You do your best work if you do a job that makes you happy.—Bob Ross

Dilema mahasiswa

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Pak Dosen yang sudah sepuh itu sedang serius menulis di papan tulis ketika saya mengetok pintu dan minta izin masuk kelas. Melalui ekor matanya dia memperhatikan saya, si mahasiswa yang selalu kebetulan datang terlambat, berjalan masuk dan duduk di bangku barisan terdepan.

“Udah telat, duduknya di depan lagi.” Dia berkomentar pendek sambil membalikkan badan.

Saya nyengir saja. Memangnya mau duduk di mana lagi? Tanpa repot-repot, saya langsung tahu kok bangku barisan belakang pasti sudah penuh oleh mahasiswa yang datang lebih dahulu. Itu kan hukum alam.

Matanya menatap tajam ke muka saya. Lalu turun perlahan-lahan. Dan…

“Pakai sendal jepit?!”

Alamak. Bodoh betul saya bisa-bisanya lupa kalau peraturan institut ini mengharuskan mahasiswa mengenakan sepatu ketika ikut kuliah (dengan satu pengecualian: tidak ketahuan).

Supaya tidak ketahuan itulah hukum alam “isi-barisan-belakang-lebih-dulu” tercipta.

Seakan ada gunanya, saya menarik kaki perlahan supaya tersembunyi di bawah bangku. Menggantang asap.

“Ah, tapi saya sih udah capek menyuruh mahasiswa pakai sepatu.”

“Kenapa Pak? Hehe.”

Sebab kacamata yang tertengger di hidungnya itu tak berguna buat melihat jauh, ia pun menunduk dan kembali menatap saya. “Dari dulu mahasiswa selalu cari-cari celah.”

Puluhan tahun silam, katanya, ketika peraturan “harus memakai sepatu” disosialisasikan, mahasiswa bereaksi. “Sepatu itu apa? Definisi harus jelas,” katanya menirukan.
Sepatu adalah alas kaki yang menutup jari-jari kaki sehingga tak terlihat.
“Eh ada satu anak malah pake sendal jepit pake kaos kaki,” dia mengenang. Sekilas saya melihat dia seperti berusaha menahan senyum.

Akhirnya definisi pun diamandemen.
Sepatu adalah alas kaki yang menutup jari-jari kaki sehingga tak terlihat serta menahan tumit. Sehingga kalau menendang, alas kaki tak terbang.
“Eh tu anak malah dateng pake sendal jepit, pake kaos kaki, trus ada karet gelang di bagian tumit. Katanya biar nggak lepas.”

Sampai sini giliran saya yang tak kuasa menahan senyum. Ini cerita sungguhan, atau dia sedang guyon? Seisi kelas mulai gelisah menanti kelanjutan cerita.

Akibatnya, dia melanjutkan kisah, dosen-dosen memutar otak. Kali ini, peraturan yang diamandemen.
Mahasiswa dilarang memakai sandal jepit di kelas.
“Kita pikir dia mati langkah deh tuh,” kata Pak Dosen mengernyit. “Ternyata nggak. Itu anak dateng, copot sendal di pintu trus masuk kelas telanjang kaki.”

“Hahahaha. Terus Pak?”

“Pas kita tanya, jawabannya gini: ‘Yang dilarang itu kan memakai sendal jepit. Saya kan nggak pakai [sandal jepit], jadi saya nggak melanggar peraturan’”.

Maling selalu lebih pintar dari polisi? :P

Gapura penyeberangan

Tuesday, December 01, 2009



Keunikan kota Balikpapan. Sewaktu pergi ke sana pertengahan tahun ini untuk menghadiri pernikahan seorang kawan, saya melihat banyak pengumuman seperti ini terpancang di tengah jalan — semacam gapura penyeberangan gitu.

“Anda menyeberang disini dilindungi UULLAJ No 14 Th 1992 Pasal 26 Ayat (1)”

Sekilas dilihat langsung mudah dimengerti. Ini imbauan supaya masyarakat tidak menyeberang di sembarang tempat melainkan lewat zebra cross. Imbalannya? “Dilindungi Undang-undang”.

Namun ternyata, Pasal 26 Ayat (1) yang dimaksud berbunyi seperti ini:
Pejalan kaki wajib berjalan pada bagian jalan dan menyeberang pada tempat penyeberangan yang telah disediakan bagi pejalan kaki.
Jadi di mana letak perlindungannya? Hehehe. Lagipula kalau buat saya nih, mau menyeberang di manapun, kalau kena tabrak ya sakitnya sama-sama saja.

