Gamelan Performance Signifies Partnership Between UWaterloo and Indonesia during FINCAPES Launch

Flood Impacts, Carbon Pricing, and Ecosystem Sustainability (FINCAPES) is a new climate-change adaption and mitigation development plan created by the University of Waterloo in support of the Government of Indonesia climate change goals, with funding from Global Affairs Canada. The project was initially launched in Jakarta, Indonesia in February 2023, and a subsequent in Canada launch was hosted by UWaterloo on April 14, 2023.

To signify a strong collaboration between Indonesian partners and UWaterloo’s faculties of Mathematics and Environment, the Balinese Gamelan Ensemble from UWaterloo’s Music Department at Conrad Grebel University College was invited to perform at the Canadian launch. The first piece they played was a captivating arrangement called “Blooming Flower” and symbolized a new beginning and partnership. The second piece was called “Gilak” and is often played as a prelude, or a postlude in this case, to events in Indonesian culture. The ensemble was thanked in English and Indonesian by Daniel Tumpal S. Simanjuntak, the Ambassador of Indonesia to Canada, and the project was officially declared as launched.  

This project aims to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to help Indonesian partners strengthen the quantification of flood modelling, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, and conduct policy research to support Indonesia’s climate finance programs. This project will ultimately build mutually beneficial bridges for the prosperous future of socially and economically responsible sustainability.  

By Farah Jurdi