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Water issues, rising temperatures and the lost beauty of nature ravaged by humans were some of the themes at a film competition hosted Wednesday at the Salihara community center in South Jakarta.

The final round of the competition, featuring short films by high school students, saw five works selected out of seven.

The five included Reuse Gray Water by Cornelia Stacy Gabriela from Saint Laurensia High School in Tangerang, and Nature’s Memory by Ariel Ezra Bezaliel and Kevin Johanes from Dian Harapan High School, Tangerang.

The other three were Hope by Khosyi Yoga Pratama and Adriel Andriawan from Sinar Mas Academy, Tangerang; What About a Global Change by Shadia Pradsmadji and Pradnya Padminiamaitri from PSKD Mandiri High School, Jakarta; and It’s Our World by Nurdada Hajatulail and Zulfi Prayogo from State High School No. 2, Depok.

Renowned movie director Jay Subiakto, serving as a member of the jury, said he was impressed at the level of concern for the environment exhibited by young people.

“I expected they’d show unusual things from their surroundings, for instance by making a film on life in a traditional market where traders still wrap goods in leaves,” he said.

“By taking a closer look at their surrounding, I’m sure they can generate new ideas and be creative.”

The short films were judged on idea and plot, implementation of the idea, picture quality, editing, and musical score.

“Their techniques are OK, and with more practice they’ll be able to fulfill their potential,” Jay said.

Also judging the competition were The Jakarta Post editor-in-chief Endy M. Bayuni, Sanchi Davis from the Australian Embassy, Mariza Hamid from the Visi Anak Bangsa Foundation, and Dicky Edwin Hindarto from the National Council on Climate Change.

The films can be viewed at the Facebook Study in Australia Indonesia. Viewers may vote for their favorite film through the website of by sending a text message to +62-813-9862 1154, open until Friday.

The announcement of the winners will take place on Feb. 27.

The winner will win a five-day trip to visit universities in Perth, Australia, and view several projects to mitigate climate change impacts.

Australian trade commissioner Patrick Kearins said the competition was held to raise awareness about global warming among youths.

Eighty-eight short films on climate change were sent by high school students across Greater Jakarta. The first stage of the selection process was held by the Indonesian Nobel Foundation between Feb. 17 and 23.

The competition is organized by the Australian Embassy, Climate Project Indonesia, the Indonesian Nobel Foundation, and Perth Education City.

The Jakarta Post

A student plays near the Obama statue placed at Besuki 01 Elementary School in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday. For the upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama in March, the former school of the president is preparing art performances to welcome the president. JP/J. Adiguna

The Jakarta Post

The Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) has told its members to do away with conventional teaching methods and develop new teaching paradigms allowing for more active student participation.

PGRI’s representative for international affairs, Unifah Rosyidi, told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of an international seminar in Jakarta on Monday that it was high time Indonesia’s teachers answered to the new demands and challenges of developments in education.

“Education in the old days placed teachers in the center, but today, the learners, or students, are the center. Today, education is not just a matter of transfering knowledge, rather it is more about facilitating the students to get better, and to actualize themselves,” she said.

Monday’s seminar on developing a child-friendly school invited hundreds of teachers and lecturers from schools and universities from all over the country. Teachers from countries such as China, Egypt and Zambia also attended the event to share their experiences.

Unifah said efforts to disseminate information on students’ rights and conducive learning environments had been made over the years through seminars and training workshops.

“Changing teachers’ teaching paradigm is a long process. We need to continuously sensitize our teachers to how education has developed and how it brings new demands and challenges,” she added.

Lund University of Sweden and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency have been training teachers from various countries in developing child-friendly schools.

Bodil Rasmusson from the university said during the seminar that such schools were the ones encouraging students’ participation.

An example of students’ participation, he said, was the establishment of child rights clubs where children had the opportunities to express themselves in many different ways – through poems, drawings, or festivals that involve the whole school and community.

“There are also examples of children being involved in the creation of new school rules. We have also seen many examples of improved relationships between students and teachers in the classroom,” he said.

Unifah said to improve students’ participation in the classroom, teachers needed to establish a teaching method that was meaningful, fun, creative and inspiring for the students.

“Also, they need to design the curriculum so that it could be flexible enough to allow creativity in the teaching process,” she told the Post.

Rasmusson said developing a child-friendly school also required a provision of children’s rights.

“We also have examples *of the provisions of child’s rights* in opportunities provided to pregnant teenagers to return to school after delivery,” he said.

Unifah highlighted that it was important to establish inclusive education in the country. “It is the right of every child to get quality education without being discriminated *against*,” she said. (adh)

www.thejakartapost.com

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