This week has been an eventful one. Such that I think I need to sit down for a while and process everything. Firstly, I went to Paris for OKTI II (Olimpiade Karya Tulis Ilimah/Scientific Writing Competition) and met so many students aspiring to be the expert in what they do. It makes me proud and optimistic to see these young people who work hard and are really good in their fields. If this is a glimpse of what the future of Indonesia is like, I do not worry at all. Secondly, I went to TEDxWWF event in Geneva. I was super excited when I heard that they are holding the event and it's free of charge. So excited that I asked my supervisor, on my first day of work, if I could take a day off :) I did not care... Luckily he was pretty nonchalant about it and was supportive of me exploring these kinds of events. Thus, in this course of just 1 week, my mind has been fed with lots of new inspirations and information. I am still so excited!!!
I'm sorry that I can't provide a summary of the things I hear; I haven't organized it myself. But, maybe pictures highlighting some of my personal favorites would help.
Thank you for the handwork, dedication, and vision from Mas Ade Kadarisman dan Mbak Aprilia Firmonasari in realizing this event. The kind of friendly leadership that was shown by both throughout the event was apparent and I was glad to be part of this positive and energizing movement. As Mas Ade said, students abroad are the "knowledge diplomats" of Indonesia and it is our image that shapes the image of Indonesia, our persistence in life and studies is the persistence of the nation.
My roommate of the weekend, Ester, a psychology student working on emotional abuse in families. She does counseling and consult legal actions according to the newly acknowledged Indonesian law on such cases. Her team tries to define what actions are considered abuse and what are the ways to address them in a court or legal arena. One of the most friendly and sociable person I know. My first time meeting her was at 12.30 am, she was half asleep, I was half alive from the journey. The next morning the intimate session started when we realized that the bathroom door is pretty much transparent. The night that followed involved some personal pillow talk, discussing girls stuff :) There's something about being sleepy yet wanting to talk all night that imitates the effect of having too much beer; you seriously spill lots of things. Thanks Ester for the friendship.
This is Dimas, the youngest contestant and voted the most favorite of the bunch. With his thick Surabaya accent and firing passion, he presented his idea about implementing smart car system to reduce traffic jam in Indonesia. I will never forget his answer to one of the judge's questions about the complexity of implementation and low prospect of it being successful: Sir, if Indonesian people keep thinking that way, we will never move from where we are right now. Such innocence and drive. We need more of that not just in Indonesia but in the world.
The whole crowd: the contestant, judges, and some of the organizing committee members. I feel very strongly that it really is not about the content of what we heard in the presentations that day, but more about the spirit of sharing and motivation for research and education. It was about inspiring each other, learning more about presentation skills and frame of thinking towards your research. It's about the connection within Indonesian students and our aspirations for the country.
Of course winning is the cherry on top of everything else. I was chatting with my mom the night before and I said that this was such a happy event and I was so very thankful that I came. I did not care if I win or not, I was so so happy meeting all these people that I could sleep smiling :) But, I got my cherry on top the day after and everything became even sweeter than before. I had to suddenly learn about public speaking as I was asked for interviews, and it was kind of a weird thing remembering I used to really hate it. Mas Awang snatched the 1st price with his research on chili and genetic modification, Irma got the 2nd price with her work on functional drink to better your digestion system using yams as feedstock, and myself getting the 3rd place. The guy with the tie is Aldy, the radio host for the event.
And then there was Eiffel. The piece of steel everyone adore. Walking around Paris with the whole gang of contestant was a lot of fun. It was such a typical Indonesian crowd with our slow walk and lots of picture taking and cam-whoring. Eiffel was beautiful, as it always is.
And then there was the TEDxWWF event. There were 2 particular talks that jumped out at me, one is by the chief park ranger of Virunga National Park in Rwanda, Emmanuel De Merode. He is heading the efforts for protecting the national park, especially for its mountain gorrillas, but more important than that, for the communities that live in it. His talk was placed in the second session, which focused on the struggles and perseverence in doing environmental protection.
Unfortunately, there are three militia groups residing within the national park. Wars between them often happened. A center issue is the charcoal that the national park hold that had become the commodity to fight for. The rangers often find themselves in the middle of these fights or become the target due to the work they have done in the park. But all of them wanted to do their job despite of the risks that they knew. Emmanuel said that one of the hardest things to do was to bury his colleagues when such tragedy happened.
Another hard thing was when the gorrilas became another victims. I wasn't understanding fully from his talk why were the gorrilas killed, because it seemed that there's no particular financial benefits. It was by determination that Emmanuel and his rangers kept fighting for conservation as well as peace for the region.
The second inspiring talk for me was by a young guy named Dawa Sherpa who had climbed Everest twice and has been a pioneer in raising awareness on climate change. As a mountaineer, he has witnessed that climbing has become more difficult as the ice melted at a higher rate recently. He started small projects like cleaning up the mountain, having meals with fellow climbers to reduce the competitive atmosphere, and he said as he finished these small projects, he had the drive to do more and more. It reminds me that I really don't have to do something grand. As long as I am faithful to the small things in front of me, they will grow by themselves.
And you know, a lot of the times, I myself sneer at how people become so concerned about the planet and the word 'green' has actually become commercialized. But, unless I hear and see, unless I touch the reality of what is happening, I don't think I would completely understand it. TEDxWWF has shown me glimpses of what the world is going through, how the world is barely making it. There is no plan B. My million dollar question now is: what am I going to do?
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