Aris Heru Utomo's Blog

Why should you write blog about Amprokan Blogger Bekasi in English? Do foreign bloggers need to know about blogger activities in your region? Well, actually it is not about blogger activities itself but related to bloggers Bekasi activities in promoting their region globally. As mentioned by an IT expert, the information about Bekasi in internet is still limited. So the bloggers Bekasi need to flood the internet with information about Bekasi, particularly in English. The more bloggers write about Bekasi the more internet users could get information about Bekasi.

Now. Let’s we start talking about Amprokan Blogger? What is Amprokan? In Bekasi, where the population originally from ethnic Betawi and Sundanesse, Amprokan means a meeting. So Amprokan Blogger could be translated as a meeting of blogger. The meeting was organized by Bloggers Bekasi Community (called as be-Blog) in City of Bekasi on 6-7 March 2010. Themes of the meeting is “Blogger Cerdaskan dan Hijaukan Bekasi” (Bloggers makes intelligent and green Bekasi).

Around 300 bloggers attended the meeting, as personal or representatives blogger communities. The came from various regions in Indonesia namely Tangerang, Depok, Bogor, Karawang, Bandung, Cirebon, Solo, Ngawi, Ponorogo, Yogyakarta, Mojokerto, Madiun, Malang, Magelang, Wonosobo, Banyumas,  Surabaya, Madura, Pekanbaru, Padang, Palembang, Pontianak, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin and Makassar as well as Bekasi.

The intentions of Amprokan Blogger itself were to celebrate 13th anniversary of Bekasi City; to promote Bekasi nationally and globally; and to enhance partnership among blogger communities in Indonesia. In order to achieve that intention, the Committee broke down the programmes into several activities namely field trip, live blogging contest and talk show as well as music and cultural performance on Saturday 6 March 2010. While on Sunday (7 March 2010), the Committee organized a seminar on e-government and the role of bloggers.

Related to the field trip activity in the first day, Amprokan Blogger participants visited historical monument, integrated landfill in Sumur Batu, Bantar Gebang and small medium enterprise that produces dolls (all in Southern part of Bekasi City) and then visited industrial area in Cikarang (district Bekasi).

In historical monument, bloggers listened the presentation on Bekasi history and why Bekasi called itself as Patriot city. In this site, bloggers could also read “Karawang-Bekasi” poem,  an epic poem by Chairil Anwar.

In integrated landfill in Sumur Batu, managed by Bekasi City Government and an area 10 hectares, bloggers saw and observed how waste is managed and converted into electrical energy. This is certainly interesting since so far garbage only seen as garbage waste. In fact this integrated landfill has generated electricity for 750 KV. Joint with National Electrical Company, this electrical energy is supplied to the community around Sumur Batu area. Furthermore bloggers also learn how the Bekasi City Government could apply and implemented funding from donor countries through Clean Development Mechanism. If I may say, this is a great achievement for the Bekasi City Government and could be copied by others local government in Indonesia.

In visiting to the small medium enterprise that produces dolls, blogger saw the dolls production under the supervision of industrial office of Bekasi City Government. During the visit, head of entrepreneurs craft dolls association requested to all blogger to market their products in internet. He believed that its products meet international standards and could compete internationally. In this regard bloggers promise to assist the small and medium entrepreneurs in promoting and marketing their products  in the internet through their own blog.

Finally, in the last stage of the field trip, bloggers went to industrial area in Cikarang and visited President University, an international boarding school in district Bekasi, and Botanical Garden, a new botanical garden which is under construction. During the visit, bloggers took note the President University management efforts in developing industry-based education. By developing industry-based education, the President University management ensures that all graduates can be accommodated in the industry.

Meanwhile in the botanical garden, bloggers celebrating the first botanical garden anniversary and plant different trees species. This activity showed that the blogger care about the environment.

That’s all about the Amprokan Blogger field trip in the first day. For other activities, I will write it in my second posting. So don’t go anywhere. As General Douglas Mc Arthur said “I’ll return”.