International Silat Federation of America & Indonesia

Silat Tuo, Silat Tradisional,

Silat Minangkabau

Yale Peabody Museum Collaborative Meeting

Head of Education and Outreach, David Heiser meets with Bapak Waleed

Visit the official site of the Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History

February, 2008

While Bapak spent some time in New Haven, he visited David Heiser, Head of Education and Outreach at the Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History, to present him with a Certificate of Appreciation. The Certificate read “International Silat Federation of America hereby states that David Heiser, Head of Education & Outreach, Yale Peabody Museum exemplifies the outstanding qualities of commitment to community outreach, commitment to the young adult population, and commitment to education, cultural outreach, and the arts.” Bapak congratulated David on all of his continued and outstanding efforts in giving so much back to the community, especially to the children and young adults.

David was likewise very pleased to see Bapak and welcome him back after his extended visit to Indonesia this past fall. Bapak shared with David stories of his trip, including some of the visits he paid to the Elders of the Minang community in West Sumatra, Indonesia, and stories of some of the cultural family heirlooms which date back generations and even centuries.

During their brief visit, Bapak and David discussed ways in which they could continue to collaborate on cultural outreach opportunities for the benefit of the Yale and New Haven communities.

David remarked that he could appreciate the importance of Bapak’s work, and the efforts he goes to in order to maintain and sustain the authentic traditions of one of the world’s oldest surviving cultures. He thanked Bapak sincerely for the visit, and the two parted with best wishes and hopes of meeting again soon.

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