TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Yogyakarta and Solo, two picturesque cities located in the heart of Java, still manage to retain their old charms in this dizzyingly fast-paced, modern world.
The birthplace of Indonesia’s kings and kingdoms, their cultural riches and traditional heritage are great national assets that act as sources of inspiration until this day.
The two cities will again do us proud as. From September 15 to 19, Yogyakarta and Solo play host to the general assembly and congress of the Asia Pacific Space Designer Alliance (APSDA).
A confederation of design associations from across the Asia-Pacific region, the APSDA was established in Taipei in 1989 by the Chinese Society of Interior Designers (CSID), the Japanese Society of Commercial Designers (JDC) and the Korean Society of Interior Designers (KOSID).
The design organization consists of 15 locally and internationally acclaimed members, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand. It gathers every two years in different member countries.
Indonesia is currently represented by the non-profit Indonesia Interior Designers Association (HDII).
“It’s a big honor for Indonesia to be able to host the general assembly and congress of the APSDA this year,” said Lea Aviliani Aziz, secretary general of the APSDA and chairwoman of the HDII Jakarta’s chapter, adding that this year’s gathering is especially important as it will mark the 25th anniversary of the confederation.
“We’ve prepared a great concept and a string of interesting programs,” Lea said. “That’s why we won the pitching process, which was done in Beijing in 2010.”
This year marks Indonesia’s second turn as the APSDA host; the first one was held in Bali in 2000.
“[The Bali meeting] was very successful; it exceeded expectations,” Lea said. “The participants were amazed to see Indonesia’s rich cultures and traditions.”
JG | SYLVIANA HAMDANI
