I went to hear podcaster and Indonesia’s former trade minister Gita Wirjawan speak.
I left determined to help Asian voices claim a bigger audience.
Back in October, I found myself at the newly relaunched *SCAPE, Singapore’s youth hub, listening to Gita Wirjawan in a live conversation hosted by Keith Yap — a Singaporean podcaster I met through LinkedIn.
If you’ve never seen Gita in action, he has a rare presence that slows the room down.
Measured. Thoughtful. A speaker who doesn’t chase attention — and somehow ends up with all of it.
I watched as a room full of young Singapore-based Indonesians seated around me hung on to his every word; their eyes bright with pride that one of their own was championing Indonesia’s voice in global dialogues.
The power of owning your stage
If you’re new to his work, here’s your executive summary: Gita Wirjawan has spent his career at the intersection of finance, policy, and public life. Former Trade Minister of Indonesia. Ex–Goldman Sachs banker. Investor. Educator. Musician.
The through-line in his colourful career is clarity. His personal brand is built on delivering complex ideas with a calm, grounded confidence that travels well beyond Indonesia’s borders.
After leaving public office, he founded the School of Government and Public Policy (SGPP) in Indonesia to train future policymakers. But he recognised a hard truth many educators eventually face: classrooms scale slowly.
So he started Endgame, a long-form podcast that now reaches millions, turning public policy into something you might actually listen to on a jog.
Modern influence, in a nutshell: if you want reach, don’t wait to be invited — get out there and build your own stage.
Takeaways: Communication will shape Southeast Asia’s future
Whether you’re building a personal brand, leading a team, or simply want to contribute meaningfully to this region we call home, these were the moments that stood out to me:
1. Southeast Asia needs far more stories, told by us.
We make up 9 per cent of the world’s population, yet we produce surprisingly little writing or research about our own region. Intra-ASEAN trade is still only 25 per cent (compared to 63-64% within the European Union), which reflects how little we engage with each other’s cultures, markets, or ideas.
A stronger region needs a stronger narrative — and that starts with more of us writing, analysing, documenting, and shaping how Southeast Asia is understood. On our own terms.
If you live and work in Southeast Asia, this is your nudge: write more, publish more, speak up more. Visibility starts with daring to have a voice.
(PS: Not sure where to start? This happens to be my day job. Hit me up. 😉)
2. Stronger stories require stronger education, especially in English and STEM.
Today, only 100 million Southeast Asians are proficient in English, which limits how widely our ideas travel. And in many Southeast Asian countries (except Singapore), over 80% of households are led by someone without tertiary education.
Gita’s long-standing push for STEM and better teacher support at the local, community level is driven by his belief that teacher quality is the biggest multiplier.
Good teachers don’t just teach content; they build confident thinkers.
And confident people tell more powerful stories — whether in the classroom, the workplace, or the world.
3. Courageous communication builds stronger institutions.
Gita put it plainly: corruption often survives not because leaders are malicious, but because no one dares to tell them uncomfortable truths.
Education builds critical thinking. And critical thinking builds courage.
If Southeast Asia wants to rise confidently on the global stage, we need more people willing to speak truth to power — with clarity and integrity.
As someone with opinions (many, apparently), I’m choosing to see this as my small act of public service. 😜
💡 And what it means for you
🔶 Don’t let good ideas suffocate in small spaces
When your message starts echoing in chambers — or bumping up against classroom walls — it may be time to find formats that scale. And if they don’t exist, create them yourself.
🔶 Anchor your brand to a cause bigger than you
A personal brand sticks when it’s in service of a larger movement. Gita isn’t just building his own profile; he’s championing the future of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. People are far more likely to get behind a mission than a resume.
Watching Gita live in action that afternoon reminded me why I started Once Upon a Human and my branding and communications consultancy, Atypical Media, in the first place: to make storytelling less about selling, and more about sense-making.
Because when leaders learn to speak human, people listen differently.
A quick thank-you to Keith and the National Youth Council for having me at The Front Row live event, and for gifting me a copy of Gita’s book, What It Takes.
On this note: I’m taking a page from Gita’s playbook. I’ve been quietly working on Atypical Asia, my own podcast on Asian leadership and innovation.
We launch in January. If you’re interested in hearing about the future of Asia, we’ve got stories you want to hear. So stay tuned.
Southeast Asianly yours,
Debbie
All photos courtesy of National Youth Council