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Home > WCO Programs > Special Programs >Indonesia Report |
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Rebuilding CULTURE in Banda Aceh, Indonesia |
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1. Cultural Rehabilitation in Aceh |
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Shortly following December's tsunami, arguably one of the world's worst natural disasters in recent history, World Culture Open (WCO) was contemplating ways to support the critical reconstruction process in Southeast Asia - Indonesia specifically. We recognized the vast and inexhaustible need for material assistance, but our focus, rather, was on the intangible consequences of the tsunami, i.e. the spiritual, social and cultural devastation.
Our brainstorming sessions centered on two things: 1) facilitating reconstruction of the community, having culture as an innervating engine 2) providing cultural, educational, and social assistance to the new influx of orphaned youth (numbering in the tens of thousands.) More specifically, we came to propose the creation of a Cultural Center that would provide orphaned youth with cultural, educational and social programming both designed and offered by an active and voluntary participation of members of the community.
We decided to start with Banda Aceh, a city on the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which is one of the areas worst hit by tsunami. And by early spring, WCO's proposal was finalized and ready for implementation. The socially responsible organic cereal company, Nature's Path, generously provided us with a small grant to begin exploratory research and cover construction costs in Banda Aceh. Additionally, colleagues working in Jakarta for international aid organizations IOM (International Office for Migration) and Komunitas Utan Kayu (the Utan Kayu Community) were pointing us to two arts/culture organizations wherein WCO might be able to plan the Cultural Center: Aceh Cultural Institute and Aceh Art Council.
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