Indonesians Encouraged to Participate in Mass Debates

Jakarta Globe, Marcel Thee, November 21, 2013

‘We Discuss’ currently runs five programs each with a different topic of debate.
(Photos courtesy of Whiteboard Journal)

The Indonesian education system isn’t exactly known for its encouragement of critical thinking, but a younger generation of Indonesians are breaking barriers. New attitudes to learning are emerging — young people want engagement and debate and to not simply memorize facts.

“We Discuss” is a project that hopes to address these needs and get young people to express their beliefs and opinions.

The project is the brainchild of the Whiteboard Journal website team. Currently it consists of five programs — with specialist topics and locations. Thus far it has been successful in getting creative minds together in a welcoming area to share their thoughts.

The program’s latest discussion “Faces and Places” aims to show how the various interactions we have with the places we live in or frequently visit reveal much about how we act in social situations.

We spoke with Dwiputri Pertiwi, who spearheaded the program about the creation and goals of “We Discuss.”

How did the initial idea for ‘We Discuss’ come to you?

About six months ago, we [the Whiteboard Journal editorial team] were brainstorming ideas for a regular offline event.

Since we already had music-related events such as Cliff Notes and W_Music Sessions at the Goods Diner [a chain of restaurants that partner with the Whiteboard Journal], we thought it would be a great idea to focus on something else that would encourage our readers to directly engage with our online content.

Did you have similar programs prior to this?

In the past, we have had a number of Roundtable events where we would invite guest speakers to converse about topics such as urban planning and entrepreneurship in front of large audiences. While this format has a strong educational value, there is little to no room for dialogue.

Question and answer sessions are not enough to get everyone involved. This is why we think it’s important to hold an open discussion where two-way communication can actually take place. Participants are encouraged to express their opinions; hence the name ‘We Discuss.’

Did you have any particular aspiration or goals with the program?

There is no ultimate goal per se, but we do hope that ‘We Discuss’ can be a platform where people feel free to exchange ideas and opinions. Even if the scale of the event is very small [there are normally around 20 participants], we want to create an environment that makes people want to speak as much as they want to listen. Getting people to talk at each other won’t get anyone very far.

How do you settle on a particular topic?

We usually follow the Whiteboard Journal’s editorial calendar because it makes it easier for us to connect the discussion with our existing articles. About two weeks before each event, we publish two blog posts on our web site.

The first being a sort of guideline that consists of the general theme – for example, education — and three subtopics, such as sources, educators, learners, for the upcoming discussion; and the second being a list of recommended reading material from Whiteboard as well as other sources.

This is another thing about ‘We Discuss,’ we provide such material prior to the event because we don’t want participants to feel lost during the discussion.

What kind of topics have you discussed so far?

To date, beginning in July, we have discussed four topics: education, national identity, fashion and art. This month’s discussion focused on the social aspects of architecture.

The day after each discussion, we always post a brief summary on the Whiteboard Journal blog.

What has running the program done for you, personally?

Personally, I always learn something new every month because of the amount of research I do each time.

I remember being very anxious about the discussion on fashion because I knew almost nothing substantial about the topic.

But that sense of anxiety pushed me to want to find out more, and in the end, I ended up learning a lot of interesting things from the research and the discussion about a topic I was previously unfamiliar with.

I hope that those who participate in ‘We Discuss’ can also feel the happiness of having discovered something new — be it a new way of thinking, or a bundle of new information to process.

How do you see the current generation of young Indonesians differing from their seniors in terms of wanting to be more involved in these kinds of public discourse?

Hmm, that’s a tough question. I think that those who show up at ‘We Discuss’ events are people who do want to speak, so most of them tend to be confident in sharing their opinions.

It’s usually a little quiet in the beginning because not everyone knows each other, but after 15 minutes or so, more and more people start to join the conversation.

Do you see social media playing a lot into how younger people interact?

I think our generation has a lot of ideas. Anyone who spends enough time on Twitter would know that we have a lot to say about a lot of things.

But I suppose this is where the problem lies. Twitter and other forms of social media do allow users to exchange idea or comments but in the end, such platforms encourage people to announce ideas rather than exchange them.

What do you think has caused this passivity in the majority of the younger generation of Indonesians?

It’s hard to say who’s to blame. We are not lacking ideas; we just need more open forums.

I think that when people share their thoughts with an audience they can see and directly interact with, they will be more aware of what they say. And when people are more aware of what they say, they will think carefully before they speak.

‘We Discuss’

Kinokuniya Plaza Senayan Jl. Asia Afrika 8, Sogo Plaza Senayan

Lt. 5 – South Jakarta

For the complete program, visit whiteboardjournal.com