VII Academy | 2024

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The VII Foundation The VII Foundation‘s mission is to transform visual journalism by empowering new voices and creating stories that advocate change.

In a world where beliefs and actions are increasingly out-of-sync with facts and realities, transforming visual journalism is an urgent task.

The VII Foundation trains and equips emerging visual journalists from communities underrepresented in the media. These practitioners have a front-seat perspective on urgent challenges that concern us all. The VII Foundation teaches essential skills and strategies to ensure the truth is documented and made availableto a global audience seeking to make decisions and choices based on facts, not hearsay.

Our training is tuition-free and conducted by leading professional journalists who have worked for decades on the frontlines of some of our societies’ most complex and difficult challenges. In this era of an underfunded, dying global media enterprise, our trainees help ensure the global conversation continues and is fuelled by first-person reporting vs. unsourced, uncredited rumors and factual manipulation. In addition to empowering over 1,200 new voices in journalism from more than 100 countries, we host public conversations and critical debates that ask tough questions about the context, purpose, and impact of images. We create largescale and long-term documentary projects, exhibitions, and films that reveal complex realities; advocate for change; and serve as resources for policymakers, the public, and journalists worldwide.

To deliver our mission, we have an educational stream of three initiatives - VII Academy, VII Community, and VII Insider. | Soldiers of the coalition resistance forces secure the area where villagers resume farming in Moebye township on July 26, 2023. Due to displacement and threats to their survival, the villagers have decided to resume farming in areas that have become grey zones despite the risk of artillery shelling and landmines by the Myanmar military. ©Ta Mwe for VII Academy

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VII Academy VII Academy provides tuition-free courses in visual journalism to practitioners in the Majority World and underrepresented communities in G20 countries. VII Academy is democratizing the information narrative and giving communities the tools to narrate their own stories in regions where media education is poorly resourced.

In the last four years, VII Academy has trained over 1,200 people from 100 countries in nine languages, with more than half of them identifying as female.

VII Academy training is structured as a pathway from the first point of contact to high-level practice. It is done online or in person at campuses in Arles, France, and Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina. VII Academy has three programs: • The Program for Narrative and Documentary Photography, with courses at Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 • VII Mentor Program, which provides a 12-month structured professional environment for emerging new talents in the industry • The MA in Visual Journalism, in partnership with the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo, is a two-year course beginning in 2024-25. The MA program will also have a one-year Certificate in Visual Journalism option

| A child stands outside her home near Suralaya coal-fired power plant in Banten, West Java, Indonesia, on September 27, 2023. © Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro for VII Academy

In addition, VII Academy partners with like-minded organizations to provide additional, focused training initiatives. VII Academy’s programs are enabled by the generous support of our partners, especially The William, Jeff & Jennifer Gross Family Foundation, PhotoWings, Canon, Creative New Zealand, the Foundation for Systemic Change, Leica, and the Poklon Foundation.

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(a) Level 1 caters to students with basic photography experience who want to become visual journalists. It provides a solid foundation of practical skills, including camera control, fulfilling a brief for commissions, and writing captions. It also introduces good practices in ethics, video, social media, and running a solo business. Level 1 is taught via a 12-week online seminar for ten students at a time, with at least nine Level 1 courses each year. (b) Level 2 takes the best students and equips them with additional skills, extending the concepts from Level 1 and adding a writing component taught by a writing tutor. Level 2 is taught via a 12-week online seminar for ten students at a time, with two Level 2 courses each year. (c) Level 3 takes the most accomplished students from Level 2 and brings them free of charge to the foundation’s Alexandra Boulat Campus in Arles for an intensive, interdisciplinary, in-person, month-long program. After their time with us, they go home as accomplished practitioners who are well-versed in contemporary media ethics and journalistic values and can take on complex assignments for leading media, NGOs, and corporations worldwide.

Second, the VII Mentor Program provides a structured professional environment for emerging new talents in the industry, whether trained by VII Academy or not. The program – the first of its kind – was launched by VII Photo Agency in 2008 and is now managed

by VII Academy. This hybrid program pairs ten selected visual journalists with experienced VII photographers. It runs online for 11 months, followed by two weeks in-person in Arles during the professional week of the Rencontres d’Arles festival. The VII Mentor Program has nurtured the careers of many visual journalists who have become leading practitioners.

| A group of children celebrates Juan Manuel’s first birthday on one of the streets of Santa Cruz del Islote. The island is located opposite the Morrosquillo Gulf, in Departamento de Bolívar, Colombia, and is approximately a hectare long, equal to two soccer fields. ©Charlie Cordero

Third, the MA in Visual Journalism, developed in partnership with — and accredited by — the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo, is a two-year course that will begin in 2024-

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2025 and cap VII Academy’s pathway, providing a higher education qualification for those who want to work as documentarians, curators, editors, and university lecturers. The MA program will also have a one-year option, offering a Certificate in Visual Journalism to those practitioners who don’t have a BA degree and/or do not wish to complete a thesis project. The course will be fee-paying and open to all, with scholarships for students from the Majority World.

Education Partnership: Nature Through Her Eyes VII Academy works with Jacqueline Farmer to mentor female African filmmakers so they can document their vision of natural history. This partnership began because we jointly identified a problem, proposed a training solution, and set up a mentoring system. As a result, we have developed new capacity that produces new perspectives.

The NTHE partnership trained the first female African marine biologists to swim and film underwater. In September 2022, it taught natural history filmmaking to emerging Senegalese filmmakers. In November 2022, the second NTHE festival was held in Cape Town, supported by the French and South African governments. NTHE trainees are being commissioned for documentary projects in Asia and Africa.

Nature Through Her Eyes continues to mentor and train Erica Rugabandana. Erica is Tanzania’s first woman long-lens wildlife camera operator and director, following prolonged training on camera and documentary writing and production with the NTHE team. | The accelerated advance of globalization and extractivist policies that favor mega-mining are affecting ancestral traditions in small rural communities in Cajamarca. ©Francisco Vigo for VII Academy

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In June 2023, she finished her first feature documentary Kuishi na Simba (Living with Lions), which achieved global release after winning Best of Festival, Best African Film, and Best Storytelling at Pridelands Film Festival in Nairobi.

Education Partnership: Foundry Photojournalism Workshop Foundry Photojournalism Workshop was established in 2008, and since 2019 it has been led by PhotoWings and supported by VII Academy.

The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is an event that focuses on teaching participants about visual voice, lessons from the field, the creative process, how to work with photo editors, and general business practices.

In the latest edition, over 90 students from 40 Majority World and underrepresented communities in G20 countries participated in the online event. Foundry offers a unique opportunity for participants to learn from some of the world’s most respected photojournalists and photography professionals. In the 2023 edition, eleven instructors taught in nine different languages in a series of classes and one-to-one sessions. Portfolio reviewers from national and international press, galleries, and agencies also provided valuable advice. | A young woman cleans the soil of a newly reclaimed soya field while a Kaiowá Guarani mason gives instructions for the construction of the prayer house, the first and most important building in the new village. Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. March 6, 2023. ©Renaud Philippe, Golden Scarf Winner at Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2023

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VII Community In the foundation’s education pathway, ongoing support for our alumni is a vital task. To this end, we created VII Community in partnership with PhotoWings.

VII Community is a network of VII Academy alumni and Foundry participants that number more than 1,000 professionals. It supports those who have completed our courses with connections to the profession through online discussions, presentations, reviews, in-person global meet-ups, and a Discord platform for regular exchanges.

“I find myself browsing the VII Community channels all afternoon. It’s a treasure trove of inspiration and motivation.

I love how many resources I can get in one place, and more keep coming. Book recommendations, alumni websites, grant opportunities, amazing events, portfolio reviews, and everything related to documentary photography that you usually can’t find easily. It’s a comprehensive documentary photography resource out there. I love it.” | VII Academy student and VII Community member

| Eva wearing traditional Kist dress. Village Duisi. Pankisi Gorge. 2018 ©Tako Robakidze

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VII Insider The foundation seeks to elevate the public conversation about visual journalism. For this, we have VII Insider, our free online platform for debate that takes the general audience inside the profession of visual journalism to advance the production and analysis of photography, documentary stories, and visual journalism. Our partnership with PhotoWings makes VII Insider possible.

