SBM ITB invited Dr. Hassan Wirajuda, an Indonesian politician who were also the former foreign minister of Indonesia (2001 to 2009), as the lecturer on the SBM ITB International Virtual Course on Tuesday (19/7/2022).
Dr. Hassan Wirajuda held several important posts, including Director-General of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (July 2000 – August 2001), Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva (December 21990 – July 2000), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Egypt (October 1997 – December 1998), and Director of International Organizations of the Department of Foreign Affairs (1993 – 1997).
In the lecture, Dr. Hassan Wirajuda explained soft and hard power, including hard and soft power in Indonesia. His examples of the soft power are the K-Pop and Hollywood trends, and the hard power is the natural resources of Indonesia with numerous possibilities and opportunities to enhance its potential. Hassan Wirajuda also conducted question-and-answer session.
The first question came from the moderator, Ilma Zaim. “As you have said, about the Manhattan Indonesian Restaurant that lacks chefs and trained waitresses in the human resources and their skills, what is the best solution the government can give to the restaurant owner abroad?” said Ilma.
“First, education and training are key,” said Dr. Hassan.
He suggested that the government build more academies such as schools, hotels, and restaurants to have sufficient graduates to expand Indonesian soft power. “With more practical training, it is possible to establish a polytechnic on gastro,” said Dr. Hassan.
The second question came from one of student participants. “How effective is the scholarship of Indonesian Culture and Arts, and organizations, such as Saung Angklung Mang Ujo in the development of soft power of Indonesia?” He said. “Quite effective,” Dr. Hassan Answered.
For him, these scholarships and organizations have long-lasting effects on Indonesian soft power. Dr. Hassan presented South Africa an example. South Africa spends one-tenth of its spending on international operations, resulting in it becomes the top fifteen largest emerging economies in the world. This has been a problem for Indonesia as Indonesia has always conducted the diplomacy of “tangan di bawah” with thirty years of foreign loans. “However, to enhance our soft power, we should have the ‘tangan di atas’ policy, to give and not to receive,” close Dr. Hassan.
