Jakarta, October 30, 2021 – The intercultural school and pioneer of STEAM in Indonesia, Sampoerna Academy, reaffirmed its commitment to always provide the best education in Indonesia in order to shape a future generation that is able to compete globally and has high empathy for social and sustainability causes. As part of the United Nations Day commemoration which falls in October, Sampoerna Academy collaborated with the Rumah Main StrEAM community to hold a fun, interactive, and educational program titled Healing Earth Through Arts (HEARTs) where children turned waste and scrap into arts and crafts through the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) approach.
Maharsi Palupining Rini, S. S., the National Principal of Sampoerna Academy Surabaya, stated that Sampoerna Academy’s mission has always been to provide the best education in Indonesia which is in line with one of the Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan (TPB) or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): to ensure inclusive and equitable high-quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
“As an educational institution, it is very important for us to continue to support the TPB program by encouraging the creation of future generations who are critical, able to compete, and aspire to make a better world. The UN Week program was more than just a celebration; it was an emphasis on students’ and the younger generations’ social awareness and empathy on the issues of sustainability and climate change from an early age,” she said in Jakarta (30/10).
Yuni Widiastuti, the Founder and Initiator of Komunitas Ibu Rumah Main STrEAM, also expressed the same thing. “Through the opportunity to play that we have just experienced, we have become more aware and optimistic that the role of parents and the community is very valuable in developing their children’s 21st century skills. Disruptions are occurring, one of which is a disruption in climate change and our environment. Will there be a second Earth for us? This question, of course, can only be answered by our children when they grow up,” she said.
Therefore, Yuni added, through the activity of learning while playing which involved the experiments to utilize waste and scrap around, Rumah Main STrEAM and Sampoerna Academy wanted to invite parents and the community to actively participate in implementing the STEAM-based education. “By providing 15-30 minutes for children to play meaningfully from an early age, [we hope to] see that the Earth [continues to be] alright, because children who have been educated from an early age [will] understand that our Mother Earth needs to be protected and not just exploited.”
Through this program, as a pioneer of STEAM in Indonesia, Sampoerna Academy hoped to support the development of the Indonesian children’s 5C skills (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Character) using the STEAM approach, while recognizing the IGNITE values (Integrity, Growth Mindset, Nobility, Innovation, Teamwork, and Excellence). Sampoerna Academy has been consistently instilling these values into all students because we see IGNITE as one of the keys to ensure that the future generations of Indonesia have a high level of social empathy.
“Sampoerna Academy hopes that this program can be a meaningful step in the journey of Indonesian children to create a better earth and world. Even though it looks like a simple program, we believe it will grant us results and [encourage] positive changes in them to see the importance of sustainability for their future,” Palupi concluded.
