Jakarta, May 19, 2022 — The International Selection Committee (ISC) of the R-Adhikarya’ Niche’ Award (RANA) and the East-West Center proudly announce an outstanding winner, Ms. Dewa Ayu Wiwik Dharmiasih, for a scholarship to support Ph.D. study at the University of Hawai’i and the East-West Center (EWC) in September 2022. Conducted annually, the R-Adhikarya’ Niche’ Award grants scholarships since 2020 to RANA Winners at three world-class educational institutions in the United States: the EWC, Stanford University, and Cornell University.
Ms. Dharmiasih obtained her Master’s from Jawaharlal Nehru Univ. in New Delhi, India, and is a Lecturer at Udayana Univ. in Bali. She is an environmental activist working to improve and preserve Bali villages’ SUBAK (traditional water management system), a cultural landscape & heritage that dates back to the 9th Century. Since 2012, the Subak of Bali has been a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The R-Adhikarya’ Niche’ Award is offered in conjunction with the East-West Center’s Foundation Scholarship for a total value of $56,000. It will enable Ms. Dharmiasih to realize her dreams of enhancing her expertise by studying policies & strategies for promoting environmental justice and supporting local cultural institutions & traditions/wisdom to maintain their effective role in landscape management. More importantly, Ms. Dharmiasih plans to apply disruptive technologies to influence policy-making outcomes, e.g., by exploring the way emerging technologies can reorient power relations to be more receptive to local needs.
She will review different disruptive technologies, such as participatory mapping (with drones, GIS story-maps, etc.), photography & video, and innovative social media applications, to support communities to manage & preserve cultural landscapes, including environmentally-friendly water management systems Bali.
“Ms. Dharmiasih’s study plan at the EWC is innovative and pioneering, as she wants to create synergy by “brokering” centuries-old cultural heritage & local wisdom with disruptive technologies. I am pleased and proud that the RANA Program at the EWC is supporting an excellent Ph.D. student with innovative and “Niche” career plans,” said the Award’s initiator, Dr. Ronny Adhikarya.
Dr. Adhikarya added: “… I am also grateful to Ms. Dharmiasih for her contributions and future plans to support the Bali’s SUBAK villages as I was involved as Project Manager in providing funding & technical support to the Subak activities through a United Nations/FAO project during the initial and preparatory stages of the UNESCO’s World Heritage recognition process, starting in the mid-1990s, working with Dr. Alit Artha Wiguna (then the Chair of Bali Cultural Heritage Management) and world-famous Anthropologist, Prof. Stephen Lansing …”.
About R-Adhikarya “Niche” Award
The R-Adhikarya “Niche” Award (RANA) is a token of appreciation for individuals who have demonstrated innovative, ‘niche’ thinking in their studies and careers. Awarded annually, it enables young visionaries with a learning-oriented growth mindset to study at one of three world-class educational institutions in the United States: the East-West Center (EWC), Stanford University, and Cornell University. These institutions were part of Dr. Ronny Adhikarya’s academic journey. He attended Cornell for his Master’s degree, and Stanford for his Doctoral degree, obtaining a fellowship from each university. Dr. Adhikarya then worked as a research staff member at the EWC before continuing his extensive career in international development assistance. Over the course of more than 45 years, he worked at the World Bank in Washington DC, USA, the United Nations/FAO in Rome, Italy, and with many well-respected institutions in other countries.
Dr. Adhikarya and his wife, Mee-Ching, offer RANA in gratitude and see it as their contribution in support the education sector globally, especially in Indonesia. Kiroyan Partners (KP), a leading Public Affairs consulting firm, has agreed to partner in this endeavor by providing support to coordinate and implement the communication, publicity and marketing activities of RANA, as well as coordinating and maintaining the internal communication platform for the International Selection Committee members. KP believes this initiative is in line with its commitment to support human capital development in Indonesia.
Download the press release here.
More information on RANA Prospectus can be found here.
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