Ritech Expo, August 27-29
Semanggi Expo = Balai Sarbini?
My boss, who invited me to come to the exhibition, was quite unsure where the venue was. Was Semanggi Expo just a new nick name for Balai Sarbini? As Balai Sarbini was situated in this brand new Plaza Semanggi, it was actually quite logical to name it Semanggi Expo.
Trying to be more precise about this, I asked for a second opinion. I pm-ed my hang-out high-school buddies, with whom I often see movies in Semanggi 21, to ask whether Balai Sarbini was actually Semanggi Expo. I got to positive answers, that's why the next day I woke up and with great confidence, headed for Plaza Semanggi.
It was a hot morning. Under the scorching hot Jakarta sun, I walked over the pedestrian bridge to the spot. There, I couldn't see a single promotional banner about the event or direction to the venue. I gave myself the benefit of doubt and decided to wait for the venue to open by strolling down the arcades and halls and viewing the quite view of this grand shopping mall.
But when it hit 8:30 p.m. and still nothing in there showed any activity of the expo, I began to worry more. Finally it dawned on me, in a quite disgracing way. As I was sitting down on a retaining wall near the fountain in front of the west lobby, a security guard came over telling me and some people there to get up, because sitting there is forbidden. Trying to pull my self together from the brink of humiliation, a grand huniliation in this grand shopping temple, I asked him whether Balai Sarbini is really Semanggi Expo. His answer strucked me (thus enlightened me a bit in a shocking way). Semanggi Expo was the one in the SCBD.
After thanking him for the information, I rushed to the pedestrian bridge and then to Komdak. I could take no shortcut there and I had to take the way around this office complex.
Finally I made it to REAL venue, body drenched in sweat, to find that the expo had been officially opened for public. I was almost an hour late.
If only somebody had told me in the first place that Semanggi Expo was right next to Kampung Tenda Semanggi, I could have saved one and a half hour waiting hoplessly in Plaza Semanggi and arrived on time.
Seleb Kapiten
The Office of Research and Technology had appointed some public figures (read: celebrities) as the spoke people for the "Local Indonesian Research and Technology" campaign. They even have a nick name Seleb Kapiten which stands for Selebriti Kampanye Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi. Isman may call it an oxymoron.
Celebrities have always been center of attention virtually everywhere. If you, a non celebrity, want to be the stars in your own party, say wedding party, simply do not invite one of them. If you break this rule, you'll ruin your chance because of their inner capacity of stealing other people's thunder.
Same thing might have happened on Ritech 2004. Seleb Kapiten's appearance meant less media coverage for the exhibition that displayed achievements, however small, accomplished by Indonesian scientists and researchers. They overshadowed these warriors in the term of popularity.
I wonder whether celebrities have truly invaded all possible space in our lives. If scientists and researches couldn't have their respectful place in this technology expo, where else? I said celebrities should be confined in a more restricted place and let ordinary people deserve fame because of their accomplishments.
Same Old, Same Old
I enjoyed being in PP Iptek displays the most. There, we could try some gadget that demonstrate physical phenomena and meet the challenge of some "do-it-yourself" to push our brain to the limit. They even had a special show in the main stage, challenging young visitors to participate in interactive demos.
The rest of the expo was actually too ordinary to tell. Most of the displays offered same things, things you could expect from any government-run event. Things that might only please the eyes of government officials.
In fact, I would say that this expo actually had a hidden message: Education has failed to develop. The government has once again failed to grasp the idea of how important education is, despite the lengthy ornamented speech about preparing the next generation of Indonesia.
Participants from academic institutions could not something spectacular. I could understand that. It is already too difficult for university scientist to carry out researches after the government cut off academic subsidiary fund. I feel sorry for students who actually have the capacity to grow but then turned into bonsais, disabled to reach their maximum potentials, all due to the high-level mismanagement.
IGOS, Indonesia goes where?
We should even putting too much hopes on five ministers who, in June 1st, had declared "Indonesian Goes Open Source Campaign". They did have a nice well-written poster about IGOS agenda: strengthening the cooperation blahs, implementing blahs in blahs, endorsing the usage of blahs in blahs, and acknowleding the developers blahs blahs blahs. With the turning of the upcoming presidential election, who would gurantee that this idealistic programme - I would say it is actually a Holy Mission that had been carried out politically - continue until the stated goals are fulfilled. Each of them must be busy worrying whether they would retain their position in the next cabinet or not.
Why should everything be political here in Indonesia?
