Bienvenue a notre voyage de la vie!

Feel free to browse through the Archives for our walk of life in the past months / year (on the bar at the left side of this page). If you want to leave a "trace" of your visit in this weblog, you're welcome to share your insights by Posting Comments. Kindly remember to type your name and e-mail address at the end of your comment. Many thanks!

Tip: Hit the "F11" button to give a broader view of the page you're viewing. To change again to normal setting, hit "F11" again.

Buku 'Rahasia Sukses Berkarier Internasional (Rasberi)'

We are very grateful that the book 'Rahasia Sukses Berkarier Internasional' ('The Secrets of Successful International Career') had been published by Gramedia publisher. Below is the excerpt of the book. For more information, please visit: www.arethaaprilia.com.

As it is written in Indonesian, at the moment it is only available in Indonesia. We hope that the English version will be available in the near future.

The secret and tips to having successful international career are revealed in the book titled "Rahasia Sukses Berkarier Internasional" ('The Secrets of Successful International Career').

Conventional methods such as looking for job vacancies information in the newspapers, and sending as many applications to various institutions without any strategies proved to be less effective in today’s competitive climate.

Did you know that based on facts and research:

- More than 70% of jobs filled by internal candidates (a.k.a the ‘insiders’)

- More than 50% of employees get the job has never been advertised

- 70% – 80% obtained jobs through networking, and only 5% got their jobs through job advertisements and job fairs.

This book introduces a variety of non-conventional strategies to apply for jobs at international institutions or companies, tips on having successful job interviews, tips to salary negotiations, and much more.

For more information, please visit: www.ArethaAprilia.com/en

* * *

Rahasia dan berbagai kiat berkarier internasional dikupas tuntas dalam buku “Rahasia Sukses Berkarier Internasional (Rasberi)” yang diterbitkan oleh PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Metode konvensional seperti mencari informasi lowongan kerja di koran dan mengirimkan lamaran sebanyak-banyaknya ke berbagai institusi tanpa strategi terbukti kurang efektif di era kompetitif seperti sekarang ini. Tahukah Anda bahwa berdasarkan fakta dan penelitian:

* Lebih dari 70% pekerjaan diisi oleh kandidat internal (alias ‘orang dalam‘)

* Lebih dari 50% karyawan mendapatkan pekerjaan yang lowongannya tidak pernah diiklankan

* 70% – 80% pekerjaan diperoleh melalui jejaringan (networking), dan hanya 5% dari iklan lowongan dan pameran bursa kerja.

Buku ini memperkenalkan berbagai strategi non-konvensional yang juga membahas mengenai strategi melamar pekerjaan di institusi atau perusahaan internasional, kiat sukses menghadapi wawancara kerja, tips melakukan negosiasi gaji, dan masih banyak lagi.

Siapa yang wajib membaca buku ini?

* Para profesional dari tanah air, baik profesional mid-karir maupun fresh graduates.

* Para pelajar tingkat SMP, SMU, dan universitas yang ingin mempersiapkan pendidikan untuk kariernya di institusi internasional

* Pegawai Negeri Sipil (PNS) dan dosen yang berniat untuk memperoleh pekerjaan atau proyek pada institusi internasional

* Para guru, dosen wali, konselor pendidikan, yang berniat untuk membimbing murid atau mahasiswa/i mereka untuk berkarier di institusi internasional

* Para karyawan yang ingin mencari alternatif kerja lain untuk meningkatkan karier dan pendapatan

* HRD, manajer, dan pegawai institusi dan perusahaan internasional

* Ibu rumah tangga yang ingin kembali memasuki dunia kerja saat ini yang kian kompetitif

* Para orang tua yang peduli dengan masa depan karier anak-anaknya di era kompetisi global

Buku yang berjudul ‘Rahasia Sukses Berkarier Internasional’ ini sengaja disingkat menjadi ‘RASBERI’. Alasannya, selain agar mudah diingat oleh pembaca, juga karena buah rasberi (raspberry) sendiri merupakan metafora jenis buah yang asing, rasanya bercampur antara manis dan asam. Hal tersebut tepat sekali merepresentasikan fakta bahwa memiliki karier internasional merupakan pengalaman yang asing, terkadang terasa manis, namun tak jarang juga terasa asam, sebab cukup banyak tantangan yang harus dihadapi selama seseorang menjalaninya.

Segera dapatkan buku ini di toko buku terdekat Anda.

