Success of Youth is Success of the Nation

Eighty-two years ago, on Oct. 28, 1928, a cluster of young patriots issued a communiqué called the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) declaring the Indonesia’s united nation, motherland and language.

On that occasion, youth groups from Java, Sumatra and other islands pledged to strive for one nation, one country and one language — Indonesia.

Later, the occurrence turned into a proud moment and major turning point in the country’s independence struggle that culminated in the Declaration of Independence 17 years later.

Today, it is high time to take a closer look at how our youths display their patriotic spirit for the Youth Pledge. Have we provided them with better ways of respecting this country while recognizing their rights?

Or perhaps the government and society fail to come to terms with the current youths’ characters, which in turn does not foster their sense of pride as Indonesians.

Compared to Japan and the US, Indonesian youths are not that bad in terms of scientific competition as long as they enjoy equal treatment and opportunity.

The problem lies in their poor self-discipline. There must be serious programs in our attempts to 

create disciplined youths in this country.

The programs need to create excellent Indonesian youths in line with the national youth policy by developing the youth’s identity and nationalism through discipline and physical training as well as community services.

For that purpose, I view volunteers and scouts as promising for the youths. With increasing natural disasters, global climate change and the intrinsic-dangerous geographical location of Indonesia, it is imperative that the youths, together with governments and large public entities, be prepared for disasters.

Youngsters, for instance, could become search and rescue volunteers. The program is aimed at developing the youths as the first responders to emergency cases, teaching participants the necessary skills and knowledge required in facing emergencies and enabling them to provide the community with immediate assistance.

Joining scout association (Pramuka), to which our youngsters habi-tually pay less attention, can be an avenue for yielding potential human resources by instilling strong moral values among the young members.

Much research suggests that scouting skills and activities help members to acquire a positive and proactive attitude as well as a commitment to their entrusted tasks.

The two programs are basically representing character-building efforts. Enabling youths to take on this important role in society is a vital part of character building especially since it enables them to become more involved in the community and can guide them to become responsible adults.

Another important point, on the part of the government, is to channel the youths’ vast amount of energy and commitment through a common platform to catapult Indonesia in to the international spotlight and to make the country excel in all its national and international undertakings. I am of the opinion that the government is required to provide emphasis on the right use of talents.

Indonesian universities have produced thousands of graduates at least once a year. The number of graduates has been increasing every year after the university implemented significant changes in its curriculum, offering students a wider choice of courses.

Though this bodes well for a country in which human capital is scarce, what is being done to ensure that talents are channeled in respective fields or areas of expertise to reduce the chances of mismatches in the job market?

This occurrence is common in Indonesia, and in my opinion, is detrimental to the country’s efforts in forming a knowledge-based economy.

Relying too much on the government, however, will never encourage youths to become more independent.

A proposed program to muddle through the problem is to promote entrepreneurship as a catalyst to self-reliant youths. Becoming young entrepreneurs mean that they dare to accept the challenge in being independent.

When it comes to the youths’ poor sense of nationalism, it is unnecessary for the government to pin the blame upon them.

Some Indonesians, particularly juveniles, ostensibly loathe their own country. It is a normal feeling because all the information the public is being fed is just numbing.

They have infotainment in the morning, news about crime in the afternoon and either TV series or reality shows in the evening.

Thus creating more positive and balanced news is important because the way our youngsters think is heavily influenced by the media.

The Youth Pledge Day celebration this year is expected to be a drive to facilitate and show support for Indonesian youths to strive for a more active contribution to the country of Indonesia, be it through government or private agencies by voluntary means but also through NGOs. Furthermore, it is an avenue for youths to reaffirm and re-strengthen their bondship and solidarity.

The success of youth is the success of the nation. Nobody should step aside. The youth should come and join every effort toward national development.

Toastmasters - Allianz Indonesia Club

Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped millions of men and women become more confident in front of an audience. Our network of clubs and their learn-by-doing program are sure to help you become a better speaker and leader. Why pay thousands of dollars for a seminar when you can join a Toastmasters club for a fraction of the cost and have fun in the process?

