The Indonesia Biotechnology Information Center (IndoBIC) Director Bambang Purwantara recently launched a biotech writing competition in Jakarta with the theme, The Benefit of Biotechnology in Recovering from the Food Crisis. The competition aims to determine how well the media journalists understand biotechnology and to provide a forum to improve the understanding of biotechnology by the media and the public. Journalists from all printed and online media in Indonesia are invited to submit their articles with any of the following sub-themes: agricultural biotechnology and its benefits; proven biosafety of agricultural biotechnology; how biotechnology fights pests and insects; and global acceptance of biotechnology.

The articles must have been published in a newspaper or magazine or other printed media. The committee should receive the articles by the closing date of 30 November 2008. The selection period will begin on 1 December – 31 December 2008.This event is organized by IndoBIC and the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) and supported by SEAMEO BIOTROP, Indonesian Society for Agricultural Biotechnology (PBPI), ASFARNET Indonesia, and Indonesian Farmers’ Union (HKTI). For more information on requirements and registration, visit http://www.indobic.or.id or contact Dewi Suryani at dewisuryani@biotrop.org or Syamsul Komar at skomar@biotrop.org..