Rosta Rosalia, the Tanoto Foundation scholarship recipient from Diponegoro University in Semarang of Indonesia, should be proud.

Together with her colleague, Rosta had the opportunity to attend the 11th International Conference on Cognitive Science (ICCS) held at the GIS National Taiwan University Convention Center in Taipei from September 1 to 3 last year.

The ICCS is an international event which brings together researchers of both academic and industry backgrounds in various cognitive disciplines including anthropology, artificial intelligence, education, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy and psychology.

The meeting of the researchers from various countries is meant to facilitate discussions about the latest research and developments within the fields.

Rosta, who is a psychology student at Diponegoro University, attended the conference with support from Tanoto Foundation. Along with her colleague, Rosta presented the results of her research paper titled ‘Social Intelligence in a Neuropsychological Context’.

Her paper discusses five important components which can be considered in the assessment and intervention of a person’s social intelligence when viewed neuropsychologically, namely situational awareness, presence, authenticity, clarity, and empathy.

“It’s great to be able to give a presentation in front of neuroscience professionals. In fact, almost all of those present have received doctoral degrees and professorships – while we are still students,” Rosta said.

Throughout the three-day event, dozens of research posters were presented by participants from all over the world. Rosta was scheduled to present on the final day of the ICCS.

Being one out of two of the sole Southeast Asian representatives (the other participant being from Malaysia) was a mental test for Rosta, who hails from Sidoarjo Regency in East Java of Indonesia.

“Of course I was nervous. This was my first experience going abroad for a conference. I faced many concerns, including academic and language abilities, as well as cost,” Rosta recalled.

“But I had made up my mind and was determined to appear in the ICCS. Courage was crucial to me, and we are also grateful to Tanoto Foundation for supporting us,” she added.

Besides presentations from researchers, the conference also comprised of classes which could be attended freely by participants, based on each individual’s interests.

Various classes about cognitive problems were held, which saw experts speaking on the topic from different perspectives. There were also public lectures by keynote speakers, including Patricia Churchland from the University of California; Stanislas Dehaene of the CEA Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit in France; Chih-Jen Lin from National Taiwan University; and Ernst Poppel from the University of Munich.

“This international event not only added to my academic knowledge but also provided me with the experience of flying to another country and networking with researchers from all over the world,” Rosta concluded.

Former Tanoto Scholar Simon Pangihutan Simorangkir (a graduate of North Sumatra University in Chinese Literature) recently represented Indonesia as the country’s sole delegate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Edutainment Exchange Program (AEEP) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Future Education Forum (AFEF) in Hanoi, Vietnam.

https://instagram.com/p/Bbi5vZfBXwx/?utm_source=ig_embed

Organized by the Korean Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Institute of APEC Collaborative Education, the AAEP primarily aims to instil seeds of entrepreneurship in young people from APEC countries.

The program, which includes discussions about social entrepreneurship, also intends to train the delegates to become socially-conscious entrepreneurs. As part of the program, each delegate has to complete a ‘Research and Team Project Regarding Social Business’.

During the AEEP, the delegates were also given training on how to create social business plans in the APEC region via multilateral cooperation. Delegates also had the opportunity to gain insights into various policies and industries, courtesy of government representatives, business experts and professionals, as well as professors.

https://instagram.com/p/BWwM4KFgl9A/?utm_source=ig_embed

Simon has previously also represented Indonesia in the ASEAN Student Forum, Indonesia-China Student Summer, and the International Economic Workshop. However, his list of achievements does not stop there, as he is currently undertaking a Master of Business Administration at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, China, under a scholarship.

https://instagram.com/p/BZtKGUlhhJY/?utm_source=ig_embed

Simon’s myriad of achievements has been possible only because of his relentless efforts to achieve his goals. At the lowest point in his life, economic circumstances forced Simon to relocate to Palu in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province in order to continue his high school education. However, his financial struggles continued there and Simon had to work as a car rental driver on weekends in an effort to finance his education.

It wasn’t unusual for the current master’s degree candidate to frequently break down back then over his situation at the time. However, Simon knew that he should never give up and that he was meant to rise instead. In fact, whenever he saw an airplane, Simon would stare at it and the sky, and tell himself that he would one day “take a plane back and forth”.

Sure enough, his determination has led him to various cities within Indonesia, as well as other countries. Simon has thus far taken part in Tanoto Foundation’s Tanoto Scholars Gathering event in Bogor and the Indonesia Youth Forum in Jakarta, as well as the AEEP.

https://instagram.com/p/BS8ilPvgGj5/?utm_source=ig_embed

Simon has also taken the opportunity to use his achievements to give back. Even in the midst of his busy schedule, Simon made the time to set up the ‘Youth Love Community for Children’, KOPECINDA (Komunitas Pemuda Cinta Damai Anak). Through this community, Simon provides free learning facilities and works to raise children’s interest in reading. This is in line with Tanoto Foundation Founder Sukanto Tanoto’s wishes for every Tanoto Scholar to “pay it forward”, to do good for the community and to help as many as possible.

