Creative industry thinkers and practitioners creatively concluded at the end of a two-day seminar that there was a need to develop Bali as Indonesia’s global brand — in the creative sector.
Andi S. Boediman, a creative industry evangelist, titled his presentation, “What is Bali?”. His answer to the question paved the way for a discussion on the possibility of transforming the resort island into something more than just a tourist destination.
“Bali has such a strong cultural and religious heritage. People come here, love it and stay. But what we need is more than just Bali as a destination but Bali as a brand,” Andi said.
In his eyes, Bali has the potential to become the global brand for the country’s creative industry.
“In spite of its modernism, Bali has managed to maintain its rich, local heritage.”
With so many people staying access to foreign markets is another opportunity that should not be squandered, he added. “The more we export, the more we have to make it known from where the product actually came from.”
He then drew comparisons to Italy as the iconic brand that stood for quality leather shoes or Cannes in France that has became the embodiment of the global film industry.
Bali has cultural rituals such as fashion week, film festivals and similar events.
“They could be great opportunities to position Bali not only as a tourist destination but as the Southeast Asian Getaway for all sorts of interests,” Andi said.
The idea to set up the “Made in Bali” label as a way to develop the island into a global brand has became a hot topic in recent times but how to implement the idea has been subject to debate.
“We cannot instantly come up with a new brand that is called *Made in Bali*. We first must think about quality, uniqueness and character of Bali products. This is our responsibility,” initiator of Bali Creative Community, Arief Budiman said.
Arief and fellow local players are working on a brand study and a showcase model for the idea. The legal aspects of the Bali brand have yet to be discussed at a government level.
The recently founded Bali Creative Community, which also organized the Bali Creative Power 2008 gathering held at Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel on Nov. 29 to 30, would like to take over as advisors to the process.
Christian Fritz, founder of the Bali Export Development Organization (BEDO) is convinced of the idea.
“There could be nothing better than Bali’s own brand, I just hope that it can be accomplished on a national level,” he said.
A jewelry designer, Stephanie Vermaas, shared a similar sentiment.
“If tourism keeps growing as it did in 2007, people will be proud to purchase goods that are produced in Bali and even produce their own things on the island, which will be great for the economy,” she said.
Players from a broad spectrum of the creative industry, including architects, designers, musicians, builders and publishers attended the meeting which was aimed at empowering them to move forward as one, unified force.
“We want creative people living in Bali to look across the borders of their own industries and to exchange knowledge,” Arief said.
With its fast-growing tourism, expanding trade, people moving in and foreign nationals staying, Bali has become the center of global attention for many interests, he said. – JP/Claudia Sardi
Source: The Jakarta Post
December 3rd, 2008
Ni Komang Erviani , Contributor , Denpasar
Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has ordered the Balinese people conduct a mass culling of stray dogs on the island to help the administration prevent a rabies outbreak.
The order was made Saturday in response to four deaths believed to be caused by rabies transmitted through dog bites in Ungasan village, Uluwatu.
As of Friday, 17 wild and domesticated dogs have been put down using lethal injection by the Yudhistira Swarga foundation for wild dog welfare, while 76 residents of Ungasan who were bitten by dogs, have been vaccinated by officers of the Badung Health Agency.
“The residents can just go ahead by taking the initiative to kill stray dogs. If the mass dog culling relied only on administration officers, it would take too long to get rid of,” said Pastika at an open house session with the Balinese people.
The existence of stray dogs along the streets, he said, had sped up the spread of the deadly rabies virus.
Laboratory tests showed the four — two elderly and two children — died because of dog bites, but it was still unclear whether they died because of rabies.
“But there is an indication, the four died because of bites by rabies-infected dogs. So we have to respond to it as quickly as possible to curb its spread,” Pastika said, adding rabies could only be controlled by killing the stray dogs.
The governor also urged dog owners to pay attention to the health of their pets and not to let them play with stray dogs.
“Domesticated dogs have also undergone health checks to detect whether they are healthy or are infected with rabies.”
Pastika ordered port officials to strengthen custom checks of goods entering Bali to prevent the illegal entrance of dogs from outer islands.
He said he believed the rabies infection was the result of dogs being smuggled into Bali from other islands.
