Bilal with Ibu Kasmawani from Kampar Kiri, Riau.

Written by Kurniawan, Tanoto Foundation Riau

Muhammad Bilal Sembiring, or Bilal, is a third grade student of SDN 008 Kuntu, Kampar District, Riau. Although Bilal’s school is modest and located 30 kilometers away from the center of Kampar Kiri sub district, he is able to take full advantage of what the school offers and successfully compete with other children from big cities.
Bilal was the first place winner of the poetry and speech contest for National Education Day commemoration at Kampar District in May 2015. He was also the winner of the speech contest during Students Arts Festival and Competition at the provincial level.

Because of this achievement, Bilal then represented Riau Province at the National Students Arts Festival and Competition that took place in August this year in Palembang, South Sumatra. He was one of the top ten winners of the speech competition, defeating other elementary students from other schools in Indonesia.

SDN 008 Kuntu plays an active role in nurturing Bilal’s interest in public speaking. According to Ibu Kamaswani, one of SDN 008 Kuntu teachers, Bilal is a diligent and intelligent student. His talent began to shine when he started the third grade. His interest in public speaking is further supported by his hobby to read books that are available in the school’s library.

As Tanoto Foundation’s partner schools, SDN 008 Kuntu is supported through different ways. Tanoto Foundation assists the school to manage a small library and to provide an extensive collection of books for the students. Bilal uses books from Tanoto Foundation as references in his speeches.

“The fun and creative learning methodology that we learned from Tanoto Foundation as well as the books are really helpful for us in supporting our students to develop their talent and creativity. We hope there are many more Bilals from Kuntu in the future,” said Ibu Kamaswani proudly.

Sharing a book, reading together.

Written by Jazuli, Tanoto Foundation Jambi

The small room is filled with books. During recess, all of the room’s corners are occupied by students. Wearing the red and white uniform, all of them were reading. Although the room only has one chair and one small table, the students are still eager to savor the books. They often share the chair and table to read together. That is often the situation at the library of SDN 07/V Penyabungan, Merlung, Tanjung Jabung Barat District, Jambi.

The students’ eagerness is the outcome of Tanoto Foundation’s support for the school. Working with one of its corporate partners, Asian Agri, Tanoto Foundation has been implementing activities to improve quality of education in its partner schools in Jambi since 2010. As part of this effort, Tanoto Foundation carries out activities to develop students’ reading habits, increase love of reading, and improve writing skills through fun yet educative ways. The program also aims so students can easily access high quality books.

The school has also been taking an active part in implementing the program. It does not let limited facilities and infrastructure to deter its effort to improve its library. The school chooses an old storage room and rearranges it into a comfortable and attractive reading room. The school also arranges the schedule so students can easily visit the library and borrow books. As a result, students now enjoy spending their time more in the library than in other places of the school, including the cafeteria. Also, the school continues to strive to get more books with better quality.

Tanoto Foundation collaborates with more than 320 schools in Riau, Jambi, and North Sumatra to improve their quality of education. In addition to activities to improve students’ interest in reading, Tanoto Foundation also supports partner schools to establish a surrounding that is healthy for children to study in. Another program is to improve the capacity of teachers in teaching and learning process so students could learn in fun yet effective ways.

Indonesia Delegates in Youth 20 Summit in Turkey.

Written by Kristia Davina Sianipar, Head of Indonesia Delegation for Y20 Summit Turkey 2015

Every year, Group 20 which consists of 20 countries with the biggest economy in the world gathers to discuss global financial issues in G20 Leaders Summit. Since 2010, other groups have also been included in the forum’s activities. In the group that is knows as Youth 20 (Y20,) representatives of the youth are given a platform to voice their opinion on and contribute to policies that impact the global community.

Supported by Tanoto Foundation and other institutions, Indonesia sent four representatives to the Youth 20 Summit 2015 in Turkey. They were Adiska Fardani, Biondi Sanda Sima, Kristia Davina Sianipar, and Rocky Intan.
In the forum that took place from August 16 to 21, 2015, Indonesian delegates participated actively in producing the forum’s communiqué. Indonesia delegates raised many points including a recommendation to improve quality of teachers by, among others, increasing their compensation.

At the beginning, delegates from some developed countries in Europe were not in agreement with this recommendation. However, delegates from South Africa and Brazil believed otherwise. After a long negotiation process and by convincing other countries delegates that improvement of teachers’ quality is universally a crucial matter, the recommendation was accepted by all participating countries. This recommendation is part of the Communiqué which will subsequently be presented in G20 Leaders Summit in November 2015 at Antalya, Turkey.

Tanoto Foundation, through the Tanoto Initiative program, supported the participation of the Indonesian representatives in the Youth 20 Summit 2015 in Turkey. Such participation provides opportunities for the youth of Indonesia to improve their awareness on issues that exist in local and international communities. Furthermore, participation in events such as the Youth 20 Summit 2015 also allows the country’s young generation to contribute to global issues in a prominent global forum.