VZCZCXRO4480
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0807 1131100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221100Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8784
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2383
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4974
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1868
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4546
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 2174

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000807 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD, OES/ETC, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/PCI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO SENV TPHY TRGY ID
SUBJECT: EARTH DAY -- EMBASSY JAKARTA "GOES GREEN" 
 
¶1. (U) Over 80 Indonesian children celebrated Earth Day at the 
Embassy with Ambassador Hume on April 19.  Valerina Daniel, the 
Indonesian Ministry of Environment's Goodwill Ambassador, helped 
Ambassador Hume and the children put final touches on an 
environmental mural, one of seven murals displayed on the U.S. 
Embassy's fence.  Children from multiple local institutions 
participated in the mural project, designing and painting them in 
between classes and after school.  They included three elementary 
school beneficiaries of USAID's Decentralized Basic Education 
program, The Learning Farm (an organic farming training program for 
vulnerable youth), and PGB Bangau Putih, a school that provides free 
extracurricular classes (English language, computers, handicrafts 
and martial arts) to approximately 60 village children every 
weekend.  Fifteen other children from an orphanage in South Jakarta 
also participated in the event. 
 
¶2. (U) In addition to painting the 8-foot-by-4-foot murals, which 
showcase various aspects of Indonesia's environment, biodiversity 
and natural beauty, the children also read poems about the 
environment, participated in sports (including soccer and 
hula-hoops) and several environmentally-themed games and activities. 
 There was even a puppet show by the characters from television 
station Trans-7's "Jalan Sesama," the new Indonesian version of 
"Sesame Street" funded by USAID.  Posters highlighting USAID 
environmental projects were displayed around the Embassy compound. 
Coca-Cola provided an "Eco Bus," a specially designed bus powered by 
environmentally friendly biodiesel and featuring interactive 
educational activities about the environment.  Sponsors donating 
materials, food and services, included Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Ace 
Hardware, Soccer School Indonesia (SSI-Arsenal), The Learning Farm 
and PGB Bangau Putih. 
 
MEDIA COVERAGE 
 
¶3. (U) Embassy Jakarta's Earth Day event garnered extensive, 
positive press coverage throughout Indonesia, both in print and on 
television.  Almost a dozen articles appeared in major national news 
dailies, featuring photos of Ambassador Hume painting the murals 
with children.  An article in Jurnal Nasional noted that "last 
Saturday, the high fence of the U.S. Embassy no longer looked 
unapproachable."  While the coverage focused on the children's 
activities and the murals, many stories also referred to the many 
environmental projects that the U.S. is assisting in Indonesia, 
including the Heart of Borneo and Coral Triangle Initiative. 
Ambassador Hume was quoted in several articles saying "It is 
important that young people in Indonesia start to think about the 
environment at an early age.  How Indonesia and the U.S. treat their 
forests and oceans will affect the rest of the world, and all of our 
children's futures." 
 
¶4. (U) Television coverage ran on eight major national channels 
during their regular news broadcasts from April 19 - 22.  In 
addition, "Unyil," the most popular children's television program in 
Indonesia, devoted an entire segment to the murals on April 22, 
where the main character (a puppet) helps children paint the murals 
that ended up on the Embassy, play games inside the Embassy and even 
look around the Public Affairs Section's Information Resource 
Library.  The tone of the television coverage was uniformly upbeat 
and positive.  In addition, there were numerous wire service 
photographers there, with Reuters and AFP photos picked up 
internationally, including as far away as India and even on MSNBC's 
website. 
 
HUME