Students union commemorates 100th anniversary in Den Haag

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 10/25/2008 7:59 PM | National

Representatives of Indonesians studying abroad gathered in Den Haag, the Netherlands, on Saturday for the first day of a conference held in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Indonesian Students Union (PPI).

Present as speakers at the conference were Supreme Audit Agency Chairman Anwar Nasution, agriculture expert H.S. Dillon and artist-cum Muslim intellectual Emha Ainun Nadjib. Student representatives came from many places, including Germany, Morocco, Australia, Italy, Japan and the Philippines.

"The purpose of the conference is to discuss the current issues facing our country. From there we will propose concepts and recommendations," said Yohanned Widodo, Netherlands' chapter secretary-general.

PPI's history goes back to the colonial era when Den Haag became the ultimate destination for Javanese and Sumatran students wanting to study abroad. Some of the students, which included
figures such as Mohammad Hatta and Tan Malaka, later became the intellectual brains behind the move for Indonesia's independence from the Dutch.

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |