Fri July 29, 2011 11:08
Indonesia pre-departure event and book launching
Pre-departure event for new 2011 Indonesian Erasmus Mundus awardees took place on July 21st and 24th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Jakarta. The event was organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, and the EMA SEA Chapter.
This year, the pre-departure event invited new awardees from Action 1 and Action 2 comprising 118 students and scholars. Fifteen current Erasmus Mundus students and alumni participated in this event to share their knowledge and experiences gathered during their stay in Europe.
The awardees were welcomed and congratulated by the representative of the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Mr Charles Witheley and the Director for Cooperation for Intra Regional Europe – United States of America – Foreign Affair Ministry, Mrs Dewi M Kusuma Astuti. The event continued with the presentation and introduction to the European Union, book launching, and first-time flyers tips.
One of the most remarkable parts of the pre-departure event this year was the launching of an anthology book entitled “Erasmus Mundus: The Stories Behind” written by 15 Erasmus Mundus Indonesian alumni from 2006 to 2009. It started with handing over the first official book by Dina Mardiana, alumna of EMCLE and coordinator of the anthology project, to Mr Charles Whiteley. The book contains many breathtaking stories about alumni’s invaluable life experiences, ranging from meeting with the former UN Secretary, Mr. Kofi Annan, to greeting the soccer super star, David Beckham. It utters not only their experiences during their stay in Europe but also their enormous and endless efforts to make their dreams come true. Alumni expect their stories to become inspiration for readers for achieving their dreams to study abroad, and more importantly, for going far beyond their ambitions. What makes the anthology book even more special is that it was published under an independent label, which was intended to break the limits and standards applied by major publishing companies. One week after its launching, the record sales have reached more than 100 copies, mainly by means of self-promotion on facebook and several yahoogroups mailing lists. Book orders come mainly from Jakarta and other big cities in Java. It is noteworthy that there were also some requests from remote areas in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
Sunday’s event was less formal. The awardees were introduced to the EMA Southeast Asia Chapter, and Indonesian National Network activities. A series of sharing sessions were organized to give a brief overview to the awardees on the preparation before departure, before and after arriving, and various problems that might be encountered during their stay in Europe. This turned out to be an excellent opportunity both for the alumni and the new awardees to strengthen the network.