Harga: Rp 40,000,-

Kunjungi www.arethaaprilia.com dan dapatkan berbagai informasi yang dapat diunduh secara GRATIS!

Dapatkan pula updates, informasi lowongan dan artikel terbaru mengenai karier dengan meng-add

Facebook Page Aretha Aprilia (klik di sini).

Here are some articles by Nuki, which were published in the international scientific journal Science Direct. If you wish to receive a copy of the full text article, you may contact us or go to the links as indicated at the bottom of each article.

Indonesian residential high rise buildings: a life cycle energy assessment

Authors: Nuki Agya Utama and Shabbir H Gheewala

The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

Available online on 30 July 2009 at Elsevier Science Direct's Energy and Buildings: an international journal devoted to investigations of energy use and efficiency in buildings

Abstract

This study evaluates the effect of building envelopes on the life cycle energy consumption of high rise residential buildings in Jakarta, Indonesia. For high-rise residential buildings, the enclosures contribute 10-50% of the total building cost, 14-17% of the total material mass and 20-30% of the total heat gain.

The direct as well as indirect influence of the envelope materials plays an important role in the life cycle energy consumption of buildings. The initial embodied energy of typical double wall and single wall envelopes for high residential buildings is 79.5 GJ and 76.3 GJ respectively.

Over an assumed life span of 40 years, double walls have better energy performance than single walls, 283 GJ versus 480 GJ respectively. Material selection, which depends not only on embodied energy but also thermal properties, should, therefore, play a crucial role during the design of buildings.

Keywords: Building envelopes; High rise; Tropical climate; Embodied energy; Life cycle energy

Click here for full text article.

Life cycle energy of single landed houses in Indonesia

Authors: Nuki Agya Utama and Shabbir H. Gheewala

The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

Available online 9 May 2008.

Abstract

Building enclosures contribute 10–50% of the total building cost and 14–17% of the total material mass. The direct as well as indirect influence of the enclosure materials plays an important role in the building life cycle energy. Single landed houses, the typical houses in Indonesia, have been chosen for this study. The life cycle energy of the house enclosures and energy consumed during their life spans shows intriguing results.

The initial embodied energy of typical brick and clay roof enclosures is 45 GJ compared to the other typical walls and roof material (cement based) which is 46 GJ. However, over the 40 years life span of the houses, the clay based ones have a better energy performance than the cement based ones, 692 GJ versus 733 GJ, respectively. The material selection during the design phase is thus crucial since the buildings have at least 40–50 years’ life span.

Keywords: Building envelope; Embodied energy; Houses; Indonesia; Life cycle energy

Click here for full text article.

Influence of material selection on energy demand in residential houses

Authors: Nuki Agya Utama and Shabbir H. Gheewala
The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

Available online 12 September 2008.

Abstract

Utilizing local materials for improving the energy demand in the single landed houses in Indonesia is very promising, since it also entails less cost during production and transportation. Many possible scenarios have been proposed towards this end such as improving building craftsmanship, using double walls with cavity, double walls with bamboo in between and introducing less transparent glass.

The scenarios are tested in terms of the additional initial investment in terms of energy and cost and the benefits accrued for life cycle energy and cost. Energy and cost payback are computed to evaluate each scenario and a framework proposed for quick screening of building materials.

Keywords: Building fabrics; Environmental performance; Material properties

Click here for full text article.

Self-sufficiency in the provision of Indonesian construction materials

Authors: Nuki Agya Utama; Robert Kodoatie
p. 956-963
10th DBMC International Conference on durability of building materials and components, 2005

Abstract

In line with the plan of the Indonesian government to build and develop the infrastructure as well as building a million houses for middle low incomers, the provision of local construction material is strictly prerequisite. The purpose of building up the infrastructure (i.e. roads, dams, power plants, drainages and ports) in addition to mass houses is providing the job opportunity and increasing the public services demand.

The use of sustainable construction materials in Indonesian construction business is still considerably low, whereas the use of local material is rare. Business purposes with economical benefit considerations remain to be the major issue in the local construction firm. Java as the most developed region in Indonesia customarily supplying woods for construction purposes from the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, even though the use of these material are more durable but in the other hand its energy consuming and lack environment awareness.

