Education as a milestone for justice and prosperity

DW: With an era of colonial rule and an authoritarian regime in its past, Indonesia has come to know oppression. In other words, your homeland has experienced suppression of cultural diversity and education. How was the nation able to overcome this suppression to build a sense of spiritual identity?

Habibie: There are currently 247 million people living in Indonesia. Due to its natural resources, the country has experienced years of colonization on several occasions. Because of their shared suffering as a colonized people, everyone unitedas one "nation" despite their differences to fight colonial rule, gain freedom and ultimately declare the independence of the Republic of Indonesia. On October 28, 1928, national identity was formulated as a goal of independence in the form of the "Youth Pledge - one country, one people, one language". Despite disruptions through external forces, the democratization process for a pluralistic society has evolved rapidly over a few centuries. Unification through language and information technology played a key role in that.

DW: After an active career in politics you founded the Habibie Center in Jakarta - an organization that advocates human rights issues. One of the center's goals is to organize schooling and vocational training for children and young people. In your opinion, what is the relationship between a good educational system and democratic values?

Habibie: In a globalized world, society measures people by their productivity. In turn, productivity depends on the positive synergy between a person's culture, religion and ability to understand, develop and apply science and technology. Education and upbringing are an essential part of that, not only in relation to children, but also their parents. To achieve all this, people must be free and independent. So human rights play a key role, as do human responsibilities. Democratic values such as free elections and freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the freedom to form political parties, and so on, must be guaranteed. These are the basic ideas and principles behind why my family and I founded The Habibie Center on November 10, 1999.

DW: What must happen in order for civic education - in the sense of education for democracy - to become an integral part of globalization so that these values also become globalized?

Habibie: The advancements in IT have given people better and faster access to information. The issues are no longer nationalism, religion, faith, ideology and pragmatism, but instead justice and prosperity. We need to change the way we think. People's behavior and values impact one another through the Internet and via global television programming far beyond borders – and directly penetrate families' lives. Besides a good education and good educational systems, it is also very important to have objective, free and responsible media.

DW: In 2003, Indonesia enacted a law stipulating that 20 percent of the national budget be invested in education. That target was first reached in 2009 and can be seen in the decreasing rate of illiteracy and increasing level of school enrolment (more than 90 percent). What role does the media play in contemporary Indonesia against that backdrop?

Habibie: Since the beginning of humanity, the quality of information has played a very important role and it will stay that way. Technology has accelerated the speed of information and in some cases the quality of information. Every society will benefit from that. Every person who has contributed to the development and application of information technology gains from it - and is rewarded by society or the free market. One thing is certain: my generation is dying out. Nonetheless, I will continue to the best of my ability to work toward justice and prosperity in Indonesia and the globalized world.