Three U.S. Embassy Facebook Fans Win ‘Golden Ticket’ Contest

Jakarta – U.S. Embassy Facebook Fans Baban Sarbana of Bogor (far left), Dimas Novriandi (far right) of Jakarta, and Vivi Hasyim (right center) of Surabaya with the judges from “Obama Kami Datang.”

JAKARTA – On a nationally-televised show Tuesday evening, “Obama, Kami Datang,” three Facebook fans of the U.S. Embassy Jakarta earned all-expense paid educational trips to the U.S. Baban Sarbana of Bogor, Dimas Novriandi of Jakarta, and Vivi Hasyim of Surabaya will get to visit places in America that had a significant impact on the life of U.S. President Obama. Their trip will also be produced for broadcast on national television.

The program was the culmination of the “Golden Ticket” competition for the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook fans, over 12,000 submitted essays to win. The show, “Obama Kami Datang,” was hosted by VJ Daniel and Luna Maya, and featured musical performances by Kotak and Mulan Jameela. The ten finalists were selected by a series of auditions from hundreds of semi-finalists in Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya. During the show, they were asked to answer trivia questions to demonstrate their knowledge of U.S. history and society.

Five finalists were then selected to answer in-depth questions from a panel of judges, including RCTI anchor Putra Nababan, who interviewed Barack Obama, Ayu Soetoro, Obama’s stepsister, and a U.S. Embassy representative. West Java Council employee Baban Sarbana, Sampoerna employee Dimas Novriandi, and ICBC bank employee Vivi Hasyim were selected to represent Indonesia. This summer they will travel to Hawaii, where Obama was born; Chicago where Obama started his political career; and Washington, D.C., where Obama now serves as U.S. President.

In addition to the “Golden Ticket” competition, the U.S. Embassy uses technology to connect to people in Indonesia, including Twitter @USEmbassyjkt and its YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/pasjakartaindonesia. U.S. Embassy Jakarta was the first diplomatic mission in Indonesia to create a Facebook fan page, http://www.facebook.com/jakarta.usembassy, and now has over 130,000 fans, making it one of the largest Facebook fan pages in Indonesia. The page features unique content, including previews of Embassy-produced radio and television programs, photos of the Embassy’s batik collection, U.S. tourism videos, and regularly hosts fan-only contests and special events.

Photo Caption:
Jakarta – U.S. Embassy Facebook Fans Baban Sarbana of Bogor (far left), Dimas Novriandi (far right) of Jakarta, and Vivi Hasyim (right center) of Surabaya with the judges from “Obama Kami Datang.” They were selected from over 12,000 fans who submitted essays in the “Golden Ticket” competition, and will visit places in America that had a significant impact on the life of U.S. President Obama this summer. Their trip will be also produced for broadcast on national television.

Source: http://jakarta.usembassy.gov/pr_06042010.html