UGG Council Meeting Held on Gili Trawangan, Help to Promoted Lombok Tourism

A number of UGG board delegates arrived on Gili Trawangan.

NORTH LOMBOK - Toba Geopark in North Sumatra and Belitung Geopark in Bangka Belitung, are two objects of a number of geoparks in Asia which were also discussed at the UNESCO Global Geopark (UGG) Council meeting on Sunday (1/9) at Gili Trawangan, an Ecsotic Island in North Lombok.

UGG Council Meeting a biennial meeting that discusses and encourages Geopark in the Asia Pacific region to be proposed to enter the UNESCO Global Geopark Network (UGGN) network.

The UGG Council meeting this time was held in conjunction with the 2019 International Pacific Geopark Network (APGN) Lombok Symposium, which will be held on 3 September at the Lombok Raya Hotel, Mataram.

"Yes, that's right. Toba and Belitung were also discussed at the UGG Council meeting on Gili Trawangan. But the decision will be officially announced in April 2020," said Head of the Maritime Innovation Network for Maritime Affairs, Dr. Anton Setyo Nugroho, when contacted Sunday (1/9) from Mataram.

Dr Anton, who also oversees the UGG board meeting on Gili Trawangan, explained that the meeting on Gili Trawangan was to encourage geoparks in Asia Pacific to enter the UGGN network.

This year Indonesia proposes Toba and Belitung. Both are discussed with geopark from a number of other countries.

"But the results of the meeting cannot be published yet. Because the official announcement will be made by the UGG board in April 2020," he said.

At present, Indonesia already has four Geoparks included in the UGGN namely the Gunung Sewu Geopark, the Mount Batur Geopark, the Rinjani Geopark, and the Cilegon Port Ratu Geopark.

In addition, Indonesia also has 15 National Geoparks, including Belitung and Toba which are now proposed to be included in the UGGN.

Anton explained, APGN is a meeting of the world geopark network of the Asia Pacific region, which is held every two years.

This year, Lombok was chosen as the location of activities after the Rinjani Geopark officially entered the UGGN network in 2018.

He said, in general the UGG council meeting in Gili Trawangan went well and smoothly.

The participants also felt comfortable in the activity venue on Gili Trawangan which is an exotic island, a leading tourist destination in NTB.

Learning Honesty from the UGG Council Session in Trawangan

Acting Head of the NTB Communication and Information Agency, I Gede Putu Aryadi said, based on the monitoring of the trial activities, there were so many valuable lessons gained from the 2019 UGG Council session held at the Vila Ombak Hotel, Gili Trawangan, North Lombok.

"The session led by Mr. Guy Martini, when discussing the proposal of the Unesco Global Geopark from various countries, took place very fair colored honest confession from the participants," said Aryadi, through written statements, Sunday (1/9) in Mataram.

The participants' honest acknowledgment was related to the objectivity of the assessment of each proposed Geopark.

Members of the court who feel they have a conflict of interest in a proposed geopark will raise their hand and choose to leave the session, so that they are not trapped in subjective judgments.

"So when the chair of the session mentions the geopark to be discussed, members who have a conflict of interest immediately raise their hands and choose to leave the session. Here clearly the discussion is very fair and objective," he said.

For example, during the discussion of the Yangan Tau Geopark proposal document from Russia, one of the UGG Council members from Spain named Ms. Helga Irinan Chulepin Molina immediately raised his hand immediately after the chair of the session mentioned the name of the geopark proposal to be discussed.

Interestingly, when discussing Toba Geopark, chairperson Mr. Guy Martini immediately opted out of the courtroom and was replaced by other UGG members.

"I have a conflict of Interest," Guy Martini said. This was also said by other members of the congregation every time they left the room for a specific Geopark discussion.

According to Aryadi, this shows how a valuable and important lesson for all to improve integrity and honesty.

"How can someone honestly confess about his" heart's content ", about his subjectivity, which should only be God and that person knows that he" cannot objectively "evaluate a proposed document," he said.

The results of discussions with several members of the congregation who opted out for fear of being caught in a conflict of interest, revealed the reason that they could not be objective because they had come to the place or location of the geopark to be assessed. They have been well served, have had intensive interactions with the proposer and / or have been an evaluator of the proposed document.

In addition, in the hearing everyone openly stated that they agreed or disagreed with the opinions of others.

There was no hesitation, even though his opinion was later denied by the chairperson of the session, and his leader did not object rebutted and debated openly in front of the forum.

Conversely, several times the participants immediately admitted that they were wrong and weak in their arguments.

And the confession was conveyed openly in front of the forum, in front of everyone without having to feel afraid of losing honor.

"This is certainly a good example for observers, especially those from Indonesia where feeling reluctant and ashamed to express opinions is still a generally accepted habit," said Aryadi.