Bio Farma Supports Interest in Cultural Traditions

On Monday, October 28, 2013, PT Bio Farma (Persero) held a Sundanese Traditional Lute & Flute Playing Contest for senior high school and vocational schools in West Java. The contest took place at the Company's Serbaguna Building, and was organized in commemoration of the Youth Pledge Day as well as being part of the Company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in preserving Indonesia's cultural diversity. Attending the event were Sajidin Aries from the West Java Cultural & Tourism Agency representing the Deputy Governor of West Java, Dadang Utun from the Yayasan Kabuyutan Sunda, the Panel of Judges from the Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia (STSI), teachers and students from participating schools, as well as Iskandar, President Director of Bio Farma, members of the Company's Board of Directors, and various other company officials. In his welcoming speech, Iskandar said that "This Sundanese Traditional Lute & Flute Playing Contest is the first of its kind organized for youths at the high school-age bracket, and this is important as these youths have quite an influence within their communities, including as agents of information dissemination about the arts and culture." He added that " The contest also serves as a means to nurture a sense belonging to the younger generation in regard to their cultural origin, so that they can become agents of change to help create Sundanese culture social interactions in society, and also to play an active part in preserving indigenous cultural traditions. According to Dedy S. Hadinata from the panel of judges, the participants are appraised in terms of musicality, appreciation, tonal harmony, musical arrangement, and conformity to the theme of the contest. Contest winners were SMAN 24 Bandung in first place, followed by SMAN 6 Bandung in second place and SMA YAS in third place, while SMAN 10 Bandung, SMAN 22 Bandung and SMA PGRI were declared as aspiring winners in first place, second place and third place, respectively. In conjunction with the Sundanese Traditional Lute & Flute Playing Contest, Bio Farma provided free influenza vaccination for event invitees, and also organized a Sundanese culture-themed Instagram Photo Contest through the social media.