Irfan Amalee, Finalist, International Young Communications Entrepreneur (IYCE) 2008

Irfan (1977) is a film maker; graphic designer; writer of popular book for teens, children and toddlers; and a trainer for peace education, parenting, education, writing, and journalism. He worked as programme manager for Peace Education at Asia Foundation & Muhammadiyah. He participated in various peace initiative and exchange programmes in Cambodia, Australia, and in Europe. He became editor and writer at DAR! Mizan Publisher, one of Indonesia’s largest publishing houses. In just 4 years he had become CEO and “Ideator” of Mizan Pelangi. The imprint publishes reference books sold directly by its “book advisors” covering 10 cities across Indonesia.

He also established the Peace Generation project, which developed interactive peace education modules sold door-to-door and promoted in schools and among Non-governmental organisations. The project includes training trainers, teachers, and community facilitators from local and international agencies. Initially self-funded, the programme has since build up a network of 10,000 students and 100 “agents of peace” across the country who are now transforming into community enterprises that owns and runs bookshops, training centres, and reading clubs.

The programme came from Irfan’s believe that a social programme was not always a charity; it could be professionally managed as a social entrepreneurship. This was what Peace Generation Programme strived to achieve: raising 100,000 Indonesian young peacemakers through community-driven activities. Through this programme, Irfan lead his small team in Mizan Pelangi to develop peace education module (books, DVD, etc) and empowered the community of 500 book advisors to distribute the module to 10,000 students in conflicted areas in Aceh, West Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. While supporting the good cause of peace making, Irfan also provided alternative income for these book advisors. In the future, Irfan expected the success of the programmes’ module can be followed by the establishment of more PeaceShops, PeaceCorners and PeaceStores in other areas – not necessarily conflicted ones – that would be managed by the local community.

Indonesia jury’s citation:

“Irfan has initiated a potentially sustainable educational program, with a sacred mission to implant peace moral in the minds of Indonesian young generations. He has proven -- with his entrepreneurial skill -- that what used to be sceptically considered a dull and donor-depended program can be run profitable and professionally.

His self-funding Peace Generation Program is currently growing into a money-making venture, involving a chain of inspired facilitating trainers/teachers and thousands of students across the Indonesian archipelago.

As the world’s most populous Muslim -majority nation coloured with sectarian tensions  and shadowed by religion fundamentalism  that  often lead to violence and anarchism, Indonesia needs bright minds of young creative entrepreneur  and social-changer like Irfan’s.   

Irfan has developed a program that is not only able to create positive values with its upmost objectives of putting off  the flame of violence at its earliest stage, but also to inspire entrepreneurial ship among the Indonesian generation of the future.”