Nothing Lasts Forever

Though we have not hit the ground
It doesn’t mean we’re not still falling

—Maroon 5

Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace: A Brief Report

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace: A Brief Report
Bangkok, 28-30 October 2009

The forum
“Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace” was a three-day international conference designed for the further development of the Power of Peace Network (PPN) — a global enterprise proposed in the first global forum in Bali, 2007.

This second forum aimed at reaffirming the “Spirit of Bali” statement of commitment for global collaboration in the use of the tools of information and communication for cultural self-expression, mutual understanding, the reduction of conflict and the support of peaceful sustainable living.



There were six grand themes discussed in the forum — also discussed further in round-table discussions:
  1. Media and ICTs building mutual understanding;
  2. Conflict management through media and ICTs: New opportunities for collaboration;
  3. Innovations in media and ICTs for peace: Youth leadership;
  4. The application of media and ICTS for peace education: University leadership;
  5. Harnessing media and ICTs for peace: Developing the Power of Peace Network;
  6. Use of media and ICTs by faith groups for peace building.
On the second day of the forum, the Power of Peace Network’s website (www.thepowerofpeacenetwork.com) was launched. A social networking site like Facebook or Friendster, the website allows people to set up their profile easily and publish their thoughts, making it possible for the members to communicate to one another.

The participants of the Bangkok Forum declared that they will continue to collaborate in the development of the Power of Peace, particularly through the following actions:
  1. Using the Power of Peace Network website to catalyze the sharing of materials, ideas and resources;
  2. Building the communal business strategy for the network and seeking, where possible, funding;
  3. Supporting the collaboration of schools, colleges and universities to design an online mechanism as part of PPN for peace and conflict studies;
  4. Supporting the continued search for appropriate 2.0 solutions in the ongoing development of PPN;
  5. Encouraging the leadership of the University of Waterloo (Canada) and partners in the ongoing pursuit of educational and 2.0 elements of the collaborative PPN development;
  6. Engaging youth represented at the Forum and those with whom they network in the overall design of PPN;
  7. Encouraging and supporting research, consultation with stakeholders and collaborative processes;
  8. Seeking the necessary resources for the creation of a working group of dedicated leadership to carry the process forward;
  9. Holding a third Power of Peace Forum in two years to bring together the stakeholders, practitioners and supporting partners to focus on the practical measures and decisions needed for the PPN initiative.
My participation
As someone with journalism background and concerns on the relations between media and conflict, I found the forum very very useful.
  1. It gave me the opportunity to meet and build contacts with peace advocates from all over the world. These are the people the media should give more coverage on during the time of crisis. For the sake of balance, media shouldn’t only report about the crisis development but also the efforts to transform the conflict. The peace advocates can also be journalists’ early source of information in reporting conflict.
  2. Being in the conference made me able to see what some people expect from the journalists. They want journalists to play a more active role in peace building. However, in my personal view, journalists are not and can’t be peace advocates. Quoting Ross Howard, a Conflict Sensitive Journalism practicioner, journalists should keep searching for news beyond the bare facts, and present more information to citizens, including possible solutions, so that they may see the conflict in different terms.
  3. I can get to see how the participants understand the term “conflict” differently. For instance, there was a participant who demanded the term “conflict management” be replaced with “conflict resolution” during a round-table discussion. I think this indicated that he could not differentiate between conflict and war — which are two different things. I think it would be great if everybody has the same understanding about a term.
  4. It gave me a chance to raise a question to the panel at the “University leadership” session about what the universities can do to handle conflict issues related to cultural heritage. For example, Thailand-Cambodia fighting over a temple near the border. Indonesia-Malaysia having a spat over Batik, Pendet traditional dance, etc.
  5. The conference provoked me into thinking some ideas, such as how to reach out to the people who don’t agree with you. Together with the other Indonesian participants, I am also planning of collecting, documenting, and publishing stories behind successful conflict resolution efforts in Indonesia (Aceh, Ambon, Poso, and so on). Utilizing ICT, we hope the story will be of any help and useful for our partners anywhere in the world.
I would like to thank UNESCO again for giving me the opportunity to attend the Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace, Bangkok, 2009.

Regards,
Ikram Putra

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