JAKARTA – The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and the Smithsonian Institution (SI) in the United States, in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud), have launched “Earth Optimism TV,” an educational TV series for Indonesian students, who like billions around the world, are continuing their educational studies at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. With this partnership, the U.S. Embassy and the Smithsonian Institution are providing ten episodes of Smithsonian Institution (SI) video content as part of the Smithsonian’s Earth Optimism (EO) Initiative. This program aims to support the Indonesian Ministry of Education’s “Learn from Home” program aired by public television broadcaster TVRI that caters to the needs of students without internet access.
Each episode tells a success story about protecting animals, protecting ecosystems, and improving human health. Though aimed for students in grades 7-12, the content is accessible to a multi-generational audience as part of a distance education curriculum during the pandemic period.
The program will be aired every Friday from 9AM–9:30AM from June 26 until August 28 and will be anchored by Yohanis Lamere, an Indonesian student from Tanimbar Island regency in Maluku province who is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Social Enterprise in Washington DC. Yohanis was a Young South East Asia Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic fellow in 2018. As a YSEALI academic fellow, he spent 5 weeks in Washington DC, California, and Hawai’i to learn about best practices in natural resource management in the United States.
Each episode of “Earth Optimism” also features alumni of U.S. exchange programs who interview Smithsonian researchers on featured topics. Alumni are past participants of the English Access Microscholarship Program, the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program (SEAYLP), and the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange Study Program (YES).
The U.S. Embassy’s cultural center, @america, will host a program on Tuesday, July 7 at 7 PM on @america platforms: Facebook live, Twitter Periscope, YouTube, Instagram live and @america website live streaming to introduce the Earth Optimism programs and hear directly from marine scientists and researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Commons and the Smithsonian Earth Optimism Program and Partnership Director Andrea Santy about the efforts to bring these important topics to global audiences.
About the Smithsonian Institution:
The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is the world’s largest research, educational, and museum complex, with 19 museums, 9 research institutes, 7 educational units, and the National Zoo, and its work is in nearly 140 countries. Education is at the core of the Smithsonian’s mission to increase and diffuse knowledge. The Smithsonian is committed to supporting teachers and their students around the globe as they face unprecedented new learning challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earth Optimism is a Smithsonian-wide initiative founded by Dr. Nancy Knowlton, a coral reef biologist and the Smithsonian’s Sant Chair for Marine Science, in 2017. The Smithsonian Conservation Commons/Earth Optimism Team, with support from the Smithsonian Office of International Relations and the Smithsonian Science Education Center, has tailored the programming for youth featuring Smithsonian scientists and researchers at work finding solutions to global climate and conservation challenges.
# # #