Aside from dogs, Pastika also demanded the strict supervision of the entrance of other animals into Bali, like monkeys and cats, which transmit diseases to human beings.
Source: The Jakarta Post
December 2nd, 2008
By MICHAEL D’OLIVEIRO
There are few places on earth where you can find the strange-looking Mola mola, and exotic Bali is one of them.
Bali. The name conjures up visions of beautiful, golden beaches like Kuta, Legian and Seminyak, not to mention great bargains in art and craft items in laid-back Ubud.
Scuba divers, though, can think only of the Mola mola when in Bali.
The Mola mola, also known as the sunfish, is one of the ocean’s rare and amazing oddities. With its large oval body and ridiculously flimsy-looking flippers, the Mola mola looks like a science fiction-inspired cartoon creation.
Its eyes are as a big as soup bowls and, even better, this fish loves divers.
Bali is only one of two spots in the world where the Mola mola can be seen. The trouble is, these critters have a fussy time-schedule for appearing in shallow water. Also, they prefer certain temperatures — the colder the better!
The sunfish’s favourite rendezvous spot is off the small island of Nusa Penida, southeast of Bali.
From my villa in Seminyak, we took just 20 minutes to reach Sanur, where the dive operator Blue Season Bali is located. Here, the divers congregated, the usual paperwork was done, and then we were off on a short ride to the beach to the waiting boat.
Thankfully, the trip out took no more than 45 minutes. Our first dive site, Crystal Bay, was an unnerving experience.
I tolerated the cold water temperature to check out the corals, which seemed healthy and vibrant. There were plenty of fish around, including porcupinefish, pipefish and nudibranchs.
However, the current that we swam against became increasingly stronger, and it was soon apparent that we had been caught in the mother of all surges.
Kicking against the flow, we soon decided to hold on to ledges by the tips of our fingers and wait it out, hovering diagonally, looking like airborne superheroes with air tanks for capes.
Comically, as we found ourselves suspended in mid-surge, struggling to avoid being swept away, two feelers and a pair of beady eyes popped out from under the ledge I held on to. I pulled myself forward and came within inches of a mantis shrimp.
Looking startled, it scuttled back into its hole before comically peering out again. Some really big tunas zoomed ahead of our group, but not much else was happening so we cut our dive short and headed back to the surface.
The second dive at Tugu was a real coral fest. Tonnes of soft coral spread out before us like a landscaped royal backyard. It was also a much better improvement in terms of currents. We descended, following the steep slopes of Nusa Penida’s west coast.
Calmed by the gentle undertow, the fish life seemed to spring to life, with lionfish and other reef inhabitants out and about. The highlight was a pair of huge pipefish, which stumbled upon our group.
Almost 2m long, they stared wide-eyed at us (as we did them) before dashing off past us. We hardly finished shaking our heads in amazement when we chanced upon a lone cuttlefish. Flaring colours, it too made a beeline for the angled horizon behind us.
In between dives, I was quite surprised to see a number of dive instructors and divemasters in our group chatting away in different languages.
Blue Season Bali’s dive boat wasn’t exactly spacious, which made relaxing a bit difficult. The answer? Climb up to the roof which doubles as a sun-deck.
Lunch was duly provided, and the ample drinks kept us chatting. All of us were hoping to see those glorious Mola molas.
Finally we made our last dive at Sental, just further down. The drift remained as gentle as before.
With the sun warming our bodies through the shallower water, we got our most leisurely dive yet as we observed a flurry of fish life, including more lionfish, smaller pipefish and even a couple of triggerfish.
I didn’t get a chance to see the Mola mola, though, and that was a genuine disappointment. Perhaps the waters were just too warm.
The fact that divers a couple of days before us had seen a huge bunch made me envious. Then again, Bali underwater is a lot more than just the sunfish, popular though they are.
The healthy reefs and healthy fish population are apparent, even if they seem like any other dive site in Malaysia. If you’re looking for a holiday filled with excitement and discovery, you should now add Bali’s dive sites to your list.
Just pray that the water’s cold, for maybe then you could end up peering back at a Mola mola.
