See (from) the 2022 Papua Green Sound and Culture (PGSC) Kitchen

The Working Team behind Papua Green and Sound Culture 2022 | Papuan Herald

 “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

The rectangular room that used to be the joint work space for Bentara Papua staff suddenly changed like a production room for a private television station.

A computer that functions as the main device that controls live broadcasts on Youtube is in the middle. Then a stage with a green background for two hosts, along with a standing mic and a camera right in front of him. Behind the main monitor, several laptops are on standby monitoring everything during the live broadcast.

That day, October 29 2022. The peak night of Papua Green Sound and Culture (PGSC) 2022.

Starting from September to October 2022, Bentara Papua is again holding Papua Green and Sound Culture (PGSC) for the third time since it first started in 2018. As with its initial vision, this time PGSC is devoting its existence as a space for young people to campaign for Papuan nature and culture through musical creativity.

In a year when the Covid-19 pandemic started showing signs of becoming endemic, PGSC 2022 continued to use an online system (streaming show). The participants only need to make a music video and send it to the committee. The video is then judged by a jury of musicians who are not only experienced, but have great interest in the Land of Papua.

Michael Jakarimilena and Oppie Andaresta—two national musicians, Anthon Krey, a local musician are the jury members this time. Meanwhile, the formulation of the theme for 2022 is “Papuan Nature and Culture Sing for a Better Earth”—a theme that reflects the earth's situation in the climate crisis as well as the Covid-19 pandemic which has forced modern humans to recognize traces of ancestral wisdom in maintaining life harmony with the universe.

In the third event, PGSC was attended by 20 participants but one participant had to be disqualified. They came from Jayapura, Mappi, Supiori and Nabire (Papua) as well as from Raja Ampat, Sorong, Maybrat and Manokwari (West Papua. Apart from performing solo, the participants also performed in duets and vocal groups.

So, how exciting is the implementation of PGSC in 2022 from the point of view of the work team, aka from the "testimony of those working in the kitchen"? Isn't it from the experience of kitchen people, we can know the complexities that work behind delicious dishes?

Of course, the first thing to pay attention to is optimal preparation. The preparation of the work team begins with internal discussions, from formulating themes, technical readiness, designing social media strategies, and determining the person in charge of the activity. The person in charge then prepares the Terms of Reference for the Activity. In it, a series of activities from the activity flow and timeline are arranged in more detail.

After the TOR is completed and agreed upon, the next action to be taken is to promote activities through Bentara Papua's social media, such as via Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp Group (WAG). Among other things, by making flayer materials containing advertisements for activities along with a short video explaining the requirements for participating in the PGSC. This ad is also filled with values about the importance of the younger generation protecting forests, culture and customs through musical creativity. As well as, of course, a sizable prize offer.

Along with promotions that use digital technology support, the work team also agreed on the formation of the jury and then contacted them. In the pre-social media era, contacting certain musicians required a longer process. Not anymore. The judges can be contacted through their social media accounts, especially Instagram.

However, apart from the ease of communication, the most important thing in the selection of the jury is the extent to which they are concerned with environmental and cultural issues. This concern, at least can be seen from the songs that are often sung or the characters they put in these songs. This includes their support for local music that expresses life more critically, and therefore goes beyond the kind of music that struggles with the drama of a breakup.

Michael Jakarimilena, for example. Indonesian Idol Batch First Alumnus is a singer who often performs songs about Papuan nature and culture. Likewise with Oppie Andaresta, this female musician is known to often bring songs with a charge of social criticism. And finally, Anthon Krey, is a local Papuan musician and also a cultural activist.

Furthermore, the work team must prepare a mechanism for registration of participants. The work team prepared a Registration Form containing the name of the group, a contact number that could be contacted/handphone, account number, address of the participant, a letter of copyright statement for the song and the song video that was registered. This registration form can be accessed via the link address that has been prepared.

In addition to the registration form, the work team prepared an Assessment Form, a link address for Zoom during the Big Five and Finals, and prepared a Live Streaming device for the Finals via the Bentara Papua Youtube account. The Rating Form contains the weight of the assessment of the suitability of the song with the theme, the strength of the song lyrics, the arrangement and the quality of the video clip.

When all this has been prepared, the work team should monitor the daily progress of the registered participants.

The problem is that promotions on social media often do not immediately spark the enthusiasm of the participants, even though the prizes provided are quite large: the first winner gets Rp. 8 million, the second winner gets Rp. 6 million, and the third winner gets Rp. 4 million.

To compensate for this, the promotion of PGSC events continues to use a network or circle of friends, including by contacting residents who are part of Bentara Papua's assistance. This friendship network works with a word of mouthe effect, expanding information into social niches that are unacceptable to social media.

From all registered participants, 5 participants (or Big 5) were selected. Furthermore, the determination of the winners was chosen directly by the judges on the final night. During this determination period, the work team created a special "Room Zoom" for the judges to discuss and determine the winner. After the judging process, it is the judges who announce themselves who are the winners.

Finals Night

The day of the “Big Five” determination and the implementation of the PSGC final night were the busiest days for the work team. Tonight, all streaming-supporting technological devices must be ensured to be completely ready. One small error occurs, it can damage the entire system that has been designed. Like a crashing internet signal or a dead camera battery.

Then, set up the hosts. This is an interesting challenge because Bentara Papua does not pay for professional hosting services. As in the previous PGSC, two staff members were forced to practice as fast as possible to play the role of host. And they succeed like the hosts who have guided music festivals for years.

And the last is a small group with the role of monitoring developments that occur during the streaming process. They work behind laptop devices. Alongside this, provide input to the hosts, by writing down on a piece of paper.

In short, everyone must maintain focus on their respective roles. Only then, everything can be controlled and work optimally.

The division of roles is not limited to the tasks or obligations that have been set at the meeting. More than that is the willingness to carry out the role seriously oriented towards mutual success. In this spirit, the position or hierarchy in the organization melts into a positive atmosphere.

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Training yourself to work as a small team, even with minimal experience, in managing a live online broadcast (streaming show) of a music festival is not an easy matter.

With the Papua Green Sound and Culture event, the staff, Bentara Papua, both those who work on site and those who work daily behind the office desk, the teamwork process is continuously maintained.

Solid and serious teamwork, this is the kitchen secret that makes the 2022 event run well.