Simon’s success has paid off. Although Simon was a driver, he remained steadfast, and credits his former profession for teaching him about responsibility as the job required him to constantly ensure that his car was headed in the right directions, the maintenance of his car, as well as the safety of his passengers. Because of the job, he learned how to look ahead and to stay focused.

Simon urges any young person to dare to dream big, as all that he has now was once just a dream that others would laugh at him for. But Simon remained optimistic until his dreams were realized, one by one.

https://instagram.com/p/BXh2RG1gHGe/?utm_source=ig_embed

“There is no dream too big – it’s just that the effort you put in isn’t as big as the dream itself. Everyone will fail, even I myself have experienced many failures. All human beings have a failure quota so if I fail, I’m not sad about it because using this ‘failure quota’ just means that I am always trying and am therefore getting closer and closer to success,” Simon said.

Since its inception in 1981, Tanoto Foundation has helped thousands of people in the areas of education, empowerment and enhancement of lives. But the reality is that Indonesia is simply too big a country for a single organization to make a meaningful impact at the national level.

“We are in 300 schools in Indonesia,” explains Sihol Aritonang, Head of Tanoto Foundation in Indonesia. “That sounds like a lot until you realize that there are 300,000 schools in the country.”

Collaboration is key, but different organizations typically have different priorities, methods and processes. The Indonesian government, companies and philanthropic organizations quickly came to the conclusion that the launch of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 provided the ideal framework to tackle the country’s challenges using a common language.

“At the national level, we are barely making a dent so we realized that we need to work with others to achieve our goals – that we should align ourselves with other players towards achieving the SDGs,” says Sihol.

As decision-making on development in Indonesia is relatively decentralized, there are multiple levels of government that must be worked with. In addition Tanoto Foundation collaborates with corporate partners such as APRIL Group and Asian Agri, as well as other philanthropic groups, such as its support for the Asia Philanthropy Circle.

Adopting the SDGs enables all these organizations to align their efforts without necessarily needing to make major changes to their programs – each organization is free to work on a particular SDG or not, provided the goals match those listed in the targets.

Education

Education has always been a key focus of Tanoto Foundation – in fact it was to run a kindergarten that Sukanto Tanoto and his family originally founded the organization. Therefore much of its work supports SDG 4, which calls for Quality Education.

Tanoto Foundation improves basic education in Indonesia by improving teaching quality and school leadership. It works with partner schools to create local and regional centers of excellence, training principals and teachers in the schools to enable them to raise quality of teaching, make lessons more engaging for students, and improve overall management.

Teachers have received training from Tanoto Foundation in areas such as development and implementation of contextual learning, collaborative learning between teachers and students, and classroom management.

Tanoto Foundation’s work with schools also encompasses SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 3 (good health and well-being). Indonesia does not lack food, yet 37 per cent of children below five are stunted, and 57 per cent of rural children are anaemic, largely due to poor understanding of nutritional requirements. At the same time under-five mortality remains above the SDG target of 25 per 1,000 live births.

Tanoto Foundation works to improve sanitation in schools, building modern toilets and installing clean water supplies. It also provides training to parents, pupils and teachers on proper hygiene and nutrition, with the aim of reducing malnutrition and easily preventable childhood illnesses.

Scholarships

Tanoto Foundation is well known in Indonesia for its scholarships, which so far have helped more than 7,200 high-achieving students complete undergraduate degrees at some of the country’s top higher education institutions. With a strong focus on students who demonstrate leadership potential, the scholarship program supports SDG 8, which aims to promote decent work and economic growth.

Tanoto Foundation disburses scholarships to over 450 university students annually, 250 of whom are flown out to participate in an annual Tanoto Scholars Gathering event where they receive additional soft skills training in public speaking and leadership.

Scholarships are also provided to undergraduates studying full-time at universities in Singapore, China and the US.

Tanoto Foundation also partners with universities around the world to improve education, including through the construction or renovation of educational facilities.

There are Tanoto Libraries at the Prasetiya Mulya Business School and Bhayangkara University in Jakarta, a Tanoto Floor for the Faculty of Forestry at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, and a Tanoto Forestry Information Centre at Bogor Agricultural University.

Meanwhile, the Tanoto Initiative at the Wharton School facilitates international linkages between Indonesian universities and the prestigious business school, with the main aim of providing students with new learning opportunities, improving higher education quality, and enhancing research on the regional economy.