On November 29, 2017, Mr. Hendrik Barkeling from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jakarta, delivered a general lecture at IULI with the topic “Germany and Indonesia in a Challenging World: Regional Anchors of Stability.”
Drawing from Germany’s history (especially throughout and after the Cold War), Mr. Barkeling highlighted the fact that the presence of a stable and active player is imperative for a regional arrangement to succeed. In Europe, the Franco-German regional undertakings have, to a great extent, contributed to the EU’s advancement. In Southeast Asia, it is Indonesia that he sees as matching the description above being not only the largest country in terms of geography and economy, but also in the size and characteristics of the population in which democracy and Islam are practiced together in harmony. He therefore emphasized the importance of Indonesia—and other ASEAN member-states as well—in continuing to develop positive trends towards a healthy regionalism.
The lecture was a follow up to Mr. Barkeling’s previous visit to campus, during which he was offered by IULI the opportunity to deliver a talk on international affairs. The late afternoon event was attended by more than fifty students from all majors, with IULI rector Dr. Tutuko Prajogo acting as the moderator. (SaK)