In an effort to shape the image of Malang as a tolerant city, Muhammad Rizky Arifandi draws on his UK experience. “I studied at Durham University Business School, where I obtained my Major of Science in Islamic Finance and Management. During my study, I lived in a Catholic-majority neighbourhood. It was the first time in my life I experienced being a minority,” he recounts.
“Despite this, my neighbours were very respectful of me and would often provide me with food and drinks that were halal. I was highly touched by their gesture and the open and inclusive environment that they created,” he continues. “Most Indonesian Muslims don’t understand what it’s like being a minority as we are the majority. Perhaps they wouldn’t know what to do if the situation was reversed as per my experience, which really helped me sharpen my understanding regarding tolerance and inclusivity. That’s why I wanted to bring my learnings back to Indonesia.”
With a focus on educating youths in Malang, Rizky primarily targets children and teenagers aged 6 to 17 in his project, entitled Literasi Toleransi dan Inklusif or Tolerant and Inclusive Literacy. “We aim to instill tenets of tolerance and inclusivity as early as possible, especially among underprivileged children in Malang Raya, who, as far as I know, have a lack of education regarding these topics due to many of them being dropouts,” he explains. “Essentially, we would like to contribute to their personal development while also having understanding and awareness of global issues, especially about tolerance and inclusivity, from which they can learn.”
Most interestingly, the project uses dongeng (fairy tales) and cerita rakyat (folklore) as its main tools. “Between April and June 2024, we will be creating audiobooks and videos that consist of short storytelling in the form of dongeng and cerita rakyat with tolerance and inclusivity messages,” he notes. “Dongeng is one of the most powerful tools to reach children, especially in the age range that we are targeting, because it wouldn’t feel like learning anything - the story could be funny or witty, but it would still teach them something about tolerance and inclusivity. The same goes to cerita rakyat.”