Feature: THE BREAKING BARRIERS INITIATIVE Launched to Develop Female Indonesian Thespians

On August 11th, 2022, the Breaking Barriers Initiative (or 'Inisiatif Mendobrak Batas' in Indonesian) was launched through a media gathering in Cikini, Jakarta. This initiative was created to assist female Indonesian artists by providing additional space to collaborate, learn, and network in their process of creating artistic performances. Breaking Barriers Initiative strives to empower the creative process of female artists, especially in theater, and looks to facilitate the creation of collaborative theatrical productions.

Breaking Barriers Initiative was founded by Fonnyta Amran, one of the few Indonesian female theater directors. "Since I jumped into the world of theater in 2017, I saw the enormous potential of female directors. I aspire to contribute in nurturing this potential and one of the ways to realize that is by a master's degree in this field," Fonnyta said..

In September of 202, Fonnyta received a scholarship for a master's program in Master of Arts of Classical & Contemporary Theatre Directing at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, one of the three biggest and best institutions in the world for performing arts (source: QS Global Ranking 2021). Fonnyta became the first Indonesian theatre director to be enrolled to the conservatoire, "I'd like to contribute to the world of art that I love, especially in theatre directing and production, without waiting to complete my master's education. That's how the Breaking Barriers Initiative came to be and I hope it will serve as the first step towards a multitude of collaborations and partnerships to break the barriers faced by women working in the theater."

To help in her master's program at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Fonnyta received a scholarship from The W.M. Mann Foundation, a foundation based in Glasgow, Skotlandia, which for the first time bestowed a scholarship for an Indonesian honoree. "We are impressed by Fonnyta's endeavor in realizing her dreams as a theatrical director, a profession that's rarely taken on by women. We are even more assured to support Fonnyta after hearing her reasoning behind her pursuing education at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, a prestigious educational institution in Scotland and the world, that is to help develop other brilliant talents from Indonesia," stated Mr. Ainsley Mann, Trade Envoy to Indonesia from the Scottish government and the trustee of the W.M, Mann Foundation. This scholarship program also seeks to strengthen the artistic and cultural relationship between Indonesia and Scotland and promote Scotland as a world-class destination for performing arts education.

In order to fulfill its objective of empowering the creative journey of female Indonesian artists in creating their work, Breaking Barriers Initiative will hold multiple discussions about theater development that feature scholars, artists, directors, playwrights, and producers, both from Indonesia and abroad. Their first program, called The Giving Voices Project, will commence in the upcoming weeks.

Breaking Barriers Initiative also hopes to connect artists with other stakeholders, like corporations, that are interested in helping develop the theater arts in Indonesia. For the latest information about Breaking Barriers Initiative activities and Fonnyta's experiences in Scotland, follow her Instagram @ipongita, the website Breaking Barriers and the Youtube channel Breaking Barriers with the hashtags #BreakingBarriersInitiative #GivingVoiceProject.

Fonnyta is scheduled to go to Glasgow, Scotland in September 2022 to start her 12-months master's degree program.