• Training for established teachers in the post-conflict area of Ternate, North Maluku;
• Trained : 44 teachers from 23 state, private and Islamic schools;
• Cooperative funding – Ternate Islamic State College paid for function room, training utilities, meals, and administration;
• First year potential 1760 students in Ternate city trained in Project Citizen;
• Second year potential of 3520 or more students trained.
A Map showing the location of Ternate, North Maluku
I'd never have imagined being able to go to this island in my life. I remember that when I was in the middle school, I always found this city in my history lessons. It was one of the biggest sites producing spices. It was also one of the many reasons why Dutch colonialized Indonesia more than 350 years.
I arrived in this city after flying for almost a day from Jakarta. I was amazed by the very beautiful view welcoming me right after I came out of the airport. I could see the blue sea in my left and the green volcano in my right. It made me realize how great God is! Visiting the city became one of the most worthwhile experiences of my life.
The view of Maitara and Tidore Islands from Ternate city which can also be found in 1000 Indonesian rupiah money
The training was held in collaboration with Ternate State Islamic College. Jubair Situmorang , one of the lecturers at that college was sent to the United States of America in the School and Community Leaders Program sponsored by the US Department of State and managed by CCE Indonesia and Heartland International in September 2006. After coming home, he was inspired to do something for his community. Therefore, he proposed a program to his college - a teacher training in civic education - in cooperation with CCE Indonesia. The Ternate State Islamic College found that they could facilitate the training which they thought would be a very innovative method in teaching civic education.
Former Fulbright scholar, Wahyuddin Halim, leads a group Discussion
The participants paid strict attention during the training. Some of them had comments that it was the first training they've ever had (Post-graduation). According to them civic education is largely forgotten. They also asked a lot of questions during the discussion session with the public policy makers invited to the training, one of whom was a member of the local representative committee. The participants found that the public policy making in Ternate has not consistently dealt with community problems or fulfilled their needs. Therefore, they could see that the methods used in project citizen could be used to address the problems found in the community and bring them to the more competent people or institutions.
One participant is trying to get information for the project
The participants experienced so much fun during the training. One of the problems brought up in the training was regarding the minimal library facilities in almost every school in Ternate city. They even noted that the local library owned by the local government was very poor. They found that the local government did not pay attention to the matter. It will create another problem that the students lack interest in reading which makes their learning process even harder. For a solution part, they proposed that the government should assisst in providing various kind of books, good librarians, and also enough land.
Some participats present their project
In conclusion, the training in Ternate city was really satisfying. The cooperation ran well. The State Islamic college has proposed another training since there are more than 23 middle schools in the city. The participants found a new environment in teaching civic education and they are sure that their students will also find fun and interesting way of learning.
