Indonesia Protected by Its Youth
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – At a time when politics and the economy give little latitude to young people, they actively seek their own space for expression. Through their own creativity and ingenuity, Indonesian youth are advancing their nation. This movement gives new hope for a better future for Indonesia.
The youth are now creating their own space for expression. Those at the Maarif Institute, for instance, are active in protecting values of diversity, tolerance, unity and peace that have been threatened recently. “A handful of political elites are using radical groups to advance their own political interests. There must be a counter-discourse against such movements,” Maarif Institute executive director Muhammad Abdullah Darraz, 33, said in Jakarta on Thursday.
Alongside other youth at the Maarif Institute, Darraz pledged to keep Indonesia united. The organization has programs to educate the public and spread universal values. Through Koran recitals, they provide a platform for moderate and progressive clerics to discuss Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) on diversity.
The youth of the nation’s biggest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) are engaging in similar activities. NU youth member Fariz Alniezar, 29, for instance, established the Omah Aksoro community, which holds regular cultural discussions to spread universal values and open people’s minds.
“By discussing ideas and books, people will have a space to voice their thoughts and hear others’ opinion,” Fariz explained.
In mid-October, Omah Aksoro held a poetry recital by Mahbub Junaidi, a NU figure known for highlighting the nation’s problems in his work.
Paramadina Institute of Ethics and Civilization director Aan Rukmana, 35, initiated a literacy campaign to educate other young people on the importance of critical thinking and mastering media content. “Thanks to social media, young people are more expressive and no longer nervous in expressing their own opinion. Unfortunately, such expression is often not based on logic,” Aan said.
“The biggest challenge in civil society today is the near absence of logical thinking. Everything is decided on the basis of mere emotional sentiment. People are divided into lovers and haters, both of whom are fanatical about their own idols. Almost no one stands in the middle and see’s the situation clearly,” Aan said.
In order to encourage the youth to think critically, Aan instills the principle that there is no holy figure in democracy. Democracy excels in collective action, and therein lies its strength.
Spreading books
In Central Kalimantan, Aini Abdul, 32, and Fery Irawan, 25, try to educate the youth in the province’s remote regions. Since 2009, they have routinely walked on foot and traveled through rivers on boat to reach remote villages, bringing books with them distribute to local children.
“Young Indonesian’s interest in reading is not low. What is low is the level of access to books,” said Aini, who co-founded the Ransel Buku (Backpacks of Books) movement with Fery. Through the movement, they lead education and literacy campaigns in Kalimantan’s hinterlands. The government should provide education but its presence is still not felt there.
Aini and Fery believe books would encourage the dreams and future goals among village children, much like what they had experienced as children. Aini was among the few young people with a high level of education in Kuala Pembuang, Seruyan regency. Through education, she was introduced to a universe of knowledge that expanded her views of the world. Fery, who graduated in 2013, was the first resident in Petuk Katimpun village, Palangkaraya, to get a bachelor’s degree.
In Jakarta, Firly Savitri, 35, said she wished to encourage children to dream through spreading knowledge and improving access to education. Together with her friend Kartika Oktorina, she established Indonesian Young Scientists (IMI), which brings a mobile planetarium to schools to ignite children’s interests in learning.
Through the mobile planetarium, Firly invites schoolchildren to watch films about the solar system and feel the sensation of being in outer space. IMI also has a mobile cupboard called Lab in the Box. The cupboard is filled with materials for 100 science experiments that elementary school students can partake in, including making rockets, natural buoys and magic lamps.
“Access to education means more than just getting children to school. It also means ensuring these children get a quality education. Indonesian children must be competitive. We are not just competing with our neighboring countries, but with the whole world,” she said.
Narendra Wicaksono, 33, chooses to bridge Indonesian developers with market demand. Through his startup Dicoding, established in 2015, he brings together more than 71,000 members from 336 cities and regencies across Indonesia. Some 632 of the members are digital startup managers.
There are also more than 17,900 cross-platform application developers registered at 374 Dicoding events to facilitate collaboration between communities, the government and the technology industry. These collaborations have enabled more than 3,600 digital projects in 127 Dicoding competitions. The digital projects comprise games, mobile applications and websites with more than 214 million downloads.
Goris Mustaqim, 34, chose another path. He works together with villagers in matching their needs with companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. “Apart from infrastructure, we need to build human resources. In tourism, incentives must be provided not only to investors but also to local communities to help them benefit from tourism, not just through low skilled employment such as receptionists or security guards,” he said.
Through film, noted independent director Anggi Noen, 34, tries to keep the public memory alive on seemingly-forgotten past events. When making the 2016 film Solo, Solitude (Istirahatlah Kata-Kata), he witnessed young people’s creative energy in engaging in the issue [of Wiji Thukul’s kidnapping], instead of treating the film as mere entertainment. “I think that we, the youth, can use our skills and abilities to voice our concerns on social issues. This is our form of political engagement. Aesthetics is our political action,” Anggie said.
No longer bamboo spears
How can today’s youth move in multiple spaces at once? Paramadina University political lecturer Eka Wenas said in Jakarta that he saw today’s youth enjoying an abundance of information and better infrastructure. On the one hand, this makes it more difficult for them to prioritize things. On the other hand, it gives them access to more opportunities and the ability to create new possibilities. On the one hand, they tend to be individualist. On the other hand, they can maximize their network and engage in collaboration.
“This is how they respond to the conditions they face in an era of rapid change,” Eka said.
Young people’s awareness of their own skills and ability to collaborate was clearly evident at the 2017 Ideafest that was attended by thousands of young people in early October. They call Ideafest a festival of collaboration.
In commemorating this year’s Youth Pledge Day, young Indonesian’s are reaffirming their readiness to collaborate with one another by launching the slogan “We May Not Be the Same, but We Work Together”.
Gadjah Mada University political sociology lecturer Arie Sudjito said youth leadership in various sectors highlighted their sense of belonging to Indonesia.
“Today’s youth no longer struggle for Indonesian values with bamboo spears. They express Indonesian values with their own creativity and ingenuity,” Arie said.
(JAL/MED/BSW/REK/SIE/IDO/ELN/DNE)