VII Insider brings people together to see creative presentations, learn from experts in the field, and read analyses of visual journalism. VII Insider offers regular live presentations, an extensive and searchable video collection of more than 120 previous events, and publishes the best writing on the role of images in Dispatches: The VII Insider blog (with 45 articles on Substack and new posts every month).

“The VII Insider programme is truly excellent. I’ve been on many of the sessions, and have just recently been viewing Christopher Morris’ videos on his early photojournalistic experiences, and they have all been truly wonderful.

Interesting, insightful and inspiring.” | VII Insider audience member

| A girl smokes at a cafe in Tehran, Iran, On February 02, 2023. ©Farshid Tighehsaz for the VII Mentor Program

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Hear from our alumni

Marton Monus (Hungary): Attended

Eastern Europe: Program for Photojournalism and Documentary Photography in 2020.

“I started working for Reuters in the same year I completed the Level 1 course (2020), and a year later, I also started to cover events for the German dpa. In addition to the two big agencies, I covered the consequences of the war in Ukraine and Hungary for several Western European newspapers. I started one of my favorite longterm projects during this course. In summary, it was motivating and helped me focus on my own projects.”

LuisEnrrique Becerra (Peru):

Attended South and Central America: Program for Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Level 1 in 2023.

“I have begun challenging my questions about representation and evidence in my projects.

The course allows documentary visual makers to explore the limits and plasticity of the visual, where the real, the evidence, and the factual are debated. Later in the course, we moved on to the concept, the proposal, and the discourse - what is thought or believed to be ‘real.’”

Andjela Petrovski (Serbia): Attended

Sarajevo Seminar for Narrative Photography, first generation, in 2019.

“The course served as a catalyst for me to embark on three personal photo projects, allowing me to explore and express my creative vision in new ways. One of the major milestones I achieved was reviving and successfully managing my own photo magazine, ‘Balkanium.’ The most impactful change, however, was the shift towards establishing my freelance business. Before the seminar, I had a fulltime job, but post-seminar, I found a way to sustain myself through photography. The education I received expanded my technical abilities and equipped me with the tools necessary to navigate the business side of photography.

Hesham Youssef (Egypt): Attended

Leonard Bircu (Romania): Attended

Mumin Gul (India): Attended South and

“I had the opportunity to exhibit part of my work at ‘Luxembourg Streetphoto Collective’s Slide Night’ by screening some of my photos in a slideshow reflecting on my experience after moving from Cairo to Luxembourg.”

“Engaging with fellow participants and professionals provided a valuable networking platform. Building connections within the industry has opened doors for collaboration and potential opportunities to showcase my work. I now feel more confident applying various techniques, such as composition, lighting, and framing, to capture compelling and authentic moments in my work.”

“My confidence increased significantly. I realized I could create a really good documentary photo project if given the right time and guidance. For the first time in my life, I submitted the project for many awards, which was a novel experience for me.”

Photopia x VII Academy Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Level 1 in 2022.

Southeast Europe: Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 1 in 2023.

Southeast Asia: Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 1 in 2023.

Israel Fuguemann (Mexico): Attended

Ufaq Fatima (Indian Administered Kashmir): Attended South and Southeast

Central and South America: Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 1 in 2023.

Asia: Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 1 in 2023.

“The level 1 course helped give me security and confidence in my photographic work, but mainly, it was a good experience to understand how to approach more solid and editorially interesting photographic projects; it also gave me a more realistic approach to the professional photojournalism industry.”

“The intense 12-week training pushed my boundaries and helped me leave my comfort zone to shoot and make pictures. It made me more confident in my understanding of this field.

As part of a women’s photo collective in Kashmir (Her Pixel Story), I can now share the key skills I learned from L1 with them.”

Juan Páez (Colombia): Attended Canon

Miraisha and VII Academy: L’Histoire Du Monde Á Travers Votre Objectif in 2021.

