can accommodate 22,000 people for national or international indoor events, Agustinus Teddy Darmanto, president director of PT Wahana Agung Indonesia, said.
(Uu.A059/HAJM/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

“The office, located in the MUI (Indonesian Ulema Council) Building, Central Jakarta, will be inaugurated concurrently with the opening ceremony of the WHFC annual meeting,” the Director of MUI Food and Drug Analysis Agency (LPPOM) Lukmanul Hakim said in a release received here, Thursday.

Indonesia as a world’s halal food center is supported by some international halal certification agencies such as those in United States, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Australia, Taiwan and Singapore.Last year, Coordinating Minister of Economy Hatta Rajasa has signed the declaration that established Jakarta as the head office of the World’s Halal Food Council. and supports from the international keeps coming to Indonesia.

Lukman said the annual meeting of WHFC in Jakarta would be a great and strategic momentum for Indonesia as a country which had the largest number of halal products consumers.With a great number of Muslim consumers and the various industries of food, beverages, medicines, and cosmetics, Indonesia should be a leader in the world’s halal products competition,” Lukman said.

The Annual General Meeting of WHFC will be held in Jakarta on January 16-18 and will be opened by Indonesian Vice President Boediono. The meeting will be attended by Ambassadors and commercial attaches from other countries, observers, directors of halal product industries, and at least 25 world’s halal certification agencies.

The agenda of the meeting would be a discussion on the work program, standardization, socialization, and education of halal products all around the world. WHFC was established in 1999 in Indonesia and Prof. Aisjah Girindra was elected as its president.

On June 23 2011, members of WHFC agreed to reactivate the WHFC and elected Lukmanul Hakim as its president as well as Jakarta as its headquarters.

News Source: Kompas

Kotak diajak kolaborasi dalam lagu “Jet Lag”, lagu kolaborasi Simple Plan dengan Natasha Bedingfield. Suara Tantri, vokalis Kotak, akan menggantikan suara Natasha Bedingfield.

Anda bisa melihatnya disini: Simple Plan ft. Kotak – Jetlag

Ia mencatat waktu menabuh drum selama 121 jam di halaman Balai Kota Malang, Jawa Timur, Minggu (1/1/2012). Rekor sebelumnya yang berhasil dipecahkan hanya selama 120 jam.

Tiga hari pertama ia dapat melakukan dengan penuh semangat dan tampak segar bugar, hambatan datang ketika hari keempat, ia mulai mengalami kelelahan fisik dan sudah mulai lemas, bahkan stiknya sempat jatuh dua kali dan diperiksa secara intensif oleh tim medis yang bersiaga di lokasi.

Setiap delapan jam dilakukan 15 menit istirahat untuk medical check-up dan membolehkan ia melakukan keperluan lain untuk mendukung pemecahan rekor dunia.

Selepas resmi tercatat dan telah memecahkan rekor dunia, ia langsung dilarikan ke Rumah Sakit Saiful Anwar (RSSA) Malang untuk memulihkan kondisi kesehatannya yang melemah akibat tidak tidur dan istirahat sama sekali selama 121 jam lebih.

News Source: Berbagai Sumber

Retno Marsudi said after her swearing in on Wednesday that she would use the best of local cuisine to enhance the relationship between the two countries, antaranews.com reported.

Culinary diplomacy would also improve the Indonesian economy, Retno added.

Several other Indonesian embassies have also held culinary festivals to promote traditional dishes.

In Dubai, for example, a cooking demonstration in Grand Millennium Hotel featured gado-gado, karedok and urap as appetizers with a main course of tongseng kambing (lamb curry in soy sauce), ikan bumbu pesmol (fried fish in yellow sauce), fried rice and fried noodles.

Martabak asin egg pancakes, bubur sumsum (coconut rice pudding with palm sugar syrup) and es cendol (drink made from rice flour served with coconut milk, palm sugar and ice cubes) were served as desert.

Further, the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow cooperated with the Association of Russian Gastronomic Observers to hold a garden party where dabu-dabu from North Sulawesi was served.

The author, Andrea Hirata, said he received an offer from US-based publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux to release the novel in English.

The 29-year-old also said that a film company owned by actor Brat Pitt had shown an interest in a film version. The book was made into a movie by local filmmakers Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana.

“I don’t know the deal yet, the negotiation is about US$300,000, but that will happen after the novel is translated,” Andrea told vivanews.com on Tuesday.

The writer also said a publisher from Italy wanted to release the book in Italian.

