On April 9, 2007, Adventist World Radio’s Board of Directors voted Jonathan Wagiran as the new director of the Asia/Pacific Region. Wagiran is currently principal of East Java Academy in Jatim, Indonesia. He holds masters degrees in religion and communication and was director of the Gema Harapan FM radio station in Singapore for several years. In addition, he has served as president of the East Java Conference, communication director of the West Indonesia Union, and director of the public relations and religious liberty department in the same union, among other accomplishments.

“We are pleased to be able to fill this position so quickly,” says AWR president Benjamin Schoun. “The Asia/Pacific region is our largest territory, in terms of both population and geographic area, and the region director carries heavy responsibilities. Jonathan Wagiran has served as an AWR producer in the Indonesia and Javanese languages, and he will bring valuable radio experience to the role.”

The position was previously held by Akinori Kaibe for 8 years; he has moved to Japan to serve as chief editor of the Japan Publishing House. “Akinori advanced the Asia/Pacific Region in many ways during his term of service,” Schoun says. “To take two examples, the number of languages used for broadcast has significantly increased, and all studios are now using digital recording and distribution technology.”

The Asia/Pacific Region office is located in Singapore, and AWR currently broadcasts programs in 32 languages in the region. The region director’s responsibilities include working with local divisions and unions to develop radio programs and follow-up methods for listeners, providing technical support and training, evaluating program quality, and supervising regional distribution of programs.