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  • Tanoto Foundation, KemenkoPMK, KemenPPN, and KemenPPPA Enhance Early Childhood Development and Education in Indonesia Through an International Symposium

    Tanoto Foundation, KemenkoPMK, KemenPPN, and KemenPPPA Enhance Early Childhood Development and Education in Indonesia Through an International Symposium

    Jakarta, November 20, 2024 – Attention to early childhood development and education in Indonesia remains far from the ideal. Early childhood is a critical foundation for children’s future success and human capital development, which can break the cycle of poverty and boost economic productivity.

    Quality development and education are fundamental rights of every child. These rights must be fulfilled from an early age to ensure children grow and develop optimally, without exception. Their fulfillment also has a profound impact on fostering inclusive and sustainable societal development.

    In Indonesia, early childhood development and education face numerous challenges. Awareness of the interconnected needs of young children remains low. Many still perceive early childhood development merely as a health and nutrition issue. In fact, young children require responsive caregiving, adequate stimulation, and protection. Additionally, the coordination among service providers across multiple sectors has yet to be optimized, with services often segmented by sectoral interests rather than being holistic and integrated.

    These challenges underscore the collaboration among the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs (Kemenko PMK), the Ministry of National Development

    Planning/Bappenas, and Tanoto Foundation in organizing the **International Symposium on Early Childhood Education and Development 2024** in Jakarta on November 20, 2024.

    With the theme “Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development (Holistic and Integrated Early Childhood Development)”, the symposium aims to gather experts and stakeholders to share knowledge, the latest research findings, and best practices. It also seeks to align thoughts and program planning for early childhood development and education based on the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), known in Indonesia as Holistic and Integrated Early Childhood Development (PAUD HI).

    The NCF also serves as a tool to assist countries in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to early childhood, such as improving nutrition, reducing infant mortality rates, providing universal access to quality preschool education, and preventing violence and neglect of children.

    “This international symposium is expected to guide government policies in drafting the second phase of the National Action Plan (RAN) for Holistic and Integrated Early Childhood Development (PAUD HI) for the 2025-2029 period. This plan will serve as a framework for providing services at both the national and regional levels, ensuring better quality and alignment with international standards,” said Arifah Fauzi, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, during the opening of the International Symposium on Early Childhood Education and Development 2024.

    Arifah explained that her ministry currently implements several flagship programs, such as the Ruang Bersama Merah Putih, a platform for fulfilling the rights and protection of women and children at the village level; the SAPA 129 call center for violence against women and children; and the **One Gender and Child Data** initiative. These programs also target early childhood.

    “We extend our appreciation to Tanoto Foundation for initiating this symposium. We hope this event becomes a pivotal moment to strengthen synergies between the government, society, and international organizations in supporting holistic and integrated early childhood development,” Arifah added.

    Woro Srihastuti, Deputy for the Coordination of Quality Improvement of Children, Women, and Youth at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, emphasized the potential for inter-agency synergy through the Ruang Bersama Merah Putih platform.

    “Mechanisms for its implementation in 2025-2029 will be prepared. One key aspect is redefining the measurement instruments for PAUD HI. Currently, there is only the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI). We need additional derivations of ECDI to enable each institution to measure the various components of PAUD HI,” Woro elaborated.

    During the same event, Inge Kusuma, Country Head of Tanoto Foundation Indonesia, highlighted the significance of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life as the period of the fastest brain development, which cannot be replicated later in life.

    “Eighty percent of brain development occurs in the first three years, with peak sensory, auditory, language, and cognitive development happening in the first year. If we fail to intervene during this golden period, the impact on a child’s future will be significant and may hinder their development in later stages of life,” Inge noted.

    “NCF and PAUD HI have provided clear guidelines to ensure optimal growth and development for young children. The challenge lies in our commitment and implementation in Indonesia. We hope

    this symposium strengthens the commitment of all stakeholders, serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, and enhances the implementation of PAUD HI,” Inge concluded.

    The symposium, involving government officials, academics, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, professional associations, practitioners, and media representatives, is expected to build a foundation for raising awareness among stakeholders about early childhood development. Together, they aim to make early childhood development a national development agenda priority.

    Speakers at the event included representatives from Kemenko PMK, KemenPPN/Bappenas, KemenKes, the National Nutrition Agency, UNICEF EAPRO, UNICEF Indonesia, WHO, The World Bank, ARNEC, SEAMEO CECCEP, Ishk Tolaram, Tulodo, UPTD PPA Depok, and Tanoto Foundation.

    ***

    About Tanoto Foundation

    Tanoto Foundation is an independent philanthropic organization in the field of education, founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto in 1981, based on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to realize their full potential. Tanoto Foundation’s programs are founded on the conviction that quality education accelerates equal opportunities. We strive to unlock potential and improve lives through quality education, from early childhood to productive ages. Tanoto Foundation’s three pillars of commitment are enhancing learning environments, developing future leaders, and facilitating medical research.

    For more information, please contact:

    Tanoto Foundation Communications Team

    Email: communications@tanotofoundation.org

    Website: www.tanotofoundation.org

    KZTC

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  • Unlocking Indonesia’s Golden Potential: The critical role of Early Childhood Education and Development

    Unlocking Indonesia’s Golden Potential: The critical role of Early Childhood Education and Development

    In this episode, Maniza Zaman, the UNICEF Indonesia Country Representative, talks with Inge Kusuma, Country Head of Tanoto Foundation. Indonesia must drastically increase its national budget for early childhood education and development (ECED) programs because, at the moment, it is just 0.8 percent of the country’s total national education budget, much lower than the international standard of 10 percent. Private sector and philanthropic organizations are expected to contribute to this program.

    Meanwhile, as the number of mobile phone devices is higher than the country’s national population, where many people have more than one device, the government and the public can utilize the technology to boost ECED across the country. Indonesia must invest now if the country wants to reap the demographic bonus in 2045 when Indonesia celebrates its 100th year of independence.

    In 2045, the population of Indonesia will be about 318 million, 60% of whom are going to be of productive age. As we are going to face 20 years ahead, Indonesia needs to prepare now. Timing is going to be very essential if Indonesia really wants to reap the benefits of the productive age. We must invest now to get the bonus.

    “For every rupiah you invest in education, you can reap four times your investment. You must invest if you want to reap the demographic bonus,” Maniza replied when asked by Inge.

    The first years of life are absolutely critical in shaping the future of a child, society, and the generation. It actually shapes what is going to happen to that human being later on in terms of health, education, employment, and productive capacity. Why is that? “Let us look at the very early years. When a baby is born, the size of a baby’s brain is one quarter of the size of an adult’s brain, fact number one. By the age of one, the size has doubled,” said the UNICEF senior official.

    Ninety percent of brain development already happens by the age of five. Third, 60% of the baby’s energy intake goes into developing the brain. Finally, a baby’s brain is capable of making one million new connections every second, a phase that is never repeated in our life.
    “So now we can see how critical those very early years are, not just for development. It is a window of opportunity,” she said.

    Typically, a child would go to some kind of activities in early education institutions or centers at the age of four to five. And at the age of five to six, they go to school. The importance of early childhood education is a dimension of a child’s development. It is absolutely critical children get at least one year before they go to school because it really sets up the foundation for numeracy, literacy, and character building.

    “For children between three to six, it is absolutely critical for them to go to an early childhood education and development center (PAUD) for at least one year before they go to school,” she underlined.

    In a population like Indonesia’s, we can use social media platforms to introduce massive parenting programs. Teachers can also use this connectivity and social media platforms. This service provides materials for ECED teaching.

    Teachers too can use the connectivity and internet platforms to learn about good practices and pedagogy. Any bottlenecks should be addressed.

    Watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/UnlockingPotentialTFxUNICEF

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  • OceanX and Indonesia presented important findings from the “Indonesia Mission 2024”

    OceanX and Indonesia presented important findings from the “Indonesia Mission 2024”

    July 9, 2024— Globa Marinal Exploration Non-profit organization, OceanX, together with the Maritime and Investment Coordinating Ministry National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) unveiled several important findings from its first three steps of exploration of “Mission Indonesia 2024”. The exploration mission continued to the eastern Indonesian waters for the first sea exploration in Indonesia.

    Throughout the previous three-stage mission which covers waters around Batam, Aceh, and Padang up to Jakarta, Mission Indonesia 2024 produced new research findings in the waters and seas of Indonesia which has never been explored before. The researchers continued their focus on oceanographic and geo-physics research during the three activities, with various fields including biological diversity, climate, paleo-climatology, microplastic, water quality, and geological characteristics such as Sunda Megathrust zone, which has significant implications towards disaster mitigations in the future.

    With a combination of methodologies starting from deep sea survey by using ROV and submersible ship diving, shallow and deep-sea survey using Baited-Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and air survey from a helicopter, this mission successfully documented various sea biodata including fauna which likes to migrate to the areas. A molecular device such as environment DNA (eDNA) was also used to provide a more comprehensive picture of species diversity, especially the difficult-to-observe kinds through traditional and visual surveys, along with additional sorting on the microbe population.


    These preliminary findings show the lower existence of bio-diversity from previous estimations, and the lack of presence of big-sized commercial fish species in the areas is very important to improve fish catch management in the future and the waters conservation area planning.


    “We are very pleased to witness the extraordinary collaboration between talented Indonesian and international researchers in this mission. Their efforts have produced significant achievements which we want to share. This discovery will increase Indonesia’s understanding of the sea environment, the support sustainable fishery management, effective conservation strategy, and proactive disaster management efforts. We realize that deep understanding of the sea is very important in mitigating climate change and in ensuring world ocean sustainability,” said Co-CEO and Chief Science Officer of OceanX, Vincent Pieribone, in a media gathering in Jakarta.