“I’ve expanded my range of offerings for different approaches to working with images, which addresses more research, as I receive more projects in video format that go to organizations such as NGOs. I can only be grateful for this kind of space that helps to encourage critical thinking in the production of images. After Level 1, after the advice of my classmates, I was chosen by the Gabo Foundation to be the winner of one of the New Narratives on Drugs research grants with the story “The Promise of Medical Cannabis” published in three chapters in the digital newspaper El País America.”

©Kimberly dela Cruz for VII Academy Fellows

©Sharafat Ali for VII Academy Fellows

©Natalia Neuhaus for VII Academy Fellows

Anonymous: Attended the first in-person

Anonymous: Attended the first in-person

Anonymous: Attended the first in-person

“The quality of the content presented was exceptional.Renowned photographers and industry experts associated with the VII Foundation shared their extensive knowledge and experience in the field. Their presentations were thought-provoking, filled with captivating visuals, and accompanied by in-depth discussions. The seminar provided valuable insights into the art of documentary photography, storytelling techniques, and the importance of ethical storytelling practices. The content not only met but exceeded my expectations by offering practical knowledge and inspiring examples that I could apply to my own work.”

“In conclusion, the L3 seminar on photography and documentary narrative practice with the VII Foundation surpassed my expectations in every aspect. The seminar’s relevance, high-quality content, interactive format, efficient organization, and networking opportunities made it an outstanding and rewarding experience. I left the seminar with newfound knowledge, inspiration, and a stronger foundation in the art of visual storytelling.”

“Overall, the L3 photography and documentary narrative practice course has been transformative for my professional growth. It has equipped me with the technical skills, ethical understanding, artistic inspiration, and critical thinking abilities necessary to excel in the field of documentary photography. By honing my abilities as a visual storyteller, I am now better prepared to capture and convey meaningful narratives that have the potential to create positive change and impact.”

Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 3 in 2023.

Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 3 in 2023.

Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, Level 3 in 2023.

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1. Fatma Fahmy featured on the front page of The New York Times, 2024 2. Fatma Fahmy featured in The New York Times, 2024

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MITAR SIMIKIC

Porträt von Mila in der Schule: Als einzige der SalihovicKinder erwartet die 18-Jährige mehr vom Leben als Heiraten und Müllsammeln. Sie geht auf eine höhere Landwirtschaftsschule, um Agrartechnikerin zu werden – doch nach dem Tod des Vaters fehlt ihr das Geld für das letzte Jahr.

DIE WELT DER FAMILIE SALIHOVIC Über Jahre begleitete der Dokumentarfotograf Mitar Simikic eine Familie im Nordosten von Bosnien und Herzegowina, die der Krieg in Armut gestürzt hat. Von den Roma lernen sie, wie man durch Müllsammeln überlebt. Doch Tochter Mila will mehr vom Leben.

Die Familie lebt in der Stadt Bijeljina Am Anfang, als ich die ersten Male zu Familie Salihovic nach Hause kam, haben in der Republika Srpska im Nordosten mich die fünf Kinder „den Astronauten“ von Bosnien und Herzegowina, dicht an genannt. Ich kam aus der Außenwelt, und der Grenze zu Serbien und nahe meinem hatte dieses Techno-Ding – nämlich die Heimatort Ugljevik. In dem Viertel sind Kamera – in der Hand. Ich war in ihrem die meisten Leute Roma. Ahmo erzählte Hinterhof gelandet wie ein Forschungs- mir, dass er schon seit 20 Jahren Dinge reisender auf einem Stern. Vermutlich aussortierte, die andere Leute wegwarfen. war „Der Astronaut“ auch leichter zu Eigentlich war er Maurer, doch dann kam merken als Mitar. Denn Mitar hätte jeder der Krieg, der von 1992 bis 1995 dauerte. heißen können. Aber nicht dieser Typ, Auch danach blieb es schwer, sein Handder sich nicht über den Müll im Hof werk auszuüben. Als die Leute ihn immer beschwerte und der sich so verhielt, als öfter nicht bezahlten und die Aufträge wäre es ganz normal neben einer Roma- weniger wurden, schaute er sich bei den Siedlung zu leben und Kupferdrähte Nachbarn ab, wie man Geld verdient.