Toastmasters will give you the skills and confidence you need to effectively express yourself in any situation. Whether you are a professional, student, stay-at-home parent or retiree, Toastmasters is the most efficient, enjoyable and affordable way of gaining great communication skills. By learning to effectively formulate and express your ideas, you open an entirely new world of possibilities. You’ll be more persuasive and confident when giving presentations, and you’ll improve your one-on-one dealings with others.

Don’t worry! Everyone in a Toastmasters club was once at the level you are now. The environment is friendly and supportive, and the self-paced program allows you to build confidence with each speaking assignment. And you’ll love the applause! Constructive evaluation is the heart of the Toastmasters program. Each time you give a prepared speech, an evaluator will point out strengths and suggest improvements. At first you’ll be applauded for your effort; later you’ll be applauded for your skill.

You won’t regret it. Toastmasters currently has more than 200,000 members in 80 countries. Our club is just one of the more than 10,000 clubs located around the world. For membership meeting information, please see our membership information page.

More About Toastmasters...

HOW TO MAKE A GOOD PRESENTATION

• Think about the presentation beforehand. It is short-changing the organisers of the event and your audience if you only think about what you're going to say the day before or while travelling to the event. If necessary, clarify with the organisers exactly what is required of you and what facilities you will require.

• Do use PowerPoint if the facilities are available. Although some speakers seem to have taken an aversion to PowerPoint, it is so convenient and ensures that your presentation has a clear structure and something for your listeners to take away.
• Be very clear about how much time you have - and stick to that time in preparing and delivering your presentation. It's very difficult to 'cut' a PowerPoint presentation at the event itself, so it's a great mistake to run out of time. Most presenters prepare too much material; but nobody ever complains that a presentation was too short (it always allows more time for questions).
• Be very clear about your key message - and ensure that everything in your presentation is both consistent with, and suppportive of, that key message. You should be able to articulate the message in a phrase or a sentence and indeed you might want to use that phrase or sentence in one of your first slides, or one of your last, or even both.
• E-mail your presentation to the event organisers in advance. Ask them to load it onto a laptop, run it through, check that it looks fine, and confirm that with you. Then you don't have to worry about the technology when you arrive at the venue; you can concentrate on the delivery of your material. Also it enables the event's organisers to run off copies of your slides, so that they are available to them in good time.
• Make copies of your slides available. It is a matter of preference whether you do this at the beginning of your presentation or at the end. If your listeners have copies at the beginning, they can take notes simply by annotating the slides, instead of having to note down all the information on the slides. On the other hand, you might feel that, if they can see in advance the slides you are going to use, you lose the element of control or surprise. It might depend on the content of the presentation: if you are going to show detailed tables or graphs with lots of figures, your audience will probably find it easier to have a copy on their lap. It might depend on the circumstances of the presentation: if there is a large auddience, people at the back may not be able to see the screen clearly and would really appreciate having copies of the slides.
• Ensure that the slides look good. This does not necessarily mean that they look flashy - although suitable pictures or illustrations are very effective - but it does mean using a consistent format and typeface and readable colours plus giving each slide the logo of the organisation you are representing and a chronological number.
• The first slide should announce the title of your presentation, the event and date, and your name and position. This may seem terribly obvious, but many speakers miss off some of this basic information and then weeks later listeners (or their colleagues back at the organisation) are not clear who made the presentation or when. You should try to make the title catchy, so that you immediately have the interest of your audience. A challenging question works well - for instance, a presentation on the global economic crisis might ask: "Is this the end of capitalism as we've known it?" Or a play on words works too - for example, a presentation on next generation broadband could be titled "The Slow Arrival Of Fast Broadband".
• The second slide should seize the attention of your audience for your presentation. It could be the central proposition of your presentation or a conventional wisdom that you wish to challenge or a relevant or witty quote from a leader in your field. If it is amusing or controversial or both, so much the better.
• The third slide should set out the structure of your presentation. The default structure should consist of three themes that you intend to examine. For a very short presentation, there might only be time for two; if you want to look at more than five areas, write a book instead.
• Each theme should be the subject of a small number of slides. Again, a good working assumption is that three slides for each theme is about right. Less than two and it isn't substantial enough to be a separate theme; more than five and it should probably be broken up into two themes.
• Each slide should have a clear heading. A question is often a good way of winning attention - but, in that case, make sure you answer the question in the body of the slide.
• Each slide should normally contain around 25-35 words, unless it is a quote (when you might use more) or contains an illustration (when you will probably use less). Too many words and your audience will have trouble reading the material; too few words and you're likely to be flashing through the slides and spending too much time clicking the mouse.
• Each bullet point should consist of an intelligible phrase, rather than merely a word or two that is meaningless on its own or conversely a complete sentence that is better delivered orally. So, for instance, do use "Focus on profitable and growing markets" rather than simply "Focus" or "Markets" or "It is necessary to focus on those markets which are profitable and growing rather than those which are loss-making and declining". Consider this test: your slides should make sense and be useful to someone who was not present at your presentation.
• Make appropriate use of pictures. It's a good idea to break up text with illustrations and it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words.
• The last slide should set out all appropriate contact details: certainly e-mail address and possibly snail mail address, the web site of your organisation, and any personal website or weblog if you have one.

