FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  

Indonesia, the third largest democracy  in the world and fourth most populous nation on the globe, has employed the Global Dialogue Institute (GDI -- headquartered at Temple University and Haverford College, both in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area) to launch a pilot project restructuring their educational system on the basis of Deep-Dialogue and Critical-Thinking.  In this, GDI is working closely with UNICEF, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs–all with the express approval and strong support of the Foreign Minister Dr. Alwi Shihab and the President of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid.

The first major step in implementing the pilot project will take place at Haverford College, October 18–23, 2000. Eight staffers from the two Indonesian Ministries and from UNICEF Indonesia will, along with a number of international experts, come to Haverford College for a five-day intense seminar conducted by GDI on Deep-Dialogue and Critical-Thinking, particularly as the foundation of all education, cradle to the grave.

In the third week of November, the GDI team will travel to Indonesia, where it will conduct an intensive seminar, with the help of the initiated Indonesian staffers, for a representative selection of  primary school teachers and administrators in the two school districts of Indonesia where the pilot project will be conducted.

The GDI team and Indonesian staffers will also make onsite visits to the locations of the pilot projects, one on the island of Java and the other on the island of Sulawasi. They will also make an onsite visit to Bangladesh, where an earlier UNICEF-sponsored education project had great  success  applying the multiple intelligences theory to the primary schools in a pilot project. It was then accepted by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank for extensions to the rest of Bangladesh, with some 45 million dollars support.

There will be continued a contact and development of training for the Indonesian teachers and administrators involved in the pilot project between November and next summer. Then, from July1 to July 21, 2001, the GDI team will conduct in Indonesia an intense six days a week training for all of the teachers and administrators involved in the pilot project--approximately 100 teachers and administrators. The training will also include practice in how to remain in constant touch both which each other, the staffers in the Ministries, as well as the GDI team in the United States. This intense collaboration, which will use all modern technology as well as onsite visits, is seen as absolutely vital.

“In a way the teaching of Deep-Dialogue and Critical-Thinking to the primary school pupils will be the easiest task,” commented Dr. Leonard Swidler,  Professor of Interreligious Dialogue at Temple University and  Co-founder/ Co-director of  the Global Dialogue Institute “Perhaps even more difficult will be relating in positive ways to the parents and religious and civic leaders in the pilot project districts,” he added. Dr. Ashok Gangadean, Professor of Philosophy and Co-founder/Co-director of GDI, remarked, “Hence it is absolutely necessary, that we all be in constant touch with each other so as to share both our problems and our solutions.”

Is it expected that after a year of implementation following the July 2001 training period the stage will be reached for further training of Indonesian trainers in Deep-Dialogue/ Critical-Thinking to help carry out the extension work. At this point both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will be approached for extension funds. “Of course both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have been brought into the project on “intellectual basis” from the very beginning,” noted Professor Swidler. 

“GDI has been involved in bringing Deep-Dialogue and Critical-Thinking to education on the upper levels for decades. This will be our first venture into primary schools,” commented Prof. Swidler. He added that, “we are aided greatly in this shift by my colleague Prof. Steven Gross of our College of Education here at Temple University.”   

Dr. Ashok Gangadean, remarked, that “we feel especially privileged to be invited to assist the world’s newest democracy restructure its educational system so as to develop a culture that will foster democracy.” 

Deep-Dialogue is conceived of as a transformative encounter with persons who think differently from us. It is not a superficial meeting of two persons or groups,  but rather one which opens each side to another way of understanding reality. “This can be initially very frightening,” remarked Prof. Gangadean. “But if one persists in the encounter, it will prove to be deeply enriching and expanding,” he commented.

Prof. Swidler described Critical-Thinking as the raising of our unconscious presuppositions to the conscious level so we can analyze them and make rational, clear decisions about them. Prof. Swidler pointed out that, “we all have presuppositions which lie in our unconscious mind. We most frequently have a chance to raise them to the level of our awareness when we enter into open dialogue with someone who thinks differently from us.” He went on to note that, “consequently Deep-Dialogue and Critical-Thinking belong together. They are in fact simply two sides of the same coin.”

Although the Global Dialogue Institute has been working intensively for many years with corporate business leaders, as well as leaders in the areas of law and medicine, with this Indonesian educational project they are now launching the first major step in the establishment of their Center for Deep-Dialogue and Critical-Thinking in Education. In keeping with their global vision, they will continue to work both in the United States and throughout the world. As of now they already have begun such work in Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well as North America.

Professor Steven Gross pointed out that, “once this technique of Deep-Dialogue and Critical- Thinking had been proved successful on the primary school level in Indonesia, it will of course then be seen to be quite adaptable practically everywhere else the world.” 

Professor Leonard Swidler, Tel: 215-204-7251; Fax: 215-204-4569 
E-mail: dialogue@vm.temple.edu 

Professor Ashok Gangadean, Tel: 610-896-1030; Fax: 610-896-1224; 
E-mail: agangade@haverford.edu