Viele glauben deswegen, dass die auseinander zu dröseln. Mir erschien das Leben dieser Menschen, die trotz ihrer Salihovic Roma seien. Aber das stimmt Armut unerschütterlich gefasst waren, nicht. Sie sind eine muslimische Familie. spannend. Wenn ich sie fotografierte, Sie haben von den Roma lediglich gelernt, schienen sie eigentlich mich vor der Linse wie man die Kunst des Überlebens zum zu haben. Ich war ihr Ereignis. Sie der Alltag macht. Ahmo wurde ein Self-MadePlanet – ich der Astronaut.

Man. Wenn man putzen gehe, bekomme Vater Ahmo und Mutter Melvida man zwölf Euro, hat er zu seiner Frau fielen mir zum ersten Mal im Jahr 2014 gesagt, aber wenn man Abfall sammele, auf, als sie neben ein paar Mülltonnen trenne und ordne, aus etwas Gebrauchtem parkten. Zwei Wochen später sah ich sie etwas Neues mache, dann könne man in wieder. Ich kam gerade von einer Messe, der Woche hundert Euro verdienen. Mit war elegant angezogen und hatte das diesem Geld kann Melvida weiterhin Gefühl: Jetzt sprichst Du sie an. Sie sahen Burek und Pita in den Ofen schieben und mich verwundert an – was wollte dieser die Stromrechnung bezahlen.

Dieses Genügsame wollte ich erkunschicke Typ? Doch sie gaben mir ihre Adresse und Telefonnummer und drei den. Ahmo erzählte mir, dass er Metall Tage später reiste ich das erste Mal ins und Plastik sehr aufmerksam sammelt und mit viel Geduld auseinandernimmt.

Universum Salihovic.

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1. Marko Risovic featured in The New York Times Magazine, 2022 2. Joshua Irwandi featured in National Geographic, 2020 3. Mitar Simikic featured in Doctors Without Borders Magazine, 2023 4. Mitar Simikic featured in Doctors Without Borders Magazine, 2023

BOSNIEN

BOSNIEN

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Mit dieser Wand will ich den sozialen in ihrem Alter Scham empfunden habe, Rahmen zeigen. Ich möchte aber auch wie ich mich ständig fragte, wie ich auf die Fantasie anregen: Wie das Feld im andere wirke.

Sommer aussehen könnte, auf das Vater Samilas Ohrringe fotografierte ich Ahmo im Winter aus dem Fenster blickt, vor einem Spiegel – als Symbol dafür, oder wie man in der Roma-Siedlung dass wir uns reflektieren. Manchmal gleich nebenan lebt. zeichne ich die Welt aus Milas Perspektive, 2019 habe ich erneut angefangen, die von innen nach außen. Ich zeige ihre Familie Salihovic zu fotografieren – dieses rauchenden Schwestern, ihre Mutter wie Mal im Rahmen eines Stipendienpro- sie vor den gewaschenen Tüchern steht, gramms der Akademie für narrative und oder das Kätzchen in Milas Hand. Ich dokumentarische Praxis in Sarajevo. mache das alles sehr langsam, ich bin Dabei hatte ich das Gefühl, eine andere kein Reporter mehr. Ich erzähle jetzt Sichtweise finden zu müssen, um Milas dokumentarisch – man könnte fast sagen Geschichte zu erzählen. Ich wechselte auf analoge Art – obwohl meine Kamera das Format und verwende seitdem nur digital ist. noch das Quadrat. Die Informationen Mila hat als einzige unter den fünf links und rechts im Querformat sind oft Geschwistern eine höhere Schule besucht, überflüssig. eine Landwirtschaftsschule. Die anderen Mila ist ein sehr anschauliches Bei- Mädchen haben geheiratet. Als ich sie als spiel für eine Gesellschaft, in denen einige Elfjährige kennenlernte, hat sie mich mit nur wenige Chancen bekommen. Mein Fragen gelöchert, gern gelesen, geschauHintergrund in Grafikdesign hat mir spielert, Fußball gespielt. Mila hat nicht dabei geholfen, ihr Gesicht abzubilden, auf ihre Schwestern gehört, die meinten, als sie sich nicht mehr fotografieren lassen man brauche nicht mehr Bildung als die wollte. Ich suche nun nach anderen Me- Grundschule.

Für das letzte Schuljahr bräuchte sie thoden, um Einblicke in ihre Realität zu geben und zeige Details. Ich „verstecke“ nun 500 Euro. Doch weil ihr Vater Ahmo einen Teil, kann aber vielleicht gerade vor Kurzem gestorben ist, kann sich die dadurch die Vorstellung der Betrachter Familie das nicht mehr leisten. Daher öffnen. Wenn ich etwa Milas künstliche arbeitet Mila jetzt ein paar Stunden in der Wimpern fotografiere, dann zeigt das Woche für die NGO „Zora-Morgenröte“. ihre Wünsche, aber eben auch ihre Scheu. Dort unterrichtet sie Roma-Kinder in Ich kann mich gut erinnern, wie ich selbst Lesen und Mathematik.

Shaban ist das dritte Kind der Familie Salihovic. Jeden Tag geht der 19-Jährige mit seiner Mutter und seiner jüngsten Schwester Almedina zur Arbeit: Sie sammeln Abfall und gebrauchte Gegenstände, um diese anschließend zu sortieren. Als einziger Sohn übernimmt er nach dem Tod des Vaters die Verantwortung für das Familienunternehmen.

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1. Uma Bista featured in The New York Times, 2024 2. Ta Mwe receives the Southeast Asia and Oceania Long Term Projects award in the World Press Photo Foundation 2024 Contest.

3. Mar Naw announced as a finalist in the 2024 Pictures of the Year Asia award 4. Renaud Philippe featured in The New York Times, 2024

Product: TGAM

A 10

PubDate: 03-31-2022

Zone: GTA

Edition: 1

Page: News_3966402

User: DODonnell

FOLIO

Time: 03-30-2022

G THE GLOBE AND MAIL

21:50 Color: C K Y M

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T H URS DAY , M A RCH 31, 2022

T H URS DAY , M A RCH 31, 2022

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THE GLOBE AND MAI L G

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People gather to play by the sea near Waladuna Mosque in Muara Baru, North Jakarta, in August, 2021. The mosque has been affected by coastal floods since 2000.

The Bridge of Sungai Manggar stretches out ahead beyond the Manggarai toll gate on the way to Nusantara. The hilly, winding route takes motorists through a pristine rain forest.

People try to escape flood waters in Jakarta in January, 2020. The most recent of several major floods to hit the city in recent decades, it resulted in an estimated loss of US$70-million.

Sibarani Sofian’s design for the new capital was selected in 2019 from 255 submissions: ‘What we need to be wary of is if we rush and do not listen to the possibility of risks.’

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JAKARTA, A SINKING CITY

THE PROMISE OF NUSANTARA

This is not the first time Indonesia’s leaders have discussed the idea of a new capital. In 1957, the country’s first president, Sukarno, proposed the idea of relocating to Palangkaraya, in Central Kalimantan.

The motivation is that Jakarta, home to more than 10 million people, is one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world. In some parts of the capital land is subsiding at rates of one to 15 centimetres every year; in others it is up to about 20 to 28 centimetres annually. The cause is primarily groundwater extraction and the load of construction from buildings, malls and apartments, which require highly compressed soil on which to stand.

At this rate, Jakarta is predicted to be submerged by 2050.

Flooding is another potent issue, with small and medium-scale floods occurring nearly every year for the past two decades. Significant floods happened in 2002, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2020, with the most recent causing an estimated loss of US$70million. According to a survey by the Jakarta government, flooding has killed 144 people over the past 20 years.

The Ciliwung River, nicknamed Kali Besar (Big River), is one of the sources of this destruction.

The 119-kilometre river is divided into many canals throughout the city, but the intricate water system and other preventive measures are still unable to stop the flooding. Pollution is one of the main factors. Illegal settlements and slums on the Ciliwung’s banks increase the amount of waste thrown into the river. The garbage takes up space, meaning the river cannot hold as much water as intended. And more water is coming to Jakarta, after forests near the Ciliwung’s source in Puncak, West Java, were cleared to make way for settlements. With the forests gone, there are no plants to retain moisture during the rainy season.

Jakarta is also faced with air-quality problems: It is routinely ranked as one of the most polluted cities in the world. The most significant contributors are transportation and industry, along with crippling traffic. More than 20 million registered vehicles are in the capital, of which 80 per cent are motorbikes. Meanwhile, factories use fossil fuels, and coal-fired power plants provide electricity.

The land will be subdivided into three development parts: a “central government area” sized 6,671 hectares, a more extensive “capital region” at 56,180 hectares, and a “developmental capital area” of 199,962 hectares.

The central government area, where the new state palace will be situated, will be the first segment to be developed.

According to the Indonesian Forum for Environment, much of the land is state-owned, though with at least 154 land concessions with coal mining companies, a pulp-paper company and palm oil

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KOLUMBIEN

Eine Insel voller Leben Santa Cruz del Islote ist nur etwas größer als ein Fußballfeld, aber dichter besiedelt als Manhattan.

Bei rund 1200 Einwohnern kennt jeder jeden.

Kriminalität gibt es kaum: zu wenige Verstecke.

Doch auch erste Küsse bleiben nicht geheim Text: Jan Christoph Wiechmann, Fotos: Charlie Cordero

1. Fatma Fahmy featured in Global Citizen, 2023 2. Charlie Cordero featured in GEO, 2019 3. Joshua Irwandi featured in The Globe and Mail, 2022 4. Joshua Irwandi featured in National Geographic, 2022

This dam in the district of Sepaku is part of the infrastructure planned to mitigate flood issues and provide water to the city of Nusantara.

Indonesia: The country’s $34.9-billion plan to replace sinking, polluted Jakarta

Wand an Wand drängen sich circa 100 Häuser auf der Miniaturinsel vor Kolumbiens Küste. Die Bewohner sehen ihr Leben nicht so eng, sie haben ja das Karibische Meer vor der Tür.

Ihr großer Feind: der Klimawandel

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A drone image shows a housing compound in North Jakarta in September, 2021. Given the current rate at which Jakarta is sinking, it’s predicted the city will be submerged by 2050.

GEO 09 2019

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plantations (Indonesia is the largest producer and exporter of palm oil worldwide). Ninety-four coal mine pits in the area have not undergone reclamation.

All told, a total of 260,000 hectares of industrial forest, consisting of eucalyptus and acacia trees, will be used to build Nusantara.

Despite the underlying environmental issues, Mr. Widodo vows to adhere to the green commitment and design. On a national radio broadcast in February, he said “revitalization and reforestation” will happen in the first stages of construction to ensure Nusantara meets its aims of being a smart city with zero emissions. Among the key performance indicators are the usage of 80 per cent renewable energy, reliance on 80 per cent public transport, and a reduction of the temperature by two degrees.

‘WE ARE READY TO MOVE IF WE ARE EVICTED’

Hamsah, a Dayak Paserese, and his wife Ijum Maryati live in the last house before the security entrance of Nusantara. They and their eight children are looking to relocate once the capital city is established.

Construction will force many Indigenous peoples, such as the Dayak Paser, to leave their homes.

Hamsah, 44, a Dayak Paserese, and his wife Ijum Maryati, 38, live in the last house before the security entrance to the location of Nusantara. They have three patches of land in the region, nearly all of which is used for palm oil. Each month, the couple harvests between 100 and 200 kilograms of palm fruit, which fetch the price of 1,500 rupiah – about 13 cents – a kilogram when sold at a local distributor.

While reluctant to move, Hamsah, Maryati and their eight children are looking to relocate once the capital city is established.

“We are gardeners, and truthfully we didn’t want a city. A city would be an inconvenience for us if we were to expand our gardens. But it’s the President’s wish, and we need to move forward as a country, so we are ready to move if we are evicted,” Maryati says.

Behind their home are rows of wooden houses filled with low-income families.

There is growing uncertainty for the people who occupy this area. In a letter from the Indonesian government regarding the termination of their tenancy, there is no time frame as to when they will be forced to leave and no indication of where

they are going to be moved to.

Megawati, 45, lives in a home here with her husband, Duansa, 43. “It’s hard to find work now, and it would be even harder when the capital city is here,” she says. “We can’t fight. We are poor, and we don’t get any additional support from the government.”

