Tanoto Foundation Strengthens Cultural Exchange Between Mutiara Harapan and Singapore Management University

SINGAPORE, May 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Forty-four seventh and eighth grade students from Mutiara Harapan, a Cambridge certified Junior High School in Riau, Indonesia, visited the Singapore Management University (SMU) today as part of their biennial overseas cultural exchange programme, Edu-Trip.

This visit is the last stop of a four-day trip to the region where they also visited Melaka Museum, Maritime Museum in Malacca, Aqua KLCC in Kuala Lumpur and the Singapore Science Centre. Recipients of Tanoto Foundation scholarships or Tanoto Scholars and alumni from SMU hosted and shared their experience studying and working in Singapore. The group later toured the SMU campus before concluding the visit with a question-and-answer session.

"It is heartening to see familiar faces. The first time I met them was at Project Sukacita IV in December 2015 at Pangkalan Kerinci where we worked together for some activities. Today I am happy to continue to give back and inspire them to study hard," said Jessica Chandra, a Tanoto Scholar, year-two business student from Singapore Management University.

Now in its fourth instalment, Edu-Trip aims to foster stronger cultural understanding among countries in the region, and cultivate in its participating students a more international perspective and mindset. The last Edu-Trip to Singapore saw Mutiara Harapan students performing an item at host Raffles Girls' School's Open House.

Located at Pangkalan Kerinci, Mutiara Harapan School was established and funded by pulp and paper company APRIL Group and is supported by Tanoto Foundation, the philanthropic arm of renowned Indonesian entrepreneur Sukanto Tanoto and his family. The school has an international student body comprising mainly children of APRIL's employees from 15 different countries including Canada, the United States, India and Indonesia. Its elementary school is also the only International Baccalaureate-certified school in Riau, Indonesia.

Tanoto Foundation supports Mutiara Harapan School's teachers to improve their capacity through training sessions and comparative visits to other schools. Tanoto Foundation also encourages students to improve their skills by participating in national and international competitions in different fields. It also partners with Mutiara Harapan to develop community service programmes across the region. 

About Tanoto Foundation

Founded by Sukanto Tanoto and his wife Tinah Bingei Tanoto, Tanoto Foundation strives to be a centre of excellence in poverty alleviation through education, empowerment, and enhancement of quality of lives. As Mr and Mrs Sukanto Tanoto believe that every individual should be given an opportunity to realise their potential, Tanoto Foundation's mission is to work with communities and partners to address root causes of poverty in countries where the Tanoto family has significant presence.

To date, Tanoto Foundation has disbursed over 20,000 scholarships, built several schools and education facilities that produced 27,000 graduates, developed 60,000 hectares of Community Livelihood Plantations and created more than 1,800 jobs in local communities through Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) programmes.

Visit: http://www.tanotofoundation.org/

Press Contact

Lestari H. Boediono
Head of Corporate Communications
Tanoto Foundation
Tel: +62 (21) 392 30134
Email: [email protected] 

Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160511/8521603048

SOURCE Tanoto Foundation