Pict Source: Laskar Pelangi on Facebook

Di penghujung tahun 2011 menjadi tahun yang menggembirakan bagi Andrea Hirata, novelis dari Bangka Belitong yang terkenal dengan karyanya “Laskar Pelangi” ternyata dilirik oleh penerbit terkemuka Amerika, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux (FSG). Mereka  berminat menerbitkan The Rainbow Troops, edisi internasional dari Laskar Pelangi.

FSG adalah penerbit ternama yang paling banyak menerbitkan karya para pemenang nobel sastra. Sebanyak 21 pemenang Nobel Sastra, karyanya diterbitkan FSG, antara lain TS Eliot, Pablo Neruda, Nadine Gordimer, Seamus Heaney, dan Mario Vargas Llosa yang mendapat Nobel Sastra 2010.

Selain itu, Andrea juga mengaku akan ada perusahaan dari Italia, yang berminat untuk menyadur ulang novel ini dalam bahasa Italia. Bahkan perusahaan milik Brad Pitt, Plan B mengabarkan tertarik untuk memfilmkan kembali ‘Laskar Pelangi’.

News Source: vivanews

Twenty women from Wanurejo tourist village near the Borobudur temple are taking part in batik training to develop the potential of batik handicrafts that is yet to be tapped.

“So far the batik handicrafts have not been handled well,” Borobudur district chief Arry Widinugroho told tempo.co on Tuesday.

The one-month training program, which began on Monday, has been conducted by the Harapan Bangsa Course and Training Institute from Magelang. During the training, the women will earn how to make fine batik and will be empowered to establish business groups that will also facilitate batik marketing.

With the new batik handicraft centers, tourists are expected to prolong their stay in Borobudur to learn more about batik, which will also improve the local economy, Arry said.

He said that he would later talk with local public figures and artists to discuss the characteristics or motifs of the Borobudur batik.

Taken from: Jakarta Post

Rafi Abdurrahman Ridwan is 9 years old and hearing impaired, and yet he has managed to accomplish what few could ever dream. Like most children, Rafi’s vision is unbounded, and with a passion rare to most people (let alone children), he has become Indonesia’s youngest fashion designer.

At Jakarta Fashion Week 2012, Rafi presented 24 ready-to-wear outfits on the main stage of the JFW fashion tent on the final day of the November event. Time on the main stage is high recognition, even among the more established names in the country’s fashion industry.

“I almost cried when I watched the show,” Rafi’s father, Mohammad Ridwan, said of his youngest child. “I’m so proud of my son.”

Rafi has faced more than his share of challenges, but has demonstrated resilience and managed to thrive.

“I was diagnosed with rubella in the first trimester of my pregnancy,” said Sinta Ayu Handayani, Rafi’s mother. “My doctor told me my child could be born with heart, sight or hearing defects.”

Brokenhearted, Rafi’s parents decided to carry on with the pregnancy.

“My husband and I believe that we don’t have any right to choose life and death for another human being,” Sinta said. “We believe the child that God has given us is a blessing.”

Rafi was born in Jakarta in July 2002 with a healthy heart, but his vision and hearing did not develop until he was 3 months old. “He also suffered from a lot of respiratory tract infections when he was a child,” Sinta said. “We had to take him to the hospital many, many times when he was a baby.”

Rafi’s health gradually improved and his sight developed fully, but his hearing remains impaired.

“Sometimes, I wonder why God has entrusted him to our family,” Ridwan said. “I truly believed there are lessons that God wants us to learn through Rafi.”

Through Rafi’s condition, his family says they’ve learned the meaning of unconditional love. “We have learned to be more patient and understanding,” Ridwan said. “Since Rafi couldn’t hear, he didn’t understand how loud he was talking or screaming. He also didn’t understand that his voice might disturb others. We had to explain it very gently to him.”

Determined that their son would survive in the outside world, Rafi’s parents enrolled him in the Santi Rama school for the deaf when he was 2 years old.

It was at Santi Rama that Rafi began to draw, sketching the colorful fish he watched in an aquarium at home. As a little boy, Rafi became enamored with Ariel, the mermaid princess from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.” But one thing about Ariel bothered young Rafi.

“He kept asking me why the princess wasn’t appropriately attired,” Sinta said. “He couldn’t understand that ‘The Little Mermaid’ is only a story. So, to end his questions, I just asked him to create dresses for the mermaid.”

Rafi set himself to the task. With his colorful markers, he drew vests and jackets to cover the upper torso of the shell-ladened mermaid. And when Rafi saw Ariel become human on TV, he started designing dresses and ball gowns for her, too.