My boss, who invited me to come to the exhibition, was quite unsure where the venue was. Was Semanggi Expo just a new nick name for Balai Sarbini? As Balai Sarbini was situated in this brand new Plaza Semanggi, it was actually quite logical to name it Semanggi Expo.
Trying to be more precise about this, I asked for a second opinion. I pm-ed my hang-out high-school buddies, with whom I often see movies in Semanggi 21, to ask whether Balai Sarbini was actually Semanggi Expo. I got to positive answers, that's why the next day I woke up and with great confidence, headed for Plaza Semanggi.
It was a hot morning. Under the scorching hot Jakarta sun, I walked over the pedestrian bridge to the spot. There, I couldn't see a single promotional banner about the event or direction to the venue. I gave myself the benefit of doubt and decided to wait for the venue to open by strolling down the arcades and halls and viewing the quite view of this grand shopping mall.
His answer strucked me (thus enlightened me a bit in a shocking way). Semanggi Expo was the one in the SCBD.
But when it hit 8:30 p.m. and still nothing in there showed any activity of the expo, I began to worry more. Finally it dawned on me, in a quite disgracing way. As I was sitting down on a retaining wall near the fountain in front of the west lobby, a security guard came over telling me and some people there to get up, because sitting there is forbidden. Trying to pull my self together from the brink of humiliation, a grand huniliation in this grand shopping temple, I asked him whether Balai Sarbini is really Semanggi Expo. His answer strucked me (thus enlightened me a bit in a shocking way). Semanggi Expo was the one in the SCBD.
After thanking him for the information, I rushed to the pedestrian bridge and then to Komdak. I could take no shortcut there and I had to take the way around this office complex.
Finally I made it to REAL venue, body drenched in sweat, to find that the expo had been officially opened for public. I was almost an hour late.
If only somebody had told me in the first place that Semanggi Expo was right next to Kampung Tenda Semanggi, I could have saved one and a half hour waiting hoplessly in Plaza Semanggi and arrived on time.
Seleb Kapiten
If you, a non celebrity, want to be the stars in your own party, say wedding party, simply do not invite one of them.
The Office of Research and Technology had appointed some public figures (read: celebrities) as the spoke people for the "Local Indonesian Research and Technology" campaign. They even have a nick name Seleb Kapiten which stands for Selebriti Kampanye Ilmu Pengetahuan dan Teknologi. Isman may call it an oxymoron.
Celebrities have always been center of attention virtually everywhere. If you, a non celebrity, want to be the stars in your own party, say wedding party, simply do not invite one of them. If you break this rule, you'll ruin your chance because of their inner capacity of stealing other people's thunder.
Same thing might have happened on Ritech 2004. Seleb Kapiten's appearance meant less media coverage for the exhibition that displayed achievements, however small, accomplished by Indonesian scientists and researchers. They overshadowed these warriors in the term of popularity.
I wonder whether celebrities have truly invaded all possible space in our lives. If scientists and researches couldn't have their respectful place in this technology expo, where else? I said celebrities should be confined in a more restricted place and let ordinary people deserve fame because of their accomplishments.
Same Old, Same Old
I enjoyed being in PP Iptek displays the most. There, we could try some gadget that demonstrate physical phenomena and meet the challenge of some "do-it-yourself" to push our brain to the limit. They even had a special show in the main stage, challenging young visitors to participate in interactive demos.
The rest of the expo was actually too ordinary to tell. Most of the displays offered same things, things you could expect from any government-run event. Things that might only please the eyes of government officials.
In fact, I would say that this expo actually had a hidden message: Education has failed to develop. The government has once again failed to grasp the idea of how important education is, despite the lengthy ornamented speech about preparing the next generation of Indonesia.
Participants from academic institutions could not something spectacular. I could understand that. It is already too difficult for university scientist to carry out researches after the government cut off academic subsidiary fund. I feel sorry for students who actually have the capacity to grow but then turned into bonsais, disabled to reach their maximum potentials, all due to the high-level mismanagement.
IGOS, Indonesia goes where?
We should even putting too much hopes on five ministers who, in June 1st, had declared "Indonesian Goes Open Source Campaign". They did have a nice well-written poster about IGOS agenda: strengthening the cooperation blahs, implementing blahs in blahs, endorsing the usage of blahs in blahs, and acknowleding the developers blahs blahs blahs. With the turning of the upcoming presidential election, who would gurantee that this idealistic programme - I would say it is actually a Holy Mission that had been carried out politically - continue until the stated goals are fulfilled. Each of them must be busy worrying whether they would retain their position in the next cabinet or not.
Why should everything be political here in Indonesia?
Comments