Bank Danamon and Adira Donate Books for Indonesia

Press Release / 02 August 2018

Share

Jakarta, 2 August 2018 - Yayasan Danamon Peduli (Danamon Peduli) facilitates a social responsibility activity initiated by employees called “Danamon – Adira Berbagi Buku” (Danamon – Adira Donate Books). Supported by more than 30 thousand employees, Bank Danamon and its subsidiaries, Adira Finance and Adira Insurance, contribute to instill a love of reading among the public and providing access to quality books. The total number of books collected from across Indonesia is 40,040, which were amassed by 6,664 employees as ‘Book Volunteers.’ 

“Based on the National Library’s 2017 research, the average daily reading time among Indonesians is around 30 - 59 minutes, with an annual average of 5 - 9 books. Another research reveals that Indonesians’ interest in reading is merely at 0.01%, which pale in comparison to Japanese at 45% and Singaporeans at 55%. One of the factors is limited access to quality books. To overcome this, we want to contribute in raising the public’s interest in reading books,” said Restu Pratiwi, Executive Director, Yayasan Danamon Peduli.

At Menara Bank Danamon, Danamon Peduli held “The Books Donation Ceremony and Knowledge Sharing Session”, featuring Woro Titi Haryanti, MA Library Resource Development, National Library; Najwa Shihab, Indonesia’s Reading Ambassador; Nirwan A. Arsuka, Founder of Gerakan Pustaka Bergerak (Mobile Library Movement); Rita Mirasari, Danamon Director; and Restu Pratiwi, Executive Director, Yayasan Danamon Peduli.

On the same occasion, Danamon Peduli also held a “Sharing Session,” where Woro Titi Haryanti and Najwa Shihab shared knowledge on the importance of contributing to raising the Indonesians’ interests in reading. Nirwan A. Arsuka also shared his experience as a volunteer who collects and distributes books to different communities.

The donated books will be distributed to 35 reading parks across Indonesia. This activity is part of the company’s social responsibility to provide opportunities for employees to become ‘Book Volunteers’ by donating new or used books that are appropriate and of good quality.

Employees are briefed to donate books responsibly, that is only donate books that are appropriate and in good condition (no missing pages, no marks). This is in line with the main objective of this activity, which is to encourage the public to read more. As such, all of the steps within the activity, starting from collecting, sorting, packaging and distributing the books, are performed by employees who volunteers.