The dresses in Rafi’s sketches were so vivid and detailed that his mother began to see the design talent her son possessed. “I took him to a fashion show by Indonesian designer Auguste Soesastro in the plenary hall at the Jakarta Convention Center when he was 5 years old,” Sinta said. “I guess, the show inspired Rafi to become a fashion designer.”

Rafi became enchanted with the world of fashion. He watched fashion channels on TV and perused fashion magazines to improve his sketches.

“It was funny, whenever we would go to a bookstore, he’d run and look at the fashion magazines in the racks,” Ridwan said. Through one of these magazines, Rafi saw that the Jakarta Food and Fashion Festival was coming up.

“He practically dragged me to the event,” Sinta said. Rafi was delighted to see the beautiful gowns and meet famous Indonesian fashion designers in person at the festival. He met designer Barli Asmara, took pictures with him and showed Barli some of his sketches.

“Unlike most other kids’ drawings, Rafi’s sketches were so vivid and detailed,” Barli said. “I realized the huge potential he had.”

Barli invited Rafi and his mother to his workshop and showed the boy his own sketches and designs.

As the two became acquainted, Rafi showed his diary, titled “Letters to God,” to his new friend. Rafi wrote to God, asking for two special presents for his upcoming ninth birthday.

“First of all, Rafi asked God that he could hear,” Sinta said. “And then he asked God to be able to have a fashion show on his birthday.”

“I was touched,” Barli said. “I had the time and means to realize one of his dreams. So, we worked together to create a small collection for a fashion show.”

A mini show was arranged at Canteen in Plaza Indonesia on July 20, Rafi’s ninth birthday. Seven of Rafi’s creations were showcased in the runway show.

After the event, Lia Candrasari, an entrepreneur and founder of the LC Foundation, approached Rafi and his mother. “Rafi has exceptional talents that we should foster,” Lia said. “I also admire the resilience of his mother, Sinta, in supporting her son.”

Lia introduced Rafi to writer and textile designer Nonita Respati of Purana Batik fame, and accessories designer Ariani Pradjasaputra, who is behind the Aarti brand, and encouraged them to collaborate. The three established Purana-Aarti-Rafi, or PAR, and presented their debut collection at JFW 2012.

Rafi’s designs are fun and casual, with a tasteful combination of bold colors and patterns. His summer dresses are effortlessly chic, with detailed embellishments such as epaulets. A red batik jumpsuit was a standout in his collection. Enhanced with rows of buttons placed asymmetrically along the bodice, the jumpsuit was playful, yet stylish.

That afternoon on the JFW stage, Rafi’s talent and resilience were rewarded with a big round of applause and bouquets of flowers from the audience. The 9-year-old took it all in with his signature bright smile. “I feel morally attached to Rafi,” Lia said. “I’ll continue to support his education and career in the future.”

But Rafi’s fashion dreams aren’t the only ones to come true. Through the LC Foundation, Lia supported Rafi to undergo a cochlear implant in his right ear at Singapore General Hospital in August.

“The first time he heard noises and voices, Rafi became panicked and hysterical,” Sinta said. “He’s never heard anything in his silent world before.”

Rafi’s hearing is improving, and he has learned to recognize voices and noises from his hearing therapist. If everything goes well with his first implant, Rafi will likely receive another for his left ear in a couple of years.

But Rafi is aiming for more. “I want to be a fashion designer,” Rafi said. “I want to hold fashion shows in Paris, Milan, London and Tokyo.”

“This is another thing that I’ve learned from Rafi,” Ridwan, his father, said. “Most of us are afraid to dream. We’re limited by our own complicated logics and fears. But Rafi’s a child and he simply believes in his dreams. And slowly but surely, his dreams are coming true.

“So, I think we should all have a big dream like Rafi. When there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Taken from: The Jakarta Globe

The movie, jointly made by Indonesian, Hong Kong and German film crews, tells the story of a female giraffe trainer. Top actor Nicholas Saputra and actress Ladya Cheryl starred in the film.

The movie will compete alongside Captive, by French director Brillante Mendoza; Dictado (Childish Games) by Spanish director Antonio Chavarrías; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by British director Stephen Daldry; and Jin Ling Shi San Chai (The Flowers Of War) by Chinese director Zhang Yimou.

Edwin, who studied film at the Jakarta Art Institute was assistant director to Riri Riza in Gie. He previously made some short movies, including Dajang Soembi, Perempoean Jang Dikawini Andjing, and Kara: Anak Sebatang Pohon.

