Encompass Awards Indonesia

During a recent visit to Indonesia to catch up with the Encompass team there, Encompass Chair Alex Braden along with CEO Eric Appleby and Programme Manager Erika Moisl were treated to a spectacular show of hard work and talent at the Encompass Awards 2010 art competition and exhibition.

Held in the city of Malang, East Java, the Encompass Awards saw 150 children aged 5 -13 gather to take part in the competition, which had been organised by the Indonesian alumni of previous ‘Journey of Understanding’ programmes with the backing of Encompass Indonesia’s Development Manager, Bambang Sarasno.

The theme of the competition was Harmony in Diversity. In order to publicise and set up the competition a group of 22 alumni had between them visited 750 schools in and around Malang to talk about Encompass and its mission.

Judging was carried out by a panel including representatives from the Malang Arts Council. Many parents were also at the event and there when the prizes were presented by representatives of Encompass UK and Encompass Indonesia.

The quality of the drawings was extremely high. The younger competitors coloured in a template while the older children created their own drawings. The ten best in each category have been brought back to the UK and will be displayed at the at upcoming Encompass events, including the ‘Step into Our World’ showcase event and at the closing ceremony of our next ‘Journey of Understanding’.

This was an excellent example of alumni in action and we are looking forward to more of these kind of initiatives coming out of Indonesia and the other territories where Encompass works.

This visit to Indonesia was a fantastic opportunity for Encompass UK to meet with our Indonesian colleagues, including Chairman Heroe Soeprapto and Development Manager Bambang Sarasno, and to support Encompass Indonesia in becoming its own official local organisation.

We also had the chance to forge further links with other organisations with whom Encompass can work to promote the mission of intercultural understanding and active citizenship worldwide, including Malang Arts Council and Ashoka Indonesia. A meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resulted in some exciting ideas for potential new Encompass projects in Indonesia, and we are excited to see where these will lead.

Encompass UK would like to express our heartfelt thanks for the hospitality and generosity of our Indonesian colleagues and alumni, and we feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to spend such a productive week together.