Furthermore its construction sand materials had been largely taken from the beach area, which brings about a number of serious environmental degradation. Likewise the construction material for Borneo, Sumatra and Eastern Indonesia most of the advanced production for material supplies such as cement, pre-fabricate concrete, steel and finishing material are mostly coming from Java region. This article aims to generate the knowledge vis-a-vis the possibility of self sufficiency and sustaining its construction material durability within local construction firm throughout the country.

Click here for full text article.

Farewell with UNEP Bangkok

Our lives in Bangkok of almost four years, and of which nearly three years I had been working with UNEP ROAP, is finally coming to an end. As mas Nuki received a job offer as Research Associate at Kyoto University, we decided to move to Japan. With this decision came the consequence that I must leave my job at UNEP. It was not an easy decision, but at the end of the day, family is bound to be the most important aspect of our lives and long distance relationship in this regard, is not an option.

Breaking the news to my supervisor Mr. Henk Verbeek was not easy, but he was very supportive and completely understood our decision. As the news spread and more people knew of my leaving, my really kind colleagues had arranged a farewell party for me at the office, which was, as long as I've been working at UNEP, I've never seen a party with such a spread: pizzas, Thai delicacies, fruit platters, were made available from the tables' corner to corner, and it was a surprise for me because apparently some colleagues had arranged this without me knowing.

I was also informed that some colleagues who are working on the other office block was supposed to be in a teleconference with UNEP headquarters in Nairobi at the time of which my farewell party was organized. They were very thoughtful enough to postpone the teleconference one hour after my farewell party! And another surprise was that some colleagues in Nairobi was informed about my farewell, and my former colleague Emily Park, who used to share an office with me in Bangkok, called me all the way from Nairobi to 'protest' that I didn't tell her about my leaving. :)

The farewell party was opened with a special remark made by our UNEP Regional Director Dr. Young Woo Park (pictured below).

And then after my supervisor Henk Verbeek delivered his witty and delightful remarks, it was my turn to deliver a speech. I started with thanking everyone and mentioning colleagues who really made a difference to my work and career at UNEP. I ended my speech with a poem as follows:

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may UNEP remain filled with wonderful people like you.

Here is the picture of some of my colleagues. (Left to right: Serena, Lud, Maria, Clementine, Stefanos, Satwant, and Subrata)

Left to right: my supervisor Mr. Henk Verbeek, Serena, and I

And after all said and done, we enjoyed the food while... listening to our Regional Director singing karaoke! Yes, it was the first time ever we have karaoke in UNEP office. My kind colleague Lita brought her karaoke set and we had a nice time singing and listening to our colleagues sing! :)

So now, as I write this I'm already in our new place which is located in the border of Kyoto and Osaka. Although distance may have set us apart, I believe that we will meet each other again, if not sooner then perhaps later. I will never forget my time of working with UNEP.

I am pleased that the project that I coordinated, the Asia Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (APFED) Showcase Programme, had been regarded as a 'highly successful programme' by my supervisor in his memo to our partners and colleagues that informed them about my leaving.

I was also honoured to be awarded the "Certificate of Appreciation" by the UNEP Regional Director, as recommended by Mr. Verbeek, 'for outstanding performance as Coordinator of the APFED Showcase Facility'.

Thank you Henk and Dr. Park, for this honour.

SRI LANKA: Beyond My Expectations

It was another mission trip that I had to take, and at that time Colombo was my next destination. The mission was to attend and deliver presentation at the APFED Workshop on 14 - 17 October 2008.

At first I was taken aback to learn that the flight will be leaving Bangkok on the ungodly hour of almost midnight. Entering the check in lounge, my back was patted by someone, who is no other than my former supervisor at UNEP, who was at that time working in an institute in Japan. As we landed in Colombo airport at around 2 am, we were greeted by some familiar and friendly faces - of whom were our partners of the project that I was dealing with.

On our way to the hotel in Mount Lavinia - a suburb out of Colombo in which the meeting was going to be held and where we will spend the nights, we were stopped by the policemen, who were asking us questions pertaining our purpose of visit and requiring us to show identification in the form of our passport. It was cold outside that whenever the car windows were opened, we could feel the crisp air and the thin breeze. As we could show our true intentions of visiting Colombo to attend a meeting, these kind policemen let us go.

As it turned out, Sri Lanka was one of the most beautiful country that I have been to. I was also given the courtesy to have a city tour around Colombo city by my old friend, who was a former partner of a project that I dealt with when I worked at UNEP. The city preserves the old colonial buildings that are truly mesmerizing. Whereas the hotel that we stayed in, Mount Lavinia Hotel, is a very well-maintained colonial building, which used to be the home of a Governor General back in the colonial days. There was a romance story behind it as well, because the hotel is a legacy of the colonial heritage that stands as a monument to the forbidden love of the Governor with a local dancer.

The hotel is facing the beautiful view of the beach, and is merely 12 km from the Colombo city centre. During the coffee breaks of the meeting, the participants were hanging on the terrace that faced the beach and swimming pool. Here is one of the pictures taken during the breaks.

(Right to left: Ikuyo Kikusawa (IGES), Henk Verbeek (UNEP), Tomoko Noguchi (IGES), and myself).

HaLLoWeeN in Bangkok

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories, and watching horror movies (source: Wikipedia)

Akhtar's school arranged the "Trick or Treat" rounds in Sukhumvit area, in which the kids were asked to chime: "Trick or treat ... trick or treat ... give me something sweet to eat...!"
And then the people in the neighbourhood will be giving away candy or all sorts of candy to these kids, who were dressed in various kind of costumes. For Akhtar, we dressed him as a Vampire. }:)

Special thanks to my colleague from UN-ESCAP, Zhendai, whose son Jia Jia is attending the same school as Akhtar's, for taking and sending the pictures and video files, which I compiled as one video file below.

A trip to the UN Climate Change Secretariat - BONN, Germany

Amid this year in late July, I was invited by the UN Secretariat for Climate Change (UNFCCC) headquarters in Bonn, Germany. It was indeed intense 3-days, as the travel took almost one whole day, and then I spent the next day browsing around the town of Bonn with my good friend Bhava (who was also kind enough to offered me place to stay at her cozy apartment), and the following day the meeting with the UNFCCC staff members, and left Bonn a few hours after the meeting.

Nevertheless Bonn left me with the impression that it is a very nice, family-friendly town. I would not mind being there a bit longer. The people were also very kind, in fact, I made friends with a woman I met in the train on my way from Dusseldorf Airport to Bonn. Bhava had warned me, that the airport is such a hassle, and somewhat complicated. So in the station, I saw this friendly-looking woman, reading a story-telling book to her daughter. I asked her for directions, and she was concerned that she dialled Bhava's number many times (to no avail, as she had left her apartment when we called her), and even she asked the information operator about the number of Bhava's neighbours (!)

Bhava and I, on the top floor of the UNFCCC Secretariat office

So anyway, it didn't work out, and she was left concerned. She gave me her phone number, in case I am in any trouble in Bonn. And she also told me to drop by if I ever be around her hometown (which was not Bonn). I feel so grateful, and glad to know that there are "angels" out there who would be willing to give you a hand when you're lost (literally speaking!)

The zentrum of Bonn downtown, Bhava and I took a very long walk around town (I just wished that there would be massage service in town - apparently they're very expensive, of course, and by appointment only)

UNEP-Tongji Leadership Programme - SHANGHAI and SUZHOU, China

The UNEP-Tongji Asia Pacific Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development has been conducted annually since 2004, on a collaborative basis between Tongji University and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The 2008 Leadership Programme was held during the week of 15-20 September 2008, at the premises of the UNEP Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) in Shanghai, China, followed by a series of site visits to the eco-industrial city of Suzhou municipality.

This year 28 participants from 18 countries were selected, in which Aretha and Nuki had the opportunity to be part of. The Hanns Seidel Foundation and UNEP generously sponsored our participation and stay in China for a week, to pursue the intensive Leadership Programme that aims to build network and strengthen knowledge on the emerging issues on environment, especially in the Asia and the Pacific region.

During the intense weeks, we managed to make use of the night "session" more fruitful, by going to Shanghai downtown, do some shopping, and sight-seeing. We normally would went in a group of some good new friends, and would compare prices of the stuff that we bought, sometimes followed by delight of getting cheaper price, but sometimes with disappointment for having to pay more than what the goods were worth.

Nanjing Road, Shanghai downtown at 8:00 pm.

Modern as it is, with European/American/Asian mixed-designs of the building, Shanghai is a unique city which is worth a visit.



On the third day in Shanghai, we had the chance to do some more sight-seeing just the two of us, and visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, located in Pudong Park, which is the world's third tallest TV and radio tower, with 468 meters high above the ground.

The view from the top of the tower was unbelievably breath taking.

