Monday, May 7, 2007

Out to spread the positive values


Saturday July 22, 2006
Out to spread positive values

KUALA LUMPUR: Four visionary young people will travel to six countries next month, with one goal in mind – to spread the word on diversity and pluralism.
The initiators of a social activist movement called Positive Movement, which is based in Jakarta and managed by 11 university students, are in Kuala Lumpur to promote two youth camps planned for next year. Students Ignatia Widhiharsanto, 24, Inayah Wahid, 23, Suseno Dwinanto, 24, and Achmad Ubaidillah, 26, started the movement a year ago in view of the rising social problems in their country.

YOUNG VISIONARIES: (From left) Inayah, Suseno, Ignatia and Achmad smiling as they talk to newsmen about their goal of spreading the word on diversity in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.Inayah, daughter of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, has seen the problems get worse over the years and thinks that the younger generation should be more involved.

“It is an urgent matter because if Indonesia still has the same problems in 15 years’ time, there won't be an Indonesia to speak of,” said Inayah, an Indonesian studies major at the University of Indonesia. “Our organisation is trying to spread positive values through community development projects such as last year's sahur (the early morning meal) programme, where we collected food for families waiting for their relatives in hospitals,” said Achmad.

The four university mates will fly to Bangkok, Siem Reap, Hanoi, Phnom Penh and Vientiane in the next four weeks to talk to youth organisations about two camps they are holding next year. A camp for Indonesian youths will be held in January next year, and in June youths from South-East Asia will congregate in Bali for a camp with a similar theme. The project, themed In Diversity We Unite, aims to persuade youths to be active in pluralism and peace, and to encourage unity among people of different cultural and social backgrounds.

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