University of Brawijaya Students Win Silver Medal at International Competition with Ginseng Candy Innovation

University of Brawijaya Students Win Silver Medal at International Competition with Ginseng Candy Innovation

Nesianetwork    November 15, 2024    Comment   

Nesianetwork.id - Bogor, Oktober 31, 2024 – Two brilliant students from the University of Brawijaya have once again brought pride to their university by winning a silver medal at the National Student Concept Paper Competition, an international event hosted by IPB University. Zihan Imaharani, from the Biology Department of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, and Adhwa Khoirunisa, from the Bioprocess Engineering Program of Faculty of Food Technology, secured the award for their groundbreaking innovation: a ginseng-based candy designed to help smokers reduce nicotine levels in their bodies and decrease addiction.

This innovation was inspired by the growing concern over the rising number of active smokers in Indonesia. The candy, made from ginseng root extract, is designed to aid smokers in detoxifying their bodies naturally while gradually reducing the addictive effects of nicotine, and also  Ginseng was chosen for its active compounds, known for their natural detoxifying properties. Additionally, the candy’s convenient form makes it an accessible and user-friendly alternative.

“We hope this innovation can serve as a solution for smokers to gradually quit their harmful habits. This idea was inspired by people around me, where many people were smokers, which affected her health and led to asthma and pneumonia. This experience motivated  to create this innovation. Furthermore, we aim to utilize Indonesia’s natural resources, such as local ginseng, as the primary ingredient for our product,” said Zihan Imaharani during the award ceremony.

The competition attracted participants from various countries, each presenting competitive and creative ideas. Zihan and Adhwa’s achievement not only brings honor to the University of Brawijaya but also highlights the potential of Indonesia’s youth in creating science-based solutions for global challenges.

Looking ahead, Zihan and Adhwa plan to conduct further trials and refine their product’s formulation to enable mass production and wider distribution. This remarkable achievement is expected to inspire other students to innovate and maximize their potential. "We hope this innovation will become a groundbreaking solution that benefits the people of Indonesia," said Adhwa that day.

Editor:

Achmad Munandar

Url Link to Read Indonesia The Jakarta Post English Newspaper

Url Link to Read Indonesia The Jakarta Post English Newspaper

Nesianetwork    Maret 01, 2024    Comment   

Nesianetwork.id - If you are looking for newspapers and online media from Indonesia that use English, we recommend The Jakarta Post.

The Jakarta Post is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Bina Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta.

The Jakarta Post started as a collaboration between four Indonesian media at the urging of Information Minister Ali Murtopo and politician Jusuf Wanandi. After the first issue was printed on 25 April 1983, it spent several years with minimal advertisements and increasing circulation. After a change in chief editors in 1991, it began to take a more vocal pro-democracy point of view. The paper was one of the few Indonesian English-language dailies to survive the 1997 Asian financial crisis and currently has a circulation of about 40,000.

The Jakarta Post also features an online edition and a weekend magazine supplement called J+. The newspaper is targeted at foreigners and educated Indonesians, although the middle-class Indonesian readership has increased. Noted for being a training ground for local and international reporters, The Jakarta Post has won several awards and been described as being "Indonesia's leading English-language daily". The Jakarta Post is a member of Asia News Network.

History of The Jakarta Post

The Jakarta Post was the brainchild of Information Minister Ali Murtopo and politician Jusuf Wanandi. Murtopo and Wanandi were disappointed at the perceived bias against Indonesia in foreign news sources. At the time, there were two English-language dailies, The Indonesia Times and The Indonesian Observer.

However, due to negative public perception regarding the existing papers, they decided to create a new one. In order to ensure credibility, the two agreed to convince a group of competing newspapers (the Golkar-backed Suara Karya, the Catholic-owned Kompas, the Protestant-owned Sinar Harapan, and the weekly Tempo) to back the nascent paper. 

It was hoped to become a quality English-language paper in Southeast Asia, similar to The Straits Times in Singapore, the Bangkok Post as well as the now-defunct The Nation in Thailand as well as The Star, the now-defunct The Malay Mail and New Straits Times in Malaysia.

After founding PT Bina Media Tenggara to back the paper, Wanandi spent several months contacting influential figures at the targeted newspapers. To receive their cooperation, Kompas requested a 25 per cent share in the new newspaper, for which it would handle the daily business operations, such as printing, circulation, and advertising. 

Tempo offered to assist with management in return for a 15 per cent share, while Sabam Siagian of Sinar Harapan was hired as the first chief editor, for which Sinar Harapan received stock. The establishment of the paper was further aided by incoming Information Minister Harmoko, who received 5 per cent interest for his role in acquiring a license. In total, the start-up cost Rp. 500 million (US$700,000 at the time). Muhammad Chudori, a co-founder of The Jakarta Post who formerly reported for Antara, became the newspaper's first general manager.