Following the session of lectures that were delivered by Resource Persons from Yale University, Griffith University, AIT, etc, and from private sectors such as HSBC and Bayer, we were brought to Suzhou city, an industrial municipality located 1 hour away from Shanghai. We stayed at the hotel provided by the organizer, which was at the heart of the shopping area and night entertainment in Suzhou.

Checking-in at the hotel in Suzhou


At the Exhibition of the Ecological Park in Suzhou, there were some interesting showcase of eco-friendly technologies with which the city was developed. Above picture is us sitting on top of the sturdy glass showcase of this eco-city modelling.

Mission to Davao City, the PHILIPPINES

In July 2008, I was invited to attend the annual APFED meetings. This time the venue was in Davao city of Mindanao province, the Philippines. The plane from Manila took around an hour, and I was pleased to see the wonderful view of Davao from above, just before landing. It was indeed a beautiful afternoon, around 4 pm or so - my favourite time of the day.


The meetings were intensed 2-days, in which I had to delivered presentations on behalf of UNEP. It really was a good opportunity for me to again network with experts, people from the Ministries of Environment (and several Ministers), as well as NGO representatives from Asia and the Pacific region.

Somehow while I was there, some people mistakenly thought that I was a Philippino. Once they talk to me in Tagalog, I would respond, "sorry, I'm not a Philippino" - to their surprise. And later on they'd apologize, saying "but you look like a Philippino," which I would respond, "yes, and you yourself look like an Indonesian." That usually would break the ice. ;)

And then there was a representative from IUCN who said to me, "at first I thought that you were a Philippino," he added, "but after hearing your presentation, I knew at once that you are not. So which country are you from?"

Anyway, after the whole 2-days meeting, IGES had the courtesy to provide participants to join the field visits. That was in fact also an opportunity to talk to the person next to you on the tour bus about things that are not necessarily related with work. It made the connection more humane and personal, which I like better.

In front of the tour bus, left to right: Henk Verbeek (UNEP Senior Admin Officer), me, Ikuyo Kikusawa (IGES), Prof. Emil Salim and his wife, Mr. Hiroshi Nishimiya (used to be my boss at UNEP as Deputy Regional Director, currently holding position as IGES' Deputy Programme Management Office), and the representative of Ministry of Environment, Japan.


With Prof. Emil Salim, at the Eagles Conservation centre of Davao city. Prof. Salim is one of the APFED members, the only delegate from Indonesia, and we are pleased to have him on board.

A little observation on Prof. Emil Salim. He is considered as a world-renowned, awards-winning expert on environmental sustainable development. He is always active during the discussion sessions, with his point of emphasis on poverty reduction. He always puts forward the importance of the policy makers to take into account measures on poverty reduction, in front of the international audience before him. He is the former Minister of Environment, and is currently holding a position as member of the Advisory Council to the Indonesian President. I have only learned about him in my elementary school text books, and so grateful to have the chance to meet him in person at international fora like this.

Akhtar Avatara

Looking at the previous posts, I got the warm feeling inside by looking at baby pictures of Akhtar. It feels like only recently he was still a baby. Now he has grown a lot and turned as a boy instead of a baby :)

Playing badminton with mom, dad, and the Indobangkoknoi group

Self-portrait submitted to the pre-school he is currently attending; Early Years in Sukhumvit, Bangkok.

When asked, what does he want to be? He would reply, "an astronout!". He said that he wants to go to the moon, and stars, and drop by the sun "it's so hooott... in the suuun...", he would add.

He is also fascinated with airplanes, trains, and all sorts of transportation. But he likes airplanes best, and his face would brigthen up by the prospect of all of us going to the airport. Sometimes he'd be a bit disappointed when we went to the airport just to pick up our family members who were dropping by Bangkok, because he wants to ride on the plane.

Riding (posing) on the Thai Airways mobile cart at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport

The last time we went on the plane was to go back to Semarang for our sister's wedding. The plane departed from Bangkok to Jogjakarta (by MAS), unfortunately the weather wasn't favourable and there were several turbulence, which made Akhtar's face a bit dimmed. Then he said, "I don't like airplanes, mommy. I don't want to go on airplanes... no more." But we tried to encourage him that the turbulence is due to the weather, and we went inside the thick clouds, etc. After landing, it seems that he had forgotten all about the sickening turbulence, and said, "I want to ride on the plane again! Let's go, Mommy!"

