By Vania Santoso – Innovations
Adolescent and Youth Engagement Officer
A Circle of Young
Leaders at the Indonesian Youth Jamboree (JPI) 2016 held by the Indonesian
Ministry of Youth and Sport © UNICEF Indonesia/2016/Vania Santoso
It was after 1 in the morning on closing
night of the October 2016 Indonesian Youth Jamboree (JPI). But among the 500 youths
still gathered around the campfire in Lapangan Sanaman Mantikei in Palangka
Raya, Central Kalimantan, none seemed tired or ready for bed. As traditional folk
melodies rang through the night air, there wasn’t a dry eye in sight.
JPI has been run annually with the support of
the Ministry of Youth and Sports since 2010. The event brings together high
school and college-aged youngsters for five days of fellowship,
leadership-building, diversity training, cultural exchange and recreation. This
year, participants hailