On 24 July 2019, Schinder Law Firm hosted a full-day class of Atma Jaya University’s Summer Course on Business Law. The international students participating in the Course are from Afghanistan, Egypt, Eritrea Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The class was intellectually stimulating and culturally enriching for both our firm and the students.
Our Senior Advisors Professor IBR Supancana and Dr Bambang Supriyanto, who are also faculty members of the University, delivered lectures on Indonesian investment and employment laws. Partner Budhi Satya Makmur delivered a presentation on practical tips for investing in Indonesia. The lectures highlighted the economic potential of Indonesia as the largest country in South East Asia with big middle-class population and rich of natural resources.
Associates Geoffrey Aurin and Prisca Anabella, alumni of Faculty of Law of Atma Jaya University, shared their insights on socio-economic challenges Indonesia such as the need for sustainable economic development and better infrastructure, extreme poverty, education gap, corruption, as well as racial and religious tensions. Considering most of the international students are not from developed countries, many of them are familiar with such challenges.
Other than lectures on Indonesian legal issues, we also had an inter-cultural discussion with the students. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. However, it is not an Islamic theocracy. Its population are ethno-culturally diverse and spread around the archipelago. Consequently, there are various religious beliefs and the people are mostly tolerant. The diversity of Indonesia creates a constellation of unique societies with complex character as a single unified nation.
All students, however, agree that Indonesians are friendly. A student from Iraq said he became a celebrity in Jakarta, many Indonesians want to take picture with him. A Sudanese student observed that it is socially acceptable in Indonesia to ask very personal questions, such as marital status or religious belief, to people you have just met.
Schinder Law Firm has a long standing relationship with Atma Jaya University. We are committed to the development of Indonesia through education. We would like to thank Atma Jaya University to give us the honour of hosting a class for the Summer Course.