Akhtar and papa, mesmerizing the replica of an airplane at Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) airport


"Funky music on my earphones, mommy! Yeah... rock on, dude!"

Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali (CoP 13)

Climate change is claimed as the defining challenge of the century. Given the importance of the topic, UNEP had put climate change on top of its agenda. I was pleased to have been given the chance to attend the conference as observer, in addition to my role to assist the UNEP Subregional Environmental Policy Dialogue, which was attended by Ministers of Environment from Asia and the Pacific (including Minister Rachmat Witoelar) and the UNEP Executive Director Mr. Achim Steiner.

The JAPAN mission - Tokyo, Yokohama, Hayama

Finally the time has come for me to be able to visit our counterpart's office based in Japan. I have mainly been working with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and I was pleased to be invited to attend and delivered a presentation on behalf of UNEP at the meeting there. Their headquarters office in Hayama - Kanagawa Perfecture, is impressive. Not only that it was spacious, airy and with modern interior/exterior, the building also applied the notion of sustainable building by the installation of wind energy systems to provide electricity, solar lighting, etc.

Prior to attending the full-day meetings, at the IGES Headquarters office in Hayama, Japan.

Given that Japan is indeed an exciting place to visit, I had the courtesy to invite my mother to come with me on this mission. After a few days of back-to-back meetings, we extended our stay and had some extra days spent in Tokyo and Yokohama. As good ol'tourists, we did all the touristy things, such as visited the Tokyo Tower, all-modern Roppongi hills, Akihabara, etc, which were included in one of those full-day Tokyo tour services. It was all worth it, and we both had a blast!

Our feet on top of the Tokyo Tower

At Roppongi hills, from which Tokyo Tower can be seen from afar

A few encounters with eminent persons - CHENGDU, China

Dear friends and family,

It has been a while since the last time we post any new updates on our life. No... we haven't got a sibling for Akhtar just yet, but we have some other news that might be of your interest.

As some of you know that after a well-deserved maternity break and several temp-jobs here and there, I had finally gone back and taken up a job at the UN Environment Programme in Bangkok as Programme Specialist since November 2006 up to now. I will continue to serve while mas Nuki is completing his Doctorate programme. I had been quite busy in the past few months with missions abroad, which was exhausting but also fulfilling.

The first mission was to Chengdu (China), in which I had to deliver 2 presentations about the programme I'm dealing with, which is a grant programme for environmentally innovative projects all over Asia Pacific. Every year we select 12 projects, and up to now we already have 24 projects in 18 countries. My duty is to monitor the implementation and disburse the funds.

So anyway, in Chengdu, I had the opportunity to meet Prof. Emil Salim, who is the only eminent person from Indonesia invited in this Asia Pacific Forum for Environment & Development meeting. I was quite nervous to deliver my presentation in front of him, in addition to around 30 other former and current ministers from Asia. But I am grateful that somehow it went well, that I got compliments from Prof. Emil and the director of institute at the UN University in Tokyo, saying that my presentation was "interesting" and that I "didn't look nervous at all" - although I knew well that I was, but did a nice job covering it up ;-)

Here is a snapshot of me in between 2 prominent people: Prof. Akio Morishima (founder of the Institute of Global Environmental Strategies - Japan), and Prof. Emil Salim.

And here is the picture of the former Minister of Environment from South Korea, Dr. Kim Myung Ja. Note that she is a prominent female environmental leader, and I am amazed by the fact that everytime she speaks in the forum, she always gets the attention and follow up from other participants, as she deserves.

And of course at the end of the day we had the opportunities to do a bit of sight seeing around Chengdu, and I got to see the Panda Centre with heaps of pandas which are really chubby, fluffy, and cute...

It was just sooo good to be out and get in touch with the nature after whole days of meetings and a series of presentations.

Ibu Cemerlang (Smart Mom) 2006 - Nestle infant cereal

Source:http://www.sahabatnestle.co.id/HOMEV2/main/infant/main.asp?page=event&id=1236
Juara Ibu Cemerlang 2006: Aretha Aprilia Ibu Cemerlang 2006
Karena merasa memiliki visi yang sama dengan Nestlé, Aretha ikut pemilihan Ibu Cemerlang 2006 dan... menang! Menjadi seorang ibu adalah anugerah terindah yang dirasakan Aretha Aprilia. Untuk putera pertamanya, Akhtar Avatara yang kini berusia 11 bulan, Aretha hanya memberikan nutrisi terbaik termasuk asupan ASI untuk buah hatinya. "Saya berniat memberikan Akhtar ASI sampai dia berusia 2 tahun," begitu harapan Aretha.