Further details, including the matter of Sinar Harapan's share of stock and the publisher, were decided at a meeting at Wanandi's office in March 1983. The next month, on 25 April, the first edition-totalling eight pages-was published. The first newsroom of the new paper were located in Kompas's former laundry room, a one-story warehouse; the first employees had to do the layout by hand, using pica poles as straight edges.

During the first few months, the writers translated and recycled previously published stories from Indonesian media, which were later picked up by foreign wire services. Original reporting was rare as the editors at first did not want to deal with the censorship of Suharto's New Order government.

During the early years of publication, The Jakarta Post had difficulty attracting advertisers, to the point that some editions ran without ads. However, circulation increased dramatically, from 8,657 in 1983 to 17,480 in 1988. Although it was originally hoped that the paper would begin to turn a profit within the first three years, the recession in the early 1980s led to the start-up funds being depleted. 

Eventually, in 1985 the paper took out an interest-free loan and received Rp. 700 million from its owners. After advertising increased, The Jakarta Post was able to turn a profit by 1988, and was considered "one of the most credible newspapers" in Indonesia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jakarta_Post)

Url Link to Read Indonesia Jakarta Post English Newspaper: https://www.thejakartapost.com

This is How Watermelon Became a Symbol of Resistance in Palestine

This is How Watermelon Became a Symbol of Resistance in Palestine

Nesianetwork    Desember 31, 2023    Comment   

 

Nesianetwork.id - T he watermelon may be a enormous portion of Palestinian culture, including in numerous dishes and crossing into the craftsmanship world where it has ended up a image of resistance. The ruddy, green, white and dark colored natural product held in hand, portrayed in craftsmanship or posted as an emoji has moreover ended up a way for Palestinians and their supporters to dissent against Israel. 

We've been seeing the natural product including in social media posts over the web ever since the Gaza intrusion started after Hamas assault on Israel on October 7. As of nowadays, more than 6,546 Palestinians have been murdered, counting 2,704 children, and over 17,000 individuals have been injured so distant in continuous Israeli retaliatory strikes.

The utilize of the watermelon as a Palestinian image isn't modern. It to begin with developed in 1967, when Israel seized control of the West Bank and Gaza and added East Jerusalem. Taking after this, the Israeli government utilized a military arrange to create open shows of the Palestinian hail a criminal offense in Gaza and the West Bank. In arrange to bypass the forbiddance, Palestinians begun utilizing watermelons since, when cut open, the natural product shows the energetic tints of the Palestinian hail - the ruddy watermelon substance, dark seeds, white skin, and green external skin.

Israel lifted the ban on the Palestinian flag in 1993, as part of the Oslo Accords, which entailed mutual recognition by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and were the first formal agreements to try to resolve the Israel-Palestine situation. The flag was accepted as representing the Palestinian Authority, which would administer Gaza and the West Bank. 

In 2007, just after the Second Intifada, artist Khaled Hourani created The Story of the Watermelon for a book titled Subjective Atlas of Palestine. In 2013, he isolated one print and named it The Colours of the Palestinian Flag, which has since been seen by people across the globe. In 2021, the symbol returned when settlers, supported by an Israeli court ruling, took over the homes of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

In January 2023, Israel’s national security minister granted the police the power to confiscate Palestinian flags. There was an attempt to turn this into a law but before that could happen the government collapsed.

In June, Zazim, an Arab-Israeli community organisation, launched a campaign to protest against the ensuing arrests and confiscation of flags. Images of watermelons were plastered on to 16 taxis operating in Tel Aviv, with the accompanying text: “This is not a Palestinian flag.” Amal Saad, a Palestinian from Haifa who worked on the Zazim campaign, told Al Jazeera they had a clear message: “If you want to stop us, we’ll find another way to express ourselves.” Since the invasion began, many authors, activists, journalists, filmmakers, and ordinary users across the world have reported that social posts containing hashtags such as “Free Palestine” or “I Stand With Palestine” are receiving less engagement than their other posts. They believe their messages expressing support for Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli forces are being shadowbanned by social media platforms. A shadowban is when social media platforms actively censore accounts or reduce the reach of certain posts and content. To counter this blockade of information X, Instagram and Facebook users have started using the watermelon emoji in their usernames, stories and posts in place of Palestine.

Sara Jamil, a lecturer at Indus Valley School and graphic designer, experienced something similar. “My Instagram account kept getting shadowbanned, which made me angry and frustrated,” she said. In a bid to do something, Jamil created an artwork around the resistance symbol and posted it on Instagram. Unsurprisingly, it got thousands of views. “People will always find a way to express themselves, sitting so far, they can’t do much. Hence, they connected with the issue through small actions like these,” the designer added. Social media is battleground right now, with many people trying to fight for Palestine online. Spreading awareness and keeping the movement alive the best way they know how, they too have adopted the watermelon as a symbol of hope for Palestine.

This article was published in thejakartapost.com. Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2023/11/06/how-watermelon-became-a-symbol-of-resistance-in-palestine.html.