Benchmarking Analysis Drives Action Plans

Continuous improvement entails determining where an operation stands and planning how to make it better.

Benchmarking is a process of continual improvement. Through analysis and action, benchmarking provides a systematic approach to improving production efficiency and profitability.

Analysis begins with asking questions, such as: What is the standard level of performance? Who is the best? How do I compare with the best? How do I compare to others across the industry?

Answers to such questions are now available through the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Production and Financial Database. In a benchmark percentile table of breeding herd productivity (Figure 1), a popular standard measure of the output of the breeding herd is weaned pigs/breeding female/year. (WP/BF/Y).

Referring to the values in the body of the table, we see that the 90th percentile value for WP/BF/Y is 22.77. This means that less than 10% of herds in the database are producing more than 23 WP/BF/Y.

The value for our farm (org value) is 20.31, shown in the column at the far right. The shaded cell for this standard measure of output provides more information about our farm. Our value of 20.31 is closest to the 60th percentile value of 20.24. By interpolation, we can estimate that our value is at about the 61st percentile. This tells us that our productivity is better than 60% of the 55 farms represented, but it also shows that 39% of the farms are producing more pigs/breeding female/year.

Once we know where we stand, the benchmarking process continues by digging deeper. If 39% of the comparable farms are producing more WP/BF/Y, there is definitely scope for improvement. How, then, can we improve?

How to Manage Your Time

By an eHow Contributor

Computers and the Internet were supposed to make life easier; instead, people are busier than ever. Whether you are single or juggling family responsibilities, learn to manage your time to get as much as you can out of each day.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Address Books
• Palm Handheld Organizers
• Wall Calendars
• Personal Organizers
• Schedule Management Software

1. Create a schedule or to-do list. Write down deadlines for accomplishing certain tasks.
   
   
2. Plan to tackle difficult projects at the times of day when you are most alert.
   
   
3. Schedule time for people, including yourself. Create some personal time by waking up half an hour earlier or going to bed half an hour later than usual; plan a weekly date with your spouse, or arrange to have lunch with friends.
   
   
4. Prioritize what you need to accomplish. "Pareto's principle" states that 80 percent of your accomplishments come from 20 percent of your efforts, so think strategically: Locate and isolate this valuable 20 percent, then focus your efforts on the tasks that promise the greatest rewards.
   
   
5. Delegate as many chores as you can. Hand out projects to subordinates at work, recruit your children to help with household chores, hire a gardener to maintain your lawn.
   
   
6. Learn to say no to nonessential demands on your time. Don't volunteer for a committee if you don't have time, and decline invitations to events you don't have time to attend.
   
   
7. Overcome procrastination.
   
   
8. Avoid perfectionism. Don't waste time obsessively perfecting a task when you could better spend the time on something else.