Rustenburg – Five MIKTA member countries – Mexico, Indonesia, Türkiye, and Australia – recently had their collaboration convened in Batik and Wire Jewelry skills training with the government of North West Province, South Africa.
The training was held within the framework of Indonesia’s chairmanship at an intra-regional forum for middle-power countries and raised the theme of inclusive economic recovery as one of its priorities in 2023.
The Batik and Wire Jewelry skills training was held at the Sun City Convention Center, Rustenburg, on 27 and 28 July 2023.
MIKTA’s collaboration with the North West Province involved recruiting as many as 50 trainees from the province.
The trainees were selected from vulnerable groups affected by the post-pandemic Covid-19 economy, namely women, youth, and groups with disabilities.
Ellen Modi, one of the local designers participating in the activity said the participants enthusiasm was very high in both the batik and Wire Jewelry training over the two days of training.
“As participants, of course, we are very happy with this activity which can open new horizons about Batik,” said Modi.
“This is an opportunity for us to develop our capacity in the design field, especially Batik.
The training activity involved an instructor from Indonesia, Venny Afwany Alamsyah from Batik House Indonesia.
Officials from the respective embassies of MIKTA member countries in Pretoria participated in the skills training activities.
The officials included the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Chull-joo Park, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye Ay?egül Kanda?, Australian Ambassador Tegan Brink, Chargé d’Affaires of the Mexican Embassy Elía del Carmen Sosa Nishizaki and Chargé d’Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy Victor J. Sambuaga.
These officials also had the opportunity to be involved in the making of batik on the sidelines of the activity.
On behalf of his colleagues, the heads of representatives of MIKTA member countries, Victor J. Sambuaga, welcomed the activities that both parties, both MIKTA and North West Province, initiated.
“This is strong evidence of the contribution of MIKTA member countries as international entities to the accreditation country, namely South Africa, especially in the North West Province,” said Sambuaga.
“Activities like this are expected to impact the growth and development of small and medium enterprises, which of course, we hope can be a factor driving the growth of the community’s economy, especially in the North West Province.”
In line with Sambuaga, Thabo Mabe, Chief Director of the North West Province Department of Sports, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, expressed his belief that this activity.
The Batik and Wire Jewelry training also is a form of cultural exchange between MIKTA member countries and South Africa.
The training was aimed at skills training to produce good-quality products to benefit communities.
We warmly welcome the convening of this activity, which, in particular, will be very beneficial for women’s groups, youth groups, and groups with disabilities,” said Mabe.
“The goal is to empower the community through capacity building which is expected to create jobs for the community.
During its chairmanship in MIKTA in 2023, Indonesia had set three priorities – Strengthening Multilateralism, Inclusive Economic Recovery, and Digital Transformation.
The echoes of Indonesia’s chairmanship began since continuing as chairman of the MIKTA forum from Türkiye since March 2023.
The activity closed with a recorded message by a high-ranking official from Indonesia, the Director General for Multilateral Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tri Tharyat, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Y.M. Candith Mashego-Dlamini.