    Deputy secretary of maritime resources coordination at the Maritime and Investment Coordinating Agency, Aniza Suspita, said, “This collaboration has reached extraordinary progress, and we are proud to see the progress of OceanX’s mission. The discoveries deepen our understanding of the sea environment to protect and manage our sea resources better. By expanding our sea knowledge on the sea, we can mitigate natural disasters in the future overcome the impacts of climate change, and ensure the health and sustainability of Indonesian waters for our future generations”.


    Director of Ship Fleet Management at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Nugroho Dwi, stated this collaboration demonstrated the dedication and the spirit of Indonesian researchers in unveiling the mystery of the waters. “Through this mission, we have seen interesting discoveries – starting from deep sea reefs and under-sea mountains up to detailed mapping of megathrusts, which increased our understanding of the sea environment. We remain committed to supporting sea research and the utilization of sustainable maritime resources throughout Indonesian waters to advance scientific knowledge while preserving responsible sea ecosystem management,” said Nugroho.


    In the first stage of exploration, OceanXplorer succeeded in mapping approximately 7,500 kilometres- of Indonesian seabed, to facilitate the first submersible diving by Indonesian scientists who participated in the mission, conducted an ROV survey and first camera in the location of the tsunami in 2004, observe deep-sea coral reefs and found hydrothermal and thermogenic leakages at the seabed.


    The second-stage mission covers research on oceanography and geo-physics which had been conducted in the previous stage, but all at once to step up the important focus of sea biodiversity. The special focus at this stage also includes the fishery management sector in West Sumatra, the characterization of fish species, megafauna, and coral reefs. In the megafauna air survey, OceanX found hundreds of dolphins, Omura whales, giant oceanic manta rays, and the place where reef sharks live. But observation at this stage also shows habitat degradation and unsustainable mechanism of fishery as indicated by the small number of commercial piscivore species such as snapper and grouper.


    The central theme of this expedition is biodiversity-related research, climate and palaeoclimatology, microplastic and water quality, and geological feature mapping such as the Megathrust zone – which has significant implications for earthquake risk and mitigation in the future. The Indonesia Mission 2024, conducted on the OceanXplorer – is the most sophisticated exploration, scientific research, and media production in the world – comprises five stages, which started on May 8 in Batam, and will continue until August 25 this year in Bitung (North Sulawesi). During the mission, OceanX, the Maritime and Investment Coordinating Ministry, used the latest generation of technology, sophisticated science, interesting story delivery, and deep experience in educating, inspiring, and connecting the world with the ocean.


    OceanX Education Program

    The stopover in Jakarta also marked the important achievement of OceanX Education by the launching of several education programs both on board the shop or on the mainland in collaboration with the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry, prominent universities in Indonesia, and non-profit partners to develop and guide the future generation who are interested to become scientists and maritime technicians, and as the information deliverer on the maritime sector.


    In Jakarta and Bali, OceanX Education will organize an education tour on board the ship, which will involve 200 students and teachers. The tour participants will be selected by OceanX partners, such as the Education Ministry, Tanoto Foundation, and other non-profit organizations. The purpose of the tour is to give opportunity for students and lecturers to learn maritime-related principles and media onboard the modern research ship.


    The collaboration between OceanX and Tanoto Foundation will involve several students and teachers in the quality and accessible maritime education sector. This partnership emphasizes the commitment of the two organizations, which focus on education, and also strengthen leadership in the maritime sector for the next generation. Apart from tours on board the ship, the Tanoto Foundation also supports the provision of print material for young students and facilitates live broadcasting from the OceanXplorer to classrooms.

    Tanoto Foundation Country Head Indonesia, Inge Kusuma said, “We are very pleased to collaborate with OceanX, provide opportunity for Indonesian future leaders to directly experience life on board the ship, to see the use of sophisticated technology, and learn about new fields in science and sea exploration”. This collaboration is in line with the Tanoto Foundation’s commitment to step up education and support the achievement of the goal of Sustainable Development in Indonesia. We do not just give valuable knowledge on sea conservation to future leaders, but also deepen their understanding of SDGs. Together, we are committed to providing quality and affordable education to students and educators across Indonesia.


    From Jakarta, the Young Explorers Program (YEP) will invite two groups of students to participate in the onboard activities of the ship for several days. The program is aimed to welcome young people from Indonesia and across the world to learn about the ocean and promote their interest in maritime research and news delivery. The young explorers are 18-22 years old and they will attend two separate expeditions with OceanXplorer in Indonesian waters. The first batch will participate in the Jakarta-Bali trip in July, while the second trip will be from Bali to Beijing between July and August.


    The participants consist of 19 Indonesians who come from the University of Indonesia, IPB University, Brawijaya University, Diponegoro University, November Tenth Institute of Technology, Hasanuddin University, and Padjadjaran University. The program will also be attended by 11 students from the US, Singapore, and the Philippines.


    In collaboration with the Maritime and Investment Coordinating Ministry and the Education Ministry OceanX had organized several University Lecture Tours at Syahkuala University, and Andalas University. Next lecture tours will be held at the University of Indonesia, Bandung Institute of Technology, Udayana University and Sam Ratulangi University from July to August.

    ZC

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