UBUD WRITERS & READERS FESTIVAL 2015

UBUD WRITERS & READERS FESTIVAL 2015 – One of the most precious experience I had in 2015, too many details to tell, I am not sure where’s to start. So Tripanzee and Gagasmedia sent me to this festival because of my travel story to Japan that I submitted to Tripanzee website, I also fortunate to meet Alanda Kariza, the mastermind behind a book Travel Young to enjoy this smartest-intellectual-esque travel ever.

You can call it the biggest literacy event in South East Asia, hosted in one of the most tranquil and peaceful environment of Ubud, but people from all over the world gathered here, and we talk about something taboo (even there so many events got cancelled due to “security reason”), controversial, about politics, art, society, suffer, struggle, happiness, women, religion, freedom, equality, rights, countries, ethnicity, travel, spiritual, lesson, writing, giving, nature, humor, history, pain, sex, satire, tales, so many things that you can believe it or not are my cup of tea to be in the conversation.

Even though I was not very active in ask question, but it teaches me a lot about the new thing that need to be spoken in an open forum like this, even in casual conversation among our group of societies, to our family and friends.

The festival was like the other festival like fashion week when there are 3-4 events in one time you need to choose one that you really want to join, but it was less important here because you are free to go in and out, but perhaps you will lose the context of the discussion. The events from Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2015 that I was fortunate enough to join are;

• 1.       Journalism is My Religion
• 2.       A Fine Line
• 3.       Why Write
• 4.       An Imagined Country
• 5.       In Short Order
• 6.       Men & Mountains
• 7.       Passport To
• 8.       Gateway to Nusantara English Version Book Launching
• 9.       Movie screening Long Sa’an (Movie Program)
• 10.   17.000 Islands of Imagination (Art Program)
• 11.   Story Telling 101 (Youth Program)
• 12.    The Art of Healing
• 13.   Papua 
• 14.   Poets of SEA

In 4 consecutive days, I met smart and intelligent people shared and spoke their minds to us, opens up my perspective about what actually happened among our society, about their experiences, their act, their way of thinking etc, very great great unforgettable experience. The festival full of amazing panelists including Raditya Dika, Andreas Harsono, Ayu Utami, Nam Le, Glenn Fredly, Teju Cole, Tony Wheeler, Zakariya Amataya, Rio Helmi, Raedu Basha, Jono Lineen, Janet DeNeefe of course, and so many more on the list.

I also attended my very own friend Ratu Victoria Tunggono's book launching, Gerbang Nuswantara is her first book of the trilogy have translated into an English Version, Gateway to Nuswantara, BIG CONGRATS from me, I have finished read the book and can’t wait for book 2 and 3.

So there are a lot of pictures I took there, you may check it on the deluxshionist facebook page, I wish I can see you again Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.