Getting there
AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines fly daily to Bali. Once there, travel by car for around 30 minutes (from Legian or Seminyak) to the dive centre office in Sanur. From there, it’s another 15 minutes to the boat.
IVING A three-tank diving trip with Blue Season Bali to Nusa Penida costs US$145 (RM507) per person, inclusive of lunch, drinks, transfer from centre to the boat and equipment.
INFO For enquiries, contact Blue Season Bali at Jalan Danau Poso, Gang Wanasari 3B, Sanur, 80228 Bali, Indonesia, call: +62 361 270852 /842, fax: +62 361 270842 or e-mail: info@baliocean.com. You can also visit www.baliocean.com
Source: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle
December 1st, 2008
The Indonesia Open, the annual co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour event held since 2005, moves to the tropical island of Bali with new dates of February 26-March 1, 2009.
The exciting new venue is the New Kuta Golf Resort, situated on the south western rim of Bali’s Bukit Peninsula which overlooks the stunning Balangan Beach and the Indian Ocean.
Located near what is renowned as one of the top surfing destinations in the region, the par 72 golf course measures over 7,500 yards and is designed by Golf Plan USA, consisting of Ronald Fream, David Dale and Kevin Ramsey. New Kuta Golf is also the first ‘links style’ golf course in the country.
Boasting Indonesia’s richest prize purse for a sporting event, the Indonesia Open immediately follows the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia, held in the preceding week, and a week before the Thailand Open, thus ensuring the participation of some of Europe’s and Asia’s best players. The total prize money on offer is US$1.25 million, increased from US$ 1.2 million of last year.
“Bali has always been a favorite destination for European golfers when they come through the region,” said Vicky Jones, The European Tour’s Client Services Director, Asia. “It will be exciting to play in a tropical paradise that is surrounded with such rich culture and traditions.”
“Our players are looking forward to the trip to Bali for the Indonesia Open in 2009,” said Kyi Hla Han, Executive Chairman, Asian Tour. “New Kuta Golf has received widespread praise as a championship venue and I believe the players will enjoy their first experience in Bali.”
“We are pleased that this world class event will once again be held in Indonesia,” said Jero Wacik, Head of the Indonesian Golf Association (PGI), himself a native Balinese.
“As Bali is home to a number of international class golf courses, we hope this event will help increase people’s awareness of golf as a sport and that this tournament will aid in finding the next generation of golfers in Indonesia. We will also help prepare our players for some of the most intense competition they will be facing.”
Mr Wacik, who is also the Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism, hopes the tournament will help raise Indonesia’s profile on the world stage.
He said: “We are beginning to see many international sporting events and tournaments being hosted in Indonesia. The Balinese people are known to be gracious hosts and I am sure they look forward to welcoming visitors to the Indonesia Open. The tournament will help showcase to tourists of the many promising leisurely activities they can enjoy while visiting our beautiful country.”
“We are excited to host this event in Bali, as many people in the world already know its legendary hospitality,” said John Eu, CEO of GlobalOne, the promoter of the Indonesia Open.
“We hope this new venue will continue to see Indonesia’s amazing performance in the sport as this year an unprecedented four national players made the cut. I am sure 2009 will see more Indonesian players working hard to compete against some of the very best in the sport, especially coming at the heels of the Johnnie Walker Classic.
“GlobalOne is very grateful for the commitment of our partners, from the Indonesian Golf Association, the European and Asian Tours, as well as our sponsors, to ensure this tournament continues its tradition.
“Although it is at a new venue, the Indonesia Open continues to be a benchmark for golf tournaments within the country. We hope to see many of you there in Bali to catch some exciting golf on the isle of the Gods.”
Since its inaugural event in 2005, the Indonesia Open has become a world class tournament thanks to the participation of international players such as Chile’s Felipe Aguilar (2008 Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open champion), Finland’s Mikko Ilonen (2007 champion), England’s Simon Dyson (2006 champion) and Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant (2005 champion).
Some of the world’s top players have participated in previous Indonesia Opens, including former Ryder Cup players Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley of Ireland, last year’s runner up Jeev Milka Singh of India, and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.
Source: http://www.asiagolfonline.com/
December 1st, 2008