His first movie, entitled Babi Buta yang Ingin Terbang (Blind Pig who wants to Fly) has also been featured in various movie festivals in Korea, Canada, Netherlands and many others.

The night before I had arranged for Geby Djari, a local woman I met earlier in the trip, to pick me up in the morning so I could join her at the local fish market.

Geby, 31, runs a small business in Kupang selling ikan bakar , or grilled seafood. After living in Jakarta for more than 10 years, she returned home and is now a vendor at the famous Kampung Solor night market, where my travel group ate dinner one evening.

The Kampung Solor market occupies one of the city’s main streets, which looks completely different in the morning. At the night market, vendors sell incredibly fresh fish, crab and squid.

Locals suggest that you check the vendors’ prices before you decide to sit and order. The seafood in Kupang is generally of much higher quality than it is in most Jakarta restaurants, and it’s also a lot cheaper.

“We have a great selection of seafood, especially fish. The most popular thing here is red snapper, I think,” Geby said. “We locals eat fish every day, so we know what’s good and what isn’t. You can never fool us with fish that isn’t fresh.”

Located on the western tip of the island of Timor, Kupang is one of the province’s busiest cities. Its airport, El Tari, welcomes flights from other major cities in Indonesia as well as the neighboring countries of East Timor and Australia.

“Flights to Australia are around Rp 1 million [$110] from here,” Geby said.

The city is a melting pot where people from outside the province, mainly from Bali, Java and Sulawesi, have come to start businesses. It even has an area called Kampung Bugis, where Bugis people, one of Sulawesi’s main ethnic groups, have settled.

Beaches are also less than an hour away by car, and they become more beautiful the farther away you get from the city, Geby said.

“If only you had more time, my dad and I would take you on our boat to Pulau Kera. Although it’s not big, it is the most beautiful island, with white-sand beaches,” she said.

December is the best time to travel to Kupang for many reasons, she added. The temperature is more bearable then, usually about 35 degrees Celsius, which is below the year-round high of about 39 degrees. Because the weather is so nice, she said, sailing is also a breeze.

“That’s why fish are generally cheaper starting in September, because fishermen catch more thanks to the good weather,” she said.

At the fish market near Oeba, hundreds of vendors sell a wide variety of fish and other types of seafood that they purchase directly from fishermen. Every morning as early as 3 a.m., boats arrive at the small port near the market, bringing fishermen from Kupang, Ende, Sulawesi and elsewhere to deliver their catch.

“While local fishermen from Kupang go to the sea at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon and return the next morning, Bugis [fishermen] from Sulawesi spend weeks at sea and bring tons of fish. That’s why it can take up to three days to unload the boats,” Geby said.

When it comes to food, she added, Kupang’s specialities include seafood, se’i (smoked pork or beef) and bose (corn-based porridge).

“Pork se’i is especially popular here,” she said. “Tourists will look for it when they’re in Kupang.”

Indeed, in Kupang, pigs are just like dogs, walking freely in the streets, near the market and in the yards of local homes.

Although people from across Indonesia live in the city, Catholics and other Christians make up a majority of the population. Churches are easy to find and images of Jesus are everywhere, including on murals, on public transportation and on the outsides of homes.

“People are very religious here, so you won’t find any open shops on Sunday mornings because everyone goes to church,” Geby said. “Shops typically open at four in the afternoon on Sundays, but you can still go to the market.”

One of the most interesting sights in Kupang is the city’s notorious public transportation system of bemos . These minivans are decorated on all sides with large stickers, which usually include some words in English and sometimes don’t make sense.

The bemos were designed to attract attention, a fellow journalist from Kupang told me, and they have been dubbed “moving discotheques” because the drivers often blast disco and rap music.

“The local administrator has even issued a regulation capping the maximum volume of the music played in bemos,” the journalist said. “It’s annoying, but school kids won’t ride a bemo that doesn’t play loud music.

“A lot of young men from Kupang have failed the test to join the military because they have hearing problems. How can they not, when they’ve been abusing their ears since they were very young?”

In order to go deeper into the island of Timor, travelers can ride buses, which run frequently, Geby said. Some go as far as Atambua, the city closest to the border between Indonesia and East Timor.

Geby said it was her love of Kupang that brought her back home from Jakarta. “No matter how poor we are here, there is no place like Kupang in Indonesia.”

According to Ahmad, the event was held to show the administration’s appreciation for the angklung being declared an intangible cultural heritage by Unesco in 2010.

“I hope this colossal angklung event will improve Indonesians’ love and appreciation for the angklung as an Indonesian musical instrument to be proud of,” said Ahmad as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday.