Iram Khan from India is the YES Student of the Month
Continue ››
American Councils for International Education and iEARN-USA partner with the U.S. Department of State on the YES Program. We are reviewing this website to ensure compliance with recent executive orders and other guidance.
STORIES
Pandu from Indonesia is State Alumni for July!
July 29, 2015
Pandu Putra, a YES 2009-2010 alumnus from Indonesia was selected as July State Alumni of the Month! Pandu (hosted by AFS in Zionsville, IN) refined his Code for Bandung project idea at a 2014 YES Alumni Social Entrepreneur workshop, which utilizes Ashoka curriculum to provide alumni with change-making skills and tools they can apply to a concrete action in their community. Pandu and his team then successfully applied for a State Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund grant to grow their initiative.
Pandu recalls, "It was a year-long project, and I was grateful for the workshop, which gave me the skills to create a proposal that was clearly worth winning an international fund."
"Today I’m proud to say that my project, Code for Bandung, has helped the government of my city to be more open for citizen collaboration, while also making citizens more willing and able to help solve their city’s problems. From the workshop, I learned how to engage my community and gain support from various stakeholders in order to create a conference and competition, which gathered around 300 attendees to discuss and create solutions to solve our city's problems using information technology."
"It helped me realize that every single one of us can make a difference in our community as long as we are willing to work hard and are driven by a common goal to give back to our communities. Personally I grew to be more strong-willed and courageous; I learned to take a chance and not be afraid of failure when working towards my goals and dreams."
See below for the full announcement from State Alumni:
While leading a roundtable discussion at a Supporting Civil Society event before his 2013 United Nations General Assembly speech, President Obama remarked that one of the United States’ gifts is “trying to set an example of how active citizens can make a country stronger.” Pandu Kartika Putra, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program exchange alumnus from Indonesia, would agree with the President’s statement. During his 2009-2010 exchange, Pandu observed the benefit of active civic engagement in the United States.
When Pandu returned home, he wanted to combine his newfound knowledge about the importance of civic engagement with his technical expertise in computer programming, but wondered how he would find funding for a meaningful project linking the two seemingly unrelated fields. As an alumnus of a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program, he knew that he had access to a myriad of exclusive resources, including the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), the U.S. Department of State’s annual competition for alumni. Through AEIF, alumni around the world are able to fund creative public service projects. In 2014, Pandu entered the AEIF competition. More than 1,000 project concepts were submitted, but his outstanding project, “Code for Bandung,” was one of 66 winning AEIF projects selected to receive a grant of up to $25,000.
The “Code for Bandung” mobile application project is threefold. First, working with the mayor’s office, Pandu trained government officials to convert data to a format that complies with open data policies. Second, in meetings with academics and community activists, Pandu outlined the many ways open data can encourage civic participation and listened to feedback and suggestions from the community. Using the new open data, and crowd-sourced ideas from the community, Pandu and a team of talented developers are creating mobile apps that will help improve the delivery of government services in the city of Bandung. “Code for Bandung” is not Pandu’s first or only open data initiative. With assistance from fellow alumni members of the YES Kennedy Lugar Alumni Association, Pandu hosted the “Bandung Open Data Summit and Challenge.” During the event, alumni considered their respective skills and devised a plan for how they can work together to encourage civic participation and improve their city.
When asked about how his exchange influenced his professional goals, Pandu said, “Ultimately, the experience has given me purpose to keep moving forward in my life, mainly to give to others and my community.” To date, Pandu has focused on launching local initiatives in Bandung. But, impressed with Pandu’s innovation and dedication, the mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil, wants to share Pandu’s ideas with mayors around the world. True to the philosophy of open data, Pandu is eager to share his ideas and learn from anyone in the international community, particularly those who are using technology at the municipal level.
Each month, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Alumni Affairs Division, which supports alumni as they build on their exchange experiences, recognizes one outstanding alumnus or alumna. Pandu Kartika Putra is this month’s outstanding alumnus, and his work will be recognized throughout July on the International Exchange Alumni website, ECA’s official website which serves more than one million Department-sponsored exchange alumni worldwide.
Read the original announcement at International Exchange Alumni
Photos: Pandu and team at Bandung Open Data Challenge; Pandu and YES alumni at alumni social entrepreneur workshop
While leading a roundtable discussion at a Supporting Civil Society event before his 2013 United Nations General Assembly speech, President Obama remarked that one of the United States’ gifts is “trying to set an example of how active citizens can make a country stronger.” Pandu Kartika Putra, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program exchange alumnus from Indonesia, would agree with the President’s statement. During his 2009-2010 exchange, Pandu observed the benefit of active civic engagement in the United States. - See more at: https://alumni.state.gov/alumn...
While leading a roundtable discussion at a Supporting Civil Society event before his 2013 United Nations General Assembly speech, President Obama remarked that one of the United States’ gifts is “trying to set an example of how active citizens can make a country stronger.” Pandu Kartika Putra, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program exchange alumnus from Indonesia, would agree with the President’s statement. During his 2009-2010 exchange, Pandu observed the benefit of active civic engagement in the United States. - See more at: https://alumni.state.gov/alumn...
While leading a roundtable discussion at a Supporting Civil Society event before his 2013 United Nations General Assembly speech, President Obama remarked that one of the United States’ gifts is “trying to set an example of how active citizens can make a country stronger.” Pandu Kartika Putra, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program exchange alumnus from Indonesia, would agree with the President’s statement. During his 2009-2010 exchange, Pandu observed the benefit of active civic engagement in the United States.
When Pandu returned home, he wanted to combine his newfound knowledge about the importance of civic engagement with his technical expertise in computer programming, but wondered how he would find funding for a meaningful project linking the two seemingly unrelated fields. As an alumnus of a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program, he knew that he had access to a myriad of exclusive resources, including the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), the U.S. Department of State’s annual competition for alumni. Through AEIF, alumni around the world are able to fund creative public service projects. In 2014, Pandu entered the AEIF competition. More than 1,000 project concepts were submitted, but his outstanding project, “Code for Bandung,” was one of 66 winning AEIF projects selected to receive a grant of up to $25,000.
The “Code for Bandung” mobile application project is threefold. First, working with the mayor’s office, Pandu trained government officials to convert data to a format that complies with open data policies. Secondly, in meetings with academics and community activists, Pandu outlined the many ways open data can encourage civic participation and listened to feedback and suggestions from the community. Using the new open data, and crowd-sourced ideas from the community, Pandu and a team of talented developers are creating mobile apps that will help improve the delivery of government services in the city of Bandung. “Code for Bandung” is not Pandu’s first or only open data initiative. With assistance from fellow alumni members of the YES Kennedy Lugar Alumni Association, Pandu hosted the “Bandung Open Data Summit and Challenge.” During the event, alumni considered their respective skills and devised a plan for how they can work together to encourage civic participation and improve their city.
When asked about how his exchange influenced his professional goals, Pandu said, “Ultimately, the experience has given me purpose to keep moving forward in my life, mainly to give to others and my community.” To date, Pandu has focused on launching local initiatives in Bandung. But, impressed with Pandu’s innovation and dedication, the mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil, wants to share Pandu’s ideas with mayors around the world. True to the philosophy of open data, Pandu is eager to share his ideas and learn from anyone in the international community, particularly those who are using technology at the municipal level.
Each month, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Alumni Affairs Division, which supports alumni as they build on their exchange experiences, recognizes one outstanding alumnus or alumna. Pandu Kartika Putra is this month’s outstanding alumnus, and his work will be recognized throughout July on the International Exchange Alumni website, ECA’s official website which serves more than one million Department-sponsored exchange alumni worldwide.
- See more at: https://alumni.state.gov/alumn...
While leading a roundtable discussion at a Supporting Civil Society event before his 2013 United Nations General Assembly speech, President Obama remarked that one of the United States’ gifts is “trying to set an example of how active citizens can make a country stronger.” Pandu Kartika Putra, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program exchange alumnus from Indonesia, would agree with the President’s statement. During his 2009-2010 exchange, Pandu observed the benefit of active civic engagement in the United States.
When Pandu returned home, he wanted to combine his newfound knowledge about the importance of civic engagement with his technical expertise in computer programming, but wondered how he would find funding for a meaningful project linking the two seemingly unrelated fields. As an alumnus of a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program, he knew that he had access to a myriad of exclusive resources, including the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), the U.S. Department of State’s annual competition for alumni. Through AEIF, alumni around the world are able to fund creative public service projects. In 2014, Pandu entered the AEIF competition. More than 1,000 project concepts were submitted, but his outstanding project, “Code for Bandung,” was one of 66 winning AEIF projects selected to receive a grant of up to $25,000.
The “Code for Bandung” mobile application project is threefold. First, working with the mayor’s office, Pandu trained government officials to convert data to a format that complies with open data policies. Secondly, in meetings with academics and community activists, Pandu outlined the many ways open data can encourage civic participation and listened to feedback and suggestions from the community. Using the new open data, and crowd-sourced ideas from the community, Pandu and a team of talented developers are creating mobile apps that will help improve the delivery of government services in the city of Bandung. “Code for Bandung” is not Pandu’s first or only open data initiative. With assistance from fellow alumni members of the YES Kennedy Lugar Alumni Association, Pandu hosted the “Bandung Open Data Summit and Challenge.” During the event, alumni considered their respective skills and devised a plan for how they can work together to encourage civic participation and improve their city.
When asked about how his exchange influenced his professional goals, Pandu said, “Ultimately, the experience has given me purpose to keep moving forward in my life, mainly to give to others and my community.” To date, Pandu has focused on launching local initiatives in Bandung. But, impressed with Pandu’s innovation and dedication, the mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil, wants to share Pandu’s ideas with mayors around the world. True to the philosophy of open data, Pandu is eager to share his ideas and learn from anyone in the international community, particularly those who are using technology at the municipal level.
Each month, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Alumni Affairs Division, which supports alumni as they build on their exchange experiences, recognizes one outstanding alumnus or alumna. Pandu Kartika Putra is this month’s outstanding alumnus, and his work will be recognized throughout July on the International Exchange Alumni website, ECA’s official website which serves more than one million Department-sponsored exchange alumni worldwide.
- See more at: https://alumni.state.gov/alumn...
While leading a roundtable discussion at a Supporting Civil Society event before his 2013 United Nations General Assembly speech, President Obama remarked that one of the United States’ gifts is “trying to set an example of how active citizens can make a country stronger.” Pandu Kartika Putra, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program exchange alumnus from Indonesia, would agree with the President’s statement. During his 2009-2010 exchange, Pandu observed the benefit of active civic engagement in the United States.
When Pandu returned home, he wanted to combine his newfound knowledge about the importance of civic engagement with his technical expertise in computer programming, but wondered how he would find funding for a meaningful project linking the two seemingly unrelated fields. As an alumnus of a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program, he knew that he had access to a myriad of exclusive resources, including the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), the U.S. Department of State’s annual competition for alumni. Through AEIF, alumni around the world are able to fund creative public service projects. In 2014, Pandu entered the AEIF competition. More than 1,000 project concepts were submitted, but his outstanding project, “Code for Bandung,” was one of 66 winning AEIF projects selected to receive a grant of up to $25,000.
The “Code for Bandung” mobile application project is threefold. First, working with the mayor’s office, Pandu trained government officials to convert data to a format that complies with open data policies. Secondly, in meetings with academics and community activists, Pandu outlined the many ways open data can encourage civic participation and listened to feedback and suggestions from the community. Using the new open data, and crowd-sourced ideas from the community, Pandu and a team of talented developers are creating mobile apps that will help improve the delivery of government services in the city of Bandung. “Code for Bandung” is not Pandu’s first or only open data initiative. With assistance from fellow alumni members of the YES Kennedy Lugar Alumni Association, Pandu hosted the “Bandung Open Data Summit and Challenge.” During the event, alumni considered their respective skills and devised a plan for how they can work together to encourage civic participation and improve their city.
When asked about how his exchange influenced his professional goals, Pandu said, “Ultimately, the experience has given me purpose to keep moving forward in my life, mainly to give to others and my community.” To date, Pandu has focused on launching local initiatives in Bandung. But, impressed with Pandu’s innovation and dedication, the mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil, wants to share Pandu’s ideas with mayors around the world. True to the philosophy of open data, Pandu is eager to share his ideas and learn from anyone in the international community, particularly those who are using technology at the municipal level.
Each month, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Alumni Affairs Division, which supports alumni as they build on their exchange experiences, recognizes one outstanding alumnus or alumna. Pandu Kartika Putra is this month’s outstanding alumnus, and his work will be recognized throughout July on the International Exchange Alumni website, ECA’s official website which serves more than one million Department-sponsored exchange alumni worldwide.
- See more at: https://alumni.state.gov/alumn...
Share:
