Family and Consumer International Seminar in IPB: 84.1 Percent of Indonesian Children Have Experienced Violence
A nation’s human resource development cannot be separated with the role of family as the smallest unit in society. Family and Consumer Science (IKK) Department, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) held the 1st International Seminar on Family and Consumer Issues with the theme “Challenge Family in Asia: Present and Future”. Located in IPB International Convention Center, Bogor (4/9), this event was attended by approximately 100 participants from various universities and institutions in Indonesia.
“Indonesia, like other nations, face challenges and impacts from Industrial Revolution 4.0 which was indicated with very high internet usage. Information spreads freely, even for children. Children even can order food via gadget. The informations exposed to the children are for the family, especially parents, to filter,” said Dr Drajat Martianto, Vice Rector for Education and Student Affairs in his greeting.
The Mayor of Bogor City, Dr Bima Arya, which was also present, also stated similar thing. He stated that development in Bogor does not only include physical development, but also the social and mental development of the inhabitants. “Our children have to be nurtured with strong character foundation and this is not an easy matter. Millenial generation has its own way to do things. We are in the internet era which should be interesting and can be utilized at its maximum. If the values planted by the family are strong, our nation will also be strong,” he explained.
During that occasion, Dr Bima also stated several family development programs which have been done in Bogor, i.e. “Sekolah Ibu” which was built for 60 Bogor inhabitants.
The seminar, which had two sessions (family and consumer sessions), invited experts from four countries, which are Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The speakers for the family session were Dr Rumaya Juhari from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Wimontip Musikaphan PhD from Mahidol University Thailand, Prof Euis Sunarti from IPB and Prof Alina Morawski from Queensland University. The consumer session was presented by Dr Sarinah Azizah Haron from Universiti Putra Malaysia and Dr Megawati Simanjuntak from IPB.
Prof Euis Sunarti told about the condition in Indonesian families that is experiencing many complex obstacles. “There is a defunctionalizing trend in Indonesian families. There are several issues that are faced by children and women. One of the astonishing facts is that there is a rise in child violence. One survey conducted by Interntaional Center for Research on Women (ICRW) NGO Research at 2014 discovered that 84.1 percent of Indonesian children had faced violence in school. This is the highest number compared to other Asian countries. In addition of that, other issues such as the tendency to be rash, busy, or feeling alone in a crowd are also prevalent,” she explained. According to her, ‘Model Kampung KB’ based on ecovillage is be one of Indonesian family empowering program that was successful.
Other speakers from Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia also explained about the issues faced in their own country. The family issues which were faced were similar, including excessive gadget usage in children, rise in single families, rise in divorce rate, postponed marriage age, and lower fertility.
Dr Megawati Simanjuntak explained about her findings that Indonesian consumers empowerment is still low, which is only 32,06 out of 100 point. This result was taken from the survey which was conducted in 28 provinces in cities and rural areas. “Indonesian consumers tend to be submissive when experiencing a disadvantage in transactions. They still fear karma if they decide to complaint to the seller,” she explained. (Ard)A nation’s human resource development cannot be separated with the role of family as the smallest unit in society. Family and Consumer Science (IKK) Department, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) held the 1st International Seminar on Family and Consumer Issues with the theme “Challenge Family in Asia: Present and Future”. Located in IPB International Convention Center, Bogor (4/9), this event was attended by approximately 100 participants from various universities and institutions in Indonesia.
“Indonesia, like other nations, face challenges and impacts from Industrial Revolution 4.0 which was indicated with very high internet usage. Information spreads freely, even for children. Children even can order food via gadget. The informations exposed to the children are for the family, especially parents, to filter,” said Dr Drajat Martianto, Vice Rector for Education and Student Affairs in his greeting.
The Mayor of Bogor City, Dr Bima Arya, which was also present, also stated similar thing. He stated that development in Bogor does not only include physical development, but also the social and mental development of the inhabitants. “Our children have to be nurtured with strong character foundation and this is not an easy matter. Millenial generation has its own way to do things. We are in the internet era which should be interesting and can be utilized at its maximum. If the values planted by the family are strong, our nation will also be strong,” he explained.
During that occasion, Dr Bima also stated several family development programs which have been done in Bogor, i.e. “Sekolah Ibu” which was built for 60 Bogor inhabitants.
The seminar, which had two sessions (family and consumer sessions), invited experts from four countries, which are Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The speakers for the family session were Dr Rumaya Juhari from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Wimontip Musikaphan PhD from Mahidol University Thailand, Prof Euis Sunarti from IPB and Prof Alina Morawski from Queensland University. The consumer session was presented by Dr Sarinah Azizah Haron from Universiti Putra Malaysia and Dr Megawati Simanjuntak from IPB.
Prof Euis Sunarti told about the condition in Indonesian families that is experiencing many complex obstacles. “There is a defunctionalizing trend in Indonesian families. There are several issues that are faced by children and women. One of the astonishing facts is that there is a rise in child violence. One survey conducted by Interntaional Center for Research on Women (ICRW) NGO Research at 2014 discovered that 84.1 percent of Indonesian children had faced violence in school. This is the highest number compared to other Asian countries. In addition of that, other issues such as the tendency to be rash, busy, or feeling alone in a crowd are also prevalent,” she explained. According to her, ‘Model Kampung KB’ based on ecovillage is be one of Indonesian family empowering program that was successful.
Other speakers from Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia also explained about the issues faced in their own country. The family issues which were faced were similar, including excessive gadget usage in children, rise in single families, rise in divorce rate, postponed marriage age, and lower fertility.
Dr Megawati Simanjuntak explained about her findings that Indonesian consumers empowerment is still low, which is only 32,06 out of 100 point. This result was taken from the survey which was conducted in 28 provinces in cities and rural areas. “Indonesian consumers tend to be submissive when experiencing a disadvantage in transactions. They still fear karma if they decide to complaint to the seller,” she explained. (Ard)