Mantan Gadis Gemilang versi Majalah GADIS (1997), Miss Novotel (1998), yang juga mantan penyiar radio di Semarang ini tampaknya memang memiliki naluri sebagai seorang Ibu Cemerlang. Essay-nya tentang pengalaman makan yang edukatif membuktikan hal ini.

Untuk membuat Akhtar mau makan dengan lahap, Aretha menerapkan trik "medutainment" alias meals, education and entertainment. "Saya mengajaknya bicara, menirukan suara binatang atau bermain boneka tangan. Saya berharap, suasana penuh kasih sayang akan membuat Akhtar menyukai saat-saat makannya." Sekarang, Akhtar yang sudah semakin besar dan ganteng memang jarang sekali sulit makan. Selain asupan ASI, Akhtar menyantap Nestlé Bubur Susu rasa wortel, bayam dan labu 3 X sehari, ditambah juice dan nasi tim saring.

Ibu muda yang masih aktif menulis untuk media cetak dan di UN Bangkok ini sangat percaya bahwa nutrisi yang baik sangat dibutuhkan untuk pertumbuhan dan perkembangan anak-anak. Ia mendukung pemberian ASI eksklusif dan ingin sekali dapat bekerja sama dengan Ibu Ani SBY sebagai Duta ASI, mengkampanyekan pentingnya ASI ke berbagai lapisan masyarakat.

Selain itu, Aretha juga berencana membuat website khusus tentang nutrisi anak di internet yang bisa dijadikan sumber informasi bagi tumbuh kembang anak serta membuat milis untuk memfasilitasi informasi ini."Pasti menyenangkan bila ibu-ibu bisa sharing experience dengan sesama ibu-ibu lainnya yang memiliki anak usia 6 – 12 bulan. Saya sudah mengumpulkan bahan-bahannya lho," katanya ceria. Kita doakan saja, semoga cita-cita mulianya ini dapat terwujud dalam waktu dekat, ya!

Snapshots of the TV Commercial for Nestle Infant Cereal, broadcasted nation-wide

(courtesy of Toto Soemardjono, Director of the Nestle-TV commercial production)

And here is the VIDEO file of the Nestle TV commercial. Click "Play" to view it.

Akhtar is almost 1 year old... time flies (?)

So here we are, back on the web again. I got a message from Nina and apparently she still checks our weblog and sent a congratulatory note to welcome me back in the 'blog world'. I really think that it's time to update it, after my last post dated April 10 (wow, it's almost 8 months ago!)

Akhtar is now almost 1 year old. The past 1 year had been such a turmoil, many ups and downs. I enjoy this great (yet life-changing) opportunity to be a mom. Akhtar now can say some things, funny words like "buaya" (in Indonesian, it means "crocodile"), because whenever he sees Animal Planet on TV, and there are some kinds of crocodile shows, we always point out to him that they're called "buaya". The funny thing is, sometimes in the morning, right after he wakes up, he says none other than "buaya" ... I hope he doesn't refer that word as his mom or dad! (although, he can already point to us and say "mama" and "papa", though).

Down below you can see his latest photos. Share with us what you think of him, we'd be glad to hear from you all!

We went over to Sophie's apartment at one weekend to get Akhtar acquainted with her two sons: Meno and Pim. Sophie is Dutch, whom happily married with an Aussie. Sophie works at UNEP for the "Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction from Industry in Asia and the Pacific" project (www.geriap.org), while Andy is a P.E. teacher at an international school in Bangkok.

This is our 2nd time to visit this happy family. We enjoyed having dinner together, this time we prepared Indonesian meal for them: Soto daging, gado-gado, and perkedel daging.

Jessica, our friend from London who now works for one of the international TV network based in Malaysia, paid us a visit while she conducted her task to cover a story in Thailand. She stayed at our place for a few days and we really had a good time having her around. We went to Suan Lum night bazaar to do a bit of shopping (for her) and to have a sort of 'Goodbye Dinner'. She's quite good with babies, and she can practically be a mother herself! Akhtar also seems to like her a lot coz she'd make funny faces, so we may as well call her the "fun auntie Jessica". :-)