IYC (Indonesia Youth Conference)

Changemaker: Alanda Kariza

“Indonesia has more than 40 million youngsters aged 15 to 24 years old, living in this archipelago, which is equivalent to 10 times of Singapore’s population. Our voice must be heard because we offer fresh perspectives and unprecedented solutions to the problems that are faced in the 21st century. Youths are the ones who make the change. Some of us do take the issues of today seriously, and we must expose this to the ones who don’t.”

Indonesian Youth Conference is an initiative where young people would be able to speak up, and also, listen to others. In this globalisation era, where other countries already have youth parliaments, we have to prepare young Indonesians to be able to compete and become as critical as youths of other nations. Indonesian Youth Conference was held on July 10-11, 2010 in Jakarta. The event consisted of keynote panels, regular talks, workshops, film and video screenings, music showcase and clinic, cultural performances, and also bazaar and exhibition from partners.

Indonesia Youth Conference included a wide range of topics, including nationalism, environment, journalism and media, creative industry, poverty, health, education, culture, social entrepreneurship and IT. Reputable and well-known speakers attended the conference to share their knowledge and experience about those issues.

The Indonesian Youth Conference invited 33 high school students who are actively involved in their communities and networks, determined to make betterment for Indonesia and willing to start a project or movement in their communities to attend workshops and trainings. We hope that they would be able to implement their knowledge and experience which they learnt from the conference, and turn them into solutions. These students are going to be leaders and motivators in their home province. A few of these students shared their ideas to the people who attend Indonesian Youth Conference in a special session.