Ayuningtyas “Tyas” Widari Ramdhaniar, the well-known Woman Social Entrepreneur and Public Facilitator, actually came from a modest family. Her parents never spoiled her: on the contrary, they taught her the value of toughness, hard work and empathy.
That day, we of the Independent Observer got to know Tyas better: this gorgeous, gregarious lady is a graduate of the University of Indonesia (“UI”). She entered its Corporate Administration and Secretarial Skills Diploma 3 (now Vocational) Program in 2005, and entered the State Administration Graduate Program at UI in 2008.
“I’ve been constantly working ever since I studied for my Bachelor’s. And I don’t get complacent – any chance I get to upgrade myself, I will take it. I never thought, ‘How much will that pay?’ I never even cared whether I get paid or not when I see new opportunities! My idea is that I need to get more experience and knowledge than my peers,” she said.
In 2012, Tyas established her Event Organizer business, Venustar. As she worked on her business, she decided to take a Master’s in Social Welfare, specializing in Regional Autonomy in 2016, “…because I am also passionate about politics ever since I was little,” she said.
Tyas’ various work experiences tempered her into a friendly, capable, and adaptable person who can deal with anything that’s thrown at her. Since 2021, she also works in Diesel One Group as Corporate Secretary for corporate branding, CSR, and Government Relation. However, she prefers the title of “Public Facilitator”.
“It’s a title that’s never been seen in Indonesia before. Furthermore, my mentor, a Malaysian official, gave me the input that I should use the term ‘public facilitator’ instead of ‘social officer’,” because the latter has a negative connotation,” Tyas said. “Well, they’re not wrong! I’ve always loved to facilitate anyone so that they can get the access that they should get, whether in terms of information access, facility access, education access, or whatever they need! For example, since 2018 I have been facilitating the Regency of Kuningan so that they can have 30 scholarships for their students from the Ministry of Research and Technology, ambulances from various sources, subsidized fertilizer, tree seedlings, 150 points of public street lighting with renewable energy source, 4 garbage collection motorcycles.
Also people from remote parts of the region wanting to meet officials who can listen to them and take care of the needs of the people at the bottom, I facilitate them too. Connecting one with another to generate an inclusive collaboration in order to achieve common goals – because the key to collaboration is the giving and receiving of new ideas, creative solutions, mutual trust, awareness of each other’s duties and functions, as well as conscience to perform these properly. This will allow everyone involved to get their goals faster, and they will also be able to grow together.”
Tyas’s concern for others was established from a young age by her mother. “Since we were little, mother always gave us a strict upbringing. She said that the best thing anyone should cultivate is a strong mentality. We can’t just be sympathetic to people, be sorry for their condition – we need to be empathetic, to really understand and accept their situation, to help if we can – and she really gives us an example with her own conduct,” she said.
Tyas has had many impressive experiences when she helps others: “I once knew a girl whose mother is a laundress for hire, she went to college on foot for great distances and she had GPA of 4. I helped her out using my own money, because I believe that educating a child means that we are building a nation – especially if it’s a girl. They will grow into women, who are the pillars of a country. It is women who build families and educate their children. If women are given better access to every facility, we can only grow better as a nation,” she said. “I truly learn a lot from them.”
With all her achievements, Tyas declares that they mean nothing without her family. “My family is the reason I did everything good. Before I had children, no matter what I do, it didn’t matter because whatever consequence that occurs is my own personal responsibility. However, when I became a mother, my way of thinking becomes wider, wiser – I learned to forgive myself and others. I want to be able to leave a good legacy for my children – I want to show them that life is not about having this and that, but in the end it is about giving everything we can give: our ideas, our energy, our motivation, our work and words to others, so that we have a meaningful life that serves our family, our community, our nation and country. Basically, I want my children to be able to say proudly, ‘That’s my memo’,” she declared stoutly.
What dreams do you have that you haven’t achieved, Tyas?
“Oh my, so many! I really want to get a double degree in Law, then a Doctorate in Public Policy in the UI. I want my business to run so smoothly that I can enlarge my Foundation and have my own office, so I can positively affect many people as a public facilitator without interventions from others. I also want to facilitate academicians, so that they will take the name of AWR Foundation to the outside world when they participate in a workshop or something, like the United Nations. Anything that can greatly impact society and make people happy, especially in formal and non-formal education – scholarships, advocacies, literacy in arts, culture, and sports,” she enthused.
Tyas reiterates her hope to expand her capacity and skills in the future – academic, mentality, experience. “To be able to learn better and better every day, so I can be more beneficial for many and earn the trust of more people out there as their partner in achieving common goals. I look forward to being able to represent Indonesia in certain international forums someday,” she smiled. (des)
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