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2010 OMC XVII: Optimism Arise

The topic for OMC XVII in 2010 was “Indonesia, a call to serve and to lead: creating transformation in the midst of its cultural realities”.  This topic was inspired by our discovery trips in 2009.  During the trip, we visited several regencies in Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.  We discovered the quality of life in certain regency was directly related by the quality of its leader, which in this case the governor and lieutenant governor.  However, we could not distill the essence of the leader quality that critical to his/her success.  We wanted to be able to search the bible for answers and to test these essential leadership qualities against the characteristics of successful leader.

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2009 OMC XVI: Importance of Public Policy in Building Positive Nationalism

2009 OMC XVI: Importance of Public Policy in Building Positive Nationalism

A nation is historically evolved, stable community of language, territory, economic life, and physiological make-up manifested in a community of cultures.  Although a nation keeps evolving, it is still defined by its past history.  The rich legacy of the past, the enormous sacrifice of the founding fathers, as well as the successful past government policies will be revered in the present and the future.  Just like the famous Spartan song, “we are what you were and we will be what you are.”  The history we shared together bound us together and forms the foundation of our national culture.  This culture serves as the basis of nationalism.

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2008 OMC XV: The Rise of Middle Class and The Improvement in the Life Space and the Livelihood in Indonesia

Early March 2013, the Boston Consulting Group reported its finding that the size and purchasing power of Indonesia’s middle class will be doubled by 2020.  The report also mentioned that the cities with middle class population more than 500,000 people will grow from 25 to 54.  The report by Boston Consulting Group reminded the discussion we had during OMC XV on how to improve the life space and human rights condition in Indonesia.

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2007 OMC XIV: The Lack of Social Capital and Its Implications

In the New Year of 2007, we learnt that Adam Air Flight 574 was missing.  The flight carried 102 people from Surabaya to Manado.  Nobody survived from the flight.  It was a horrible incidence that not only due to the loss of lives but also to the blatant disregard to safety rules and regulations.  During subsequent investigation on Adam Air, it was found that the airline had ignored more than 50 safety complaints and found bribing the pilots and maintenance crews to breach regulations.  The incidence resulted in the downgrade of all Indonesian airlines from safe to unsafe based on international standard.  The downgrade further shows that the Indonesian Aviation Authority has lost its credibility and considered failed to enforce and maintain safe flights.

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2006 OMC XIII: Civil Society and The Health of Government and Private Sector

Civil society is very hard to define because it involves both philosophical idea and structural form.  One can define civil society based on his/her idea of what civility means, such as freedom, justice, and equality.  Or, one can define it as public organization outside the government and the private sector or business.  We combine those two definitions here.

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2005 OMC XII: The Heart of the Challenge in Transforming Society

In 2005, FICA set a lofty goal for OMC XII.  FICA wanted to craft a social vision for Indonesia based on the biblical values and principles.  We invited excellent speakers and surprisingly were joined by talented artist, engineers, and lawyers among the participants.  The goal of the conference was indeed too difficult to be achieved in a single conference.  However, everybody left the conference understood the main challenge in transforming society.

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2004 OMC XI: The Start of FICA’s Journey to Mount Moriah

We could tell that something had to be changed in OMC XI.  The audience of OMC X had been convicted on Indonesia and was anxious to start working on real project.  The key phrase in OMC X survey was walk and talk.  The audience felt that we had enough knowledge about Indonesia and wanted to apply their knowledge and skills in practical and tangible ways.  Starting from OMC XI in 2004, FICA formatted the OMC so that we could learn both the principles and the application of the Gospel in various issues in Indonesia.

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2003 OMC X: A Decade of Learning

In 2003, we celebrated our 10th OMC.  It was truly a watershed moment.  In the first 10 OMC, we learnt about Indonesia and ourselves as Indonesian Christians.  The last ten OMCs’ focus has been creating direct impact in Indonesia.  This short writing shared what we learnt from the first decade of OMC.

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2002 OMC IX: Shedding the Image of the West and Nurturing Indonesian Christians Own Identity

Few days after OMC 8, the US was attacked by Muslim Radicals.  The attack re-energized frontal confrontation and changed the relationship between the West and the Muslim world as well as the rest of the world.  September 11 attack was heinous acts of few individuals filled with hatred toward the US.  However, the attack was just culmination of decades of friction between the West and the Muslim, especially the radical brand.

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