Pendidikan Network (Education Network) is simply an attempt to open-up communications between the various education sectors in Indonesia in the hope that through increased discussion and self-awareness of the issues that students and educators may take a more pro-active role in the self-development and reformation of education in this country.

Based upon my experiences working for the Ministry of Education I believe that increased internal dynamics within the system and empowerment of the stakeholders can eventually achieve the "sustainable quality improvement" to education that we so need. Most Indonesians are already aware of the magnitude and the nature of the problems facing educational reform and I believe that further research and intervention is not the path to success. However, a more collegial approach can eventually yield the results we desire. Problems with educational reform are basically the same as for all types of reform in Indonesia. It is not such an issue of knowledge or ability, but more an issue of desire (from those entrusted with the task).

Pendidikan is the Indonesian word for education. I don't expect that many expatriates or foreign visitors to Indonesia have actually heard of Pendidikan Network even though it has been in existence since 1999, consists of seven websites, is visited by about 10,000 people per month, and has pre-occupied most of my free-time for the past three years.

The purpose of writing this article is to try to encourage some support from those expatriates engaged in the "education and training industry" within this country (or other countries) to consider contributing their expertise and experience through articles and active engagement with Indonesian educationalists on a voluntary basis.

There are many Indonesian educators and school principals in the field who really care about education and are interested in improving their professionalism and the quality of education in Indonesia. There are also many exciting self-initiatives taking place in schools that greatly benefit their learners. However, a problem that seriously undermines national development is that educators do not have an effective communication system for disseminating or sharing the information with their colleagues in other schools. Therefore, their experiences, knowledge, and replicable development in these limited number of schools is not being transferred and is not benefiting the thousands of other similar schools as it should. I believe that the most important step is the creation of a communication network, secondly, we need to provide an opportunity for educators and students to share and discuss their thoughts, experiences and knowledge with others in the field, including experienced overseas educators.

I chose the medium of the Internet because of the economics of the medium (low/no budget). Back in 1998 when I created my first Indonesian website (SMUN.Net) very few Indonesian educators actually used the Internet at all and almost all visitors were students. However, Indonesian teachers and lecturers are becoming increasingly active and are more frequently looking to the Internet for reaI-time answers to their problems. I am now finding that the complexity of the questions and the limitations to my time and expertise, are resulting in increasingly limited responses.

I am also considering increasing the network's public profile through some forms of advertising, and the ramifications for the issues raised above are of even greater concern (and the primary reason why I have not taken this step in the past). I am therefore taking this opportunity to appeal to my fellow expatriates to consider offering their services to provide a "voluntary information service" to help address the increased requests for information that the network will surely receive.

A glance at the homepages themselves will also reveal the limitations to both my artistic and technological skills and any assistance with improving the presentation and efficiency of the websites would also be greatly appreciated. The concept of Pendidikan.Net is that it is for everybody who is interested in education in Indonesia and I believe that the network will be greatly enriched by your participation.