She is against Nusantara, and believes a new capital is not needed.

“Jobs are hard, and we have no capital to start any business.”

DESIGNING A NEW CAPITAL

Mr. Sofian, architect and owner of design firm URBAN+ based in West Jakarta, is the project’s lead designer. His environment-focused design, called Nagara Rimba Nusa – which translates as “State, Forest, Islands” – was chosen from 255 domestic and international entries in 2019.

“We hope the capital city will become a role model for other cities in Indonesia. The dream is that. We want to be the model for forest-inspired cities. To show the world that we can make a city that is out of the box that will tackle all issues of climate change,” Mr. Sofian says.

“The biggest challenge for us is how to put a manufactured city in a natural setting in the most respectful way. Because when we build cities, design cities, we already start to move away so much from the wisdom of the land, the wisdom of nature. You need to really represent how humans relate to nature in this renewed relationship. The city right now we’re living in – Jakarta – doesn’t have that kind of balance.”

Mr. Sofian’s vision is to “build the forest first before building the city”; only 30 per cent of land space will be converted into buildings and offices.

“When we began to plan, we chose the area where we saw the area was already being disturbed. We didn’t want to change the virgin forest into an urban area.”

A GREEN PALACE LIKE NO OTHER

Nyoman Nuarta is a prominent art figure in Indonesia and was part of the New Art Movement in

the 1970s. Throughout his career, he has been prolific in creating large iconic sculptures in several cities throughout the country, as well as internationally.

For Nusantara, he was hired to design a structure that would become a showpiece of the planned state palace complex.

The palace, which is estimated to cost US$104million, will become Indonesia’s most expensive state building – and one of the largest state complexes on record.

The most distinctive part of the design will be a copper structure in the shape of a garuda, a national symbol of Indonesia.

During my visit to Mr. Nuarta’s workshop in October, a polyester resin model of the new palace was set on a table next to a statue of Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president. Nearby, copper blade structures, smaller versions of those that will be used to control the building’s airflow, were being put through trials.

“I hope this will become an icon, a unique building out of the ordinary,” Mr. Nuarta says. “It’s an architectural sculpture. It functions, but also we

This scale design of the presidential office is part of the state palace complex planned for Indonesia’s new capital, created by prominent Indonesian artist Nyoman Nuarta. The palace, which is estimated to cost US$104-million, will become Indonesia’s most expensive state building.

can find our dignity from its aesthetics. It represents 260 million Indonesian population. So it’s not only for beauty or for comfort but also for our dignity as a sovereign nation. I hope it can raise our spirits.”

Like the new capital city, the palace is being designed with sustainability in mind.

“To adhere to the green design, the easiest thing to do is to plant as many trees as possible. The equator passes through the capital city, and people say the trees on the equator grow 10 times faster than land with four seasons. … My hope is that in one, two years max, everything in the capital will be green.”

IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME?

One of Nusantara’s goals is to disperse the concentrated population in Jakarta and Java. Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek, is the most populous metropolitan area in Indonesia and the second-most populous urban area in the world after Tokyo, with a total population of 31,240,709 in 2020. Economic disparity is starkly visible: While Central Jakarta is filled with skyscrapers, many slums are found in the suburbs. According to Statistics Indonesia, the poverty rate in Jakarta as of July, 2021, was at 4.72 per cent, the highest in 20 years.

The key is to avoid the five top problems of Jakarta: flooding, sinking, pollution, inequality and traffic. Mr. Sofian believes that his design caters to that vision, but he acknowledges that people must have an incentive to move.

“The mystery is always how to start,” he says.

“Our concept goes beyond just simply building.

One of the key parameters … is diversity, not only in biodiversity but also diversity of the society. You don’t just allow government officials to be there. If all government officials occupy the space, then it will become a government city.”

It needs to be a functional design, Mr. Sofian says. “That you cannot rush. You need the businesses to take on course.”

He adds: “We have the chance to plan this from scratch. Jakarta never had that chance.”

Special to The Globe and Mail

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1. Vladimir Zivojinovic featured in The New York Times, 2024 2. Jordan Gale featured in The New York Times, 2023

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