Cempaka Belanda: Dutch speakers in busy, exciting week

Monday, May 24, 2010

Dutch speakers in busy, exciting week

The Jakarta Post, Mariana Sumanti, CONTRIBUTOR, JAKARTA | Sun, 05/23/2010 3:54 PM

To observe the 40 years of the Dutch Literature Department that fell on April 20, 2010, the University of Indonesia (UI) held a string of events from Dec. 20 to April 24 at different venues.

The last leg of the events was a weeklong congress, held every five years. The congress featured student's art performances, film screening and many other activities.

The congress week, presided by 40 speakers plus 18 guest lecturers, covered three main topics: multiculturalism, development of Dutch as a foreign language and the culture of Indonesia.

The congress was opened by some welcome remarks by Christina Turut Suprihatin as chairwoman of the organizing committee, Hans Groot as the representative from the Den Haag-based Dutch Language Center, Lebak regent Mulyadi, Muhammad Anis as Vice Rector of the University of Indonesia and Bambang Wibawarta as dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences.

The speakers at the congress included Ambassador Nikolaos van Dam who gave an opening lecture on the latest updates of The Netherlands' economics, politics and culture. Another noted speaker was linguistics and literature expert Melanie Budianta.

In the middle of the week, Dutch literature students in collaboration with actor Peter Schoenaerts presented a short drama in Dutch. Schoenaerts, also a guest lecturer, is an actor from theater group Fast Forward from Vlanderen. There was also a music performance from Lennaert Maes-Indotour, a Belgium band.

Film screening Shouf Shouf Habibi took place the next day. The Dutch film is about the life of a 20-year old Moroccan in The Netherlands. The storyline is moving, a fun distraction from the academic congress.

Although almost half of the invited speakers failed to show up due to the Icelandic volcano disruption, the congress was a success. The participants, mostly students and lecturers, joined the congress with enthusiasm as it gave them the chance to practice their Dutch skill.

An excursion on April 24 to Rangkasbitung, West Java, to the residence of Dutch author Eduard Douwes Dekker, famous by his pen name Multatuli, closed the event. The Dutch congress week also coincided with the celebration of 150 years since the publication of Dekker's Max Havelaar novel.

Mariana is Dutch Literature student at University of Indonesia