New York, NY—On July 24, 2009, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group cosponsored an event at the Consulate General of Indonesia in New York for ambassadors, consuls general, and members and guests of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, Women’s Forum New York, and Consular Women’s Club. The event, Two Ladies Found a Culture in Cloths, included a batik viewing, luncheon, and fashion show. The Honorable Trie Edi Mulyani, Consular General of the Republic of Indonesia delivered opening remarks.

The event was in celebration of Indonesia’s most distinguished art form: the batik. "Batik" refers to a fabric that is decorated by using wax as a dye repellent to cover parts of a design, dyeing the uncovered fabric with a color or colors, and dissolving the wax in boiling water. The viewing featured the beautiful collections of Dr. Ann Dunham, late mother of the President of the United States Barak Obama, and Madame Ani Bambang Yudhoyono, first lady of Indonesia. In her opening remarks, Ms. Mulyani discussed how Dr. Dunham helped pioneer “microfinance” in Indonesia and focused on policies that benefitted the small enterprises of poor women. She then explained how Indonesian women are responsible for nine tenths of the batik industry and are thus crucial to the Indonesian economy and culture. Ms. Mulyani concluded by emphasizing how this timely exhibition, as it travels across the United States, is increasing cross-cultural understanding and appreciation, an objective shared by both the United States and Indonesia.