Day: October 16, 2023

Jakarta (ANTARA) – State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir accompanied President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on a working visit to China, on Monday, to discuss the development plan of the Surabaya fast train, among other matters.Thohir, along with Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, will accompany Jokowi to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji. The two presidents will discuss several priority issues, such as boosting Indonesian exports, increasing investment, and building food security. “We will also raise an in-depth discussion for the sustainability of the high-speed train from Bandung to Surabaya, which is currently being studied. We also want to improve the cooperation structure, whether ownership, interest, and others,” he noted in a statement on Monday. The SOEs minister also expressed keenness to include state-owned rolling stock company PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA), as part of the Bandung-Surabaya Fast Train Project. He noted that PT INKA earlier built the Integrated Light Rail Transit (LRT), with inputs from the community. In addition, Thohir emphasized the need to add a Domestic Component Level (TKDN) in the Bandung-Surabaya fast train project to bring consistency in PT INKA’s involvement. “In order to increase TKDN in the Bandung-Surabaya fast train project, we will involve PT INKA. Thus, many parties will be developed with the project,” he remarked. t the meeting with China, discussions will also cover efforts to improve the structure of cooperation, including the ownership and interest rates, he revealed. “If we want to become a developed country, we must have sufficient infrastructure, such as toll roads, trains, ports, airports, and others, which will definitely take time. Building infrastructure takes time,” he stressed. Earlier, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi stated that his ministry has included the plan for the Surabaya high-speed railway in its blueprint. With the success of the Jakarta-Bandung fast train operation, his ministry is confident about designing the upcoming, more efficient fast train project with certain variables, he remarked. The fast train is expected to cut travel time between Jakarta to Surabaya to 3.5 hours, from the earlier 11 hours by train in a distance of more than 700 kilometers.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Health invited researchers and educators to utilize the ministry’s health data as material for research whose results can be used as recommendations for the government in formulating policies.”We invite researchers to utilize data for research, share knowledge regarding the use of data to produce policy recommendations,” Head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Health Technology at the Ministry of Health Bonanza Perwira Taihitu remarked. Taihitu made the statement at the “Launch of the Health Ministry’s Data Utilization Portal” webinar here on Monday. He said data from the Ministry of Health, such as that related to COVID-19 and other survey results, comprising basic health research, under-five children nutrition surveys, and health facilitation research conducted by the Health Development Policy Agency (BKPK), could be used by various parties, including in creating policies related to health. Taihitu noted that the data can be accessed quickly through the Health Ministry’s Data Utilization Portal, which is provided under the cooperation of the ministry’s Data and Information Center and the BKPK. “The portal provides a menu to see the availability of data that is needed in order to obtain data that is needed and has been open for the public,” he remarked. ccording to Taihitu, the short-term goal of providing the Health Ministry’s Data Utilization Portal is to help all ministries and agencies determine the direction of policies that are based on data. Moreover, it is aimed at creating an inclusive ecosystem for research that is policy-oriented as well as encouraging educators and researchers to prepare future generations in research and education. “What is most important is, like has been conveyed by the Health Minister (Budi Gunadi Sadikin), the data must have an impact on the community,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News Agency

Cigarettes are the cause of multidimensional problems at the global level, not only in the health sector but also bring a negative impact on socio-economy and culture Jakarta (ANTARA) – An official from the Health Ministry stated that cigarettes are the root of various problems that are multidimensional in nature in Indonesia and also the world.”Cigarettes are the cause of multidimensional problems at the global level, not only in the health sector but also bring a negative impact on socio-economy and culture,” the ministry’s health transformation communication staff, Ngabila Salama, stated in a talk show on Monday. ccording to Salama, ample research has shown the negative impact of cigarettes on health issues, including physical and mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. part from the health sector, smoking also causes economic problems. Studies from the research also showed that cigarettes are the second most common product consumed by poor families, Salama added. She believes that spending on cigarettes among poor families should be diverted to spending on sources of animal protein, such as meat, chicken, and eggs. part from that, another research states that by reducing cigarette spending by one percent, poverty will also be reduced by six percent. “The price of one cigarette is around Rp1,500, equivalent to the price of one egg,” she stated. In addition, Salama highlighted that smoking is one of the causes of stunting in children and also resulted in motoric, developmental, and mental disorders. She cautioned that mental disorders in children can also disrupt their concentration and cause a decline in their performance in school. This was caused by around seven thousand dangerous substances contained in cigarettes, especially nicotine, which causes addiction; tar that triggers cancer in the body; and carbon monoxide that impedes the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to body tissues and key organs, she explained. Hence, Salama urged the public to stop and avoid smoking. She drew attention to some efforts made to reduce the number of smokers by increasing cigarette excise prices and limiting cigarette advertising. For this reason, she proposed to relevant stakeholders to tighten regulations regarding cigarette advertising. “Cigarette advertising exposure triggers the chance to smoke by five times greater,” she pointed out.

Source: Antara News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – All policies related to the health sector made by the Health Ministry or other ministries and institutions will be drafted based on data, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated.”All policies or new agency made by the Health Ministry will be made according to data. If possible, all of the government agencies or institutions related to health must make their policies based on data,” he emphasized at the launch of the Health Ministry’s Data Utilization Portal in Jakarta on Monday. ccording to Sadikin, using data as a basis for policy making could help stakeholders analyze the effectiveness of a particular policy before being implemented in the community. Hence, to this end, his side is launching the Data Utilization Portal to facilitate the effort. He noted that one of the policies made in accordance with data is the stunting management program. “We have hundreds of billions of rupiah in funds for the supplementary food program to eliminate stunting. With the portal, we can see whether the budget is properly absorbed or not,” Sadikin remarked.

Source: Antara News Agency

Indonesia has recently experienced extreme weather characterized by rising air temperatures that continue to break new records.The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) warns that rising air temperatures cause the global warming process to continue and have an impact on the phenomenon of climate change. One of the main causes of climate change is the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions that had an impact on increasing air temperature. Fast fashion industry, or the term for the textile industry with various fashion models that always change in a short time and do not last long, has pushed the development of textile production at quite a rapid pace. However, data from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) states that the fashion industry accounts for almost 10 percent of the global carbon emissions. This figure is greater than the combined figures from the aviation and shipping sectors. The fashion industry also contributes nearly 20 percent to global waste water, or about 93 billion cubic meters from textile dyeing. round 92 million tons of textile waste is estimated to be produced annually globally. That figure has the potential to jump to 134 million tons per year by 2030. To overcome the climate crisis triggered by increasing carbon emissions from the fashion industry, sustainable economic activities need to be increased, so that the industry’s carbon footprint can be reduced. Maria Gabriella Isabella is one of the people to have succeeded in encouraging a sustainable economy through preserving culture and fashion. Through her social enterprise called Copa de Flores, Isabella and seven of her friends, since 2015, have developed a fashion brand to preserve woven fabric that is the traditional clothing from Southwest Sumba District, East Nusa Tenggara Province. ;figure class=”figure-image” id=”fgimage_1 ; class=”fig-captionSeveral ikat weaves and its derivative products were exhibited at the Southwest Sumba Dekranasda Exhibition in Jakarta, Friday (Oct 13, 2023). (ANTARA/Katriana) part from preserving culture and fashion, preserving woven fabrics also addresses environmental and women’s issues. “Hence, apart from making fashion products that are more fashionable and more suitable for use by all ages, our woven fabric products are also to answer environmental issues and women’s issues,” Isabella told ANTARA here on Saturday (Oct 14). Through the development of these woven products, Isabella is creating a movement to pursue a sustainable economy by prioritizing sustainable values in the products she produces. “So, one of the values that we raise is the value of timelessness,” she stated. This value is a spirit to use clothing for a long time, so that it can also be worn by future generations. “Hence, these clothes are not meant to be worn just once but can also be worn by our children or grandchildren. Hence, this can be used across generations,” she remarked. Woven fabric is considered to be the right instrument for developing sustainable values because this kind of fabric is strong and durable, so it can be used for a long time. part from mainstreaming timeless values in the clothes she makes, Isabella also encourages the zero waste target by utilizing unused fabric scraps into other valuable products, such as necklaces, earrings, and wallets as well as other accessory products. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also used the unused fabric to make masks, which at the time was considered to be important to wear to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “So, this is truly zero waste,” she stated. Sustainable economy eneral Secretary of the Regional National Crafts Council (Dekranasda) Maria Magdalena Anggriani Lele Biri, in the Southwest Sumba Dekranasda Exhibition series also emphasized the importance of preserving culture and the environment through sustainable economic activities. This effort was carried out by Dekranasda by empowering girls in the age bracket of 15-25 years to adult women in the Southwest Sumba through the culture of weaving to produce woven fabrics that is the traditional clothing typical of that area. “One of the things we are trying to do (to create a sustainable economy) is recycling woven fabric by utilizing textile waste into derivative products that have new economic value,” she stated. The people of Southwest Sumba are known as producers of woven cloth for generations. Woven fabrics in the area are used for various traditional events, ranging from weddings, deaths, to welcoming guests. Woven fabrics produced by women from the area, include lambaleko weaving, ikat weaving, and natural weaving. ;figure class=”figure-image” id=”fgimage_2 ; class=”fig-captionSeveral ikat weaves were exhibited at the Southwest Sumba Dekranasda Exhibition in Jakarta, Friday (Oct 13, 2023). ANTARA/Katriana Woven fabric from this area is made from natural materials and through a dyeing process that also comes from natural dyes, so it does not have a negative impact on the environment.Hence, apart from encouraging economic improvement in the community, sustainable economic activities carried out by women in the area are also closely related to the culture of people in the area. Hence, Anggriani believes that it is important to continue such empowerment effort through a weaving culture to boost the economy of people as well as to preserve culture and respond to environmental problems. “Hence, this woven product is not only related to woven clothing but also its derivative products, and through this sustainable economy, we want culture and economic development to be balanced,” she affirmed. Challenges lthough she considers these steps to be important to realize a sustainable economy, Anggriani also does not deny that there are several challenges faced to realize this hope. One of the challenges is related to human resources. In empowering weavers in the area, she found that there were still several weavers, who were not ready to commit to producing quality woven products that met market demand. “This is related to their mindset, so we still have to continuously encourage them to commit to improving the image of woven fabrics in a disciplined and sincere manner,” she stated. Hence, Dekranasda continues to provide education, so that they are ready to produce woven products that meet market demand. part from human resources, mastering technology is also a challenge. Developments in digital technology, including the use of the QRIS payment method, were still hampering the marketing of woven fabric products. “Hence, we are actually not ready to (use QRIS),” she stated. However, Anggriani expressed optimism that her organization would encourage weavers to become more digitally literate, so that they could increase sales through digital platforms. part from providing education, Dekranasda also collaborates with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemdikbudristek) to provide training for weaving business actors, including digital training. In addition, Dekranasda continues to encourage weavers and weaving businesses by involving them in exhibitions and festivals, so their products are expected to be better known nationally and even internationally. In the meantime, the government has also made several efforts to develop Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including encouraging more business actors to enter digital platforms, so they can market their products. By onboarding digitally, it means that MSME business actors have greater opportunities and wider market access.

Source: Antara News Agency

Education or vocational training must be able to answer the needs of a very dynamic job market Jakarta (ANTARA) – Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah affirmed that the revitalization of vocational training was one of the government’s breakthroughs in improving human resources (HR).In a statement received here on Monday, Fauziyah stated that vocational training revitalization has three advantages, with the first being shortening the training duration as compared to formal education, using demand-driven based for training, and third, offering inclusive vocational training for all groups that can be combined with other social safety net program. “These three advantages can be a solution for the Indonesian workforce that is still dominated by elementary and middle school graduates,” she noted at the inauguration of the Ministry of Manpower’s Vocational Building in Jakarta on Sunday. Moreover, the revitalization of vocational education and training is in accordance with the government’s effort to realize superior HR toward a Golden Indonesia 2045 as stated in Presidential Decree Number 68 of 2022, she remarked. “This presidential regulation aims to increase access, quality, and relevance of the provision of vocational education and training in accordance with the needs of the job market,” Fauziyah remarked. She also said that the newly inaugurated Vocational Building under the Directorate General of Vocational Training and Productivity Development will be used to facilitate the community to access vocational training. “We hope the building can provide more access to the entire community for training and also to stakeholders,” she stated. Earlier, she addressed that vocational education and training should be able to address the needs of the job market to respond to the demographic bonus. “We have so many people in the productive age that need to enter the job market. They also need to prepare their competencies. Education or vocational training must be able to answer the needs of a very dynamic job market,” she remarked. The minister drew attention to the existing mismatch in the output of education or training that failed to meet the requirements of the job market. “With this revitalization, we hope that the output from vocational education or training can answer the job market needs,” she remarked.

Source: Antara News Agency

Fuzhou, China (ANTARA/Xinhua-AsiaNet)- The World Marine Equipment Conference 2023, jointly sponsored by the People’s Government of Fujian Province, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China, and the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China, is held from October 12th to 15th in Fuzhou, Fujian. The promotional videos for the conference have been released through overseas social media including “Oriental.Paris”, “Discover Fujian” and “Discover Fuzhou”.It depicts Fujian’s rich maritime history from the Fujian’s shipping administration, “the cradle of China’s modern navy”, to its bustling modern ports, and the thriving scene of countless fishing boats sailing to the sea. The video condenses Fuzhou’s historical heritage of sea-based prosperity and its ambitions to be a strong maritime city in just one minute, according to the Publicity Department of CPC Fuzhou Municipal Committee. The conference, themed “Carrying the Dreams of Humanity to New Horizons” aspires to be a high-level, high-energy and high-performing international event in the marine equipment industry. It mainly includes the opening ceremony and main forum, 6 sub-forums, an achievement exhibition and several concurrent events. The conference guests will be actively engaged in discussions in key areas of maritime equipment, focus on fostering collaborative innovation in the industrial and supply chains, driving industry-university-research cooperation, talent exchange, economic and trade partnerships, and translating achievements into tangible benefits. It aims at propelling the marine equipment industry towards a path of high-end, green, intelligent and innovative development. t the opening ceremony and main forum on 12th October, domestic and international organizations, experts, scholars, and heads from well-known enterprises in the field of marine equipment come together, and engage in profound discussions on topics such as technological innovation, equipment manufacturing and industrial cooperation. s a major part of the conference, the achievement exhibition showcases products, technologies and solutions that have received authoritative recognition and awards in the field of marine equipment since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and has attracted great attention of the professionals. Source: Publicity Department of CPC Fuzhou Municipal Committee Image Attachments Links: Caption: Carrying the Dreams of Humanity to New Horizons – the World Marine Equipment Conference 2023 releases its promotional video. ttachments:

Source: Antara News Agency

Fuzhou, China, (ANTARA/Xinhua-AsiaNet)-On 12th October, the World Marine Equipment Conference 2023 was held in Fuzhou, China. The event, jointly sponsored by the People’s Government of Fujian Province, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China, and the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China, is a significant international gathering that focuses on the field of marine equipment. As a high-level, high-energy and high performing conference, it is dedicated to promoting cooperation and knowledge exchange within the industry across the world.The World Marine Equipment Conference 2023 is themed “Carrying the Dreams of Humanity to New Horizons”, and organizes a range of activities that cater to professionals in the field, including the opening ceremony and main forum, 6 thematic forums and an achievement exhibition, and multiple side events are held concurrently, according to Fuzhou Leading Group for the Preparation of the Conference. During the opening ceremony and main forum, both domestic and international organizations, experts, scholars and heads from well-known enterprises in the field of marine equipment attend and make insightful keynote reports. The 6 thematic forums seminars, each focusing on a specific industrial topic, include the Asian Shipbuilding Technology Forum, the International Deep-Water Port Construction and Development Forum, the World Marine Civilization Exchange and Mutual Learning Forum, the Deep-sea and Far-sea Aquaculture Equipment and Industry Ecological Forum, the Green and Intelligent Development of Inland Ships Forum, and the International Boat Industry Development Forum. Up to now, more than 300 important guests have been invited to attend the forum. The achievement exhibition showcases products, technologies and solutions that have received authoritative recognition and awards in the field of marine equipment since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Notably, Fujian’s achievements in building a strong marine province and the outstanding achievements in developing maritime equipment of various regions and fields in China are also unveiled. number of side events are held concurrently, featuring the China Marine Equipment Expo and the Marine Equipment Industry Chain and Supply Chain Ecological Conference hosted by China State Shipbuilding Group, and the Marine Economic Cooperation Innovation and Development Conference held by the People’s Government of Fujian Province. Source: Fuzhou Leading Group for the Preparation of the World Marine Equipment Conference 2023 Image Attachments Links: Caption: World Marine Equipment Conference 2023 opens in Fuzhou, Fujian. ttachments:

Source: Antara News Agency

Bengkulu (ANTARA) – The Bengkulu administration has distributed agricultural equipment and machinery assistance to farmers to increase the province’s agricultural productivity amid the prolonged dry season.”I hope that the assistance will benefit the community and help farmers boost their agricultural productivity,” Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah remarked here Sunday. The agricultural aid package comprises 45 electric plant sprayers, three hand tractors, 22 cultivators, 42 lawn machines, three three-wheeled motorbikes, 2,000 litres of organic fertilizer, and 500 kilograms of compound fertilizer. The package was distributed to 15 farmer groups in Talang Benih Village, Curup Sub-district, Rejang Lebong District. overnor Mersyah affirmed that the distributed equipment and machines do not belong solely to the farmer group leaders but also to all members of each group. He also asked the farmers to take good care of the assistance to maintain its durability. “Please, maintain these equipment and machines, and I would also like to stress that all members of farmer groups have the right to utilize them,” he stated. The governor then noted that the condition of agricultural activities in Curup Sub-district is still better compared to other regions in Bengkulu during the ongoing prolonged dry season. He observed that currently, the soil in the province’s coastal regions, such as Seluma, Manna, Kaur, North Bengkulu, and Mukomuko, has started cracking, thereby hindering the agricultural production. “The irrigation system in Curup is quite reliable. Hence, the dry season does not disrupt crops. We all should be grateful for this,” the governor said. part from farmers in Rejang Lebong District, the provincial government also distributed similar assistance to farmers in Kaur District in early October. In total, five farmer groups in Kaur District received tractors, while 14 farmer groups got plant pest sprayers. Those agricultural aid packages are aimedto help the farmers in Rejang Lebong and Kaur boost their production of food crops, especially rice, since the two districts serve as Bengkulu’s rice-producing regions.

Source: Antara News Agency