In cooperation with Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Siliwangi, Universitas Muhammadiyah Tasikmalaya, Universitas Paramadina, Utrecht University , PA International Foundation and advised by Europe’s most knowledgeable experts such as Erasmus University Rector and, later, Chair of the Dutch Central Bank Prof. Dr. A.H.G. (Alexander) Rinnooy Kan, we organised a research project into the most effective and sustained forms of Corporate Social Responsibility. The unequivocal result: education!

 

Our consulting work for some of the world’s largest food, mining, banking and investment industries delivered the same conclusion. Indeed, education secures a lasting ‘social contract’ between investors and society. It allows both business and society to grow up together. And it helps promoting transparency, safety, health and environment while avoiding corruption. 

 

My family hails from Sukapura, now Tasikmalaya. So logically our foundation’s projects focused at cooperation with the ever stronger Universitas Siliwangi, Tasik’s training-focused Chamber of Commerce KADIN, and of course with the authorities in both Kota and Kabupaten Tasikmalay. An initial European Union-funded agri-socio-economic research project together with the renowned Wageningen University sparked ambitions for both domestic growth and internationalisation.

 

Around 65% of all Tasikmalayans worked in agriculture. The average monthly income was approximately IDR 450,000 (about €40 at the time). Fewer than 30% of Tasikmalaya's youth continued to secondary school. Child malnutrition stood at 27%. This caused the establishment of the Edgar Brood Academic Chair for English and IT (EBAC) at UNSIL. This led to our school-improvement program. This pushed us into organising major international conferences opened by Bupatis, Rectors and attended by lecturers and students. This gave birth to our effective OTIFA project with hundreds of Prof Widjaja Lukito-trained health students – educating parents with cartoons and distributing life-saving Plumpy’nut and Mix Me products during 2-times 8 weeks each year in the houses where malnutrition lives. President Jokowi wanted to make this a national program. May be President Prabowo will.  

 

After almost 30 years: How to sustain and professionalise this work? To integrate EBAC into a new International Business School (IBS). In August 2026 the first trial course will start. In November the second. 2027 will see modest yet full operations in our own school building – strongly embedded in Tasik’s society, developed in close cooperation with UNSIL and enjoying the strongest possible support of Tasikmalaya’s authorities. 

 

The IBS Team is exemplary. Incoming Director Dr Nanak Hikmatullah this year received his PhD from Massachusetts University. He directs a team of incredibly motivated and dedicated academics who have shown their commitment of Tasik for instance through OTIFA – or through the desire to bring their top expertise from Europe, the US and Australia to Tasik.     

 

My wife Dr Danielle van Dalen and I feel privileged to see the people of Tasik grow. To help Tasik internationalise. To create opportunity. We thank Allah for giving us this chance to help. So, with confidence and trust we look into a joint future. We are grateful to the leaders of Kabupaten and Kota Tasikmalaya, to the Board and management of University Siliwangi, to management of KADIN, to the heads of schools and NGOs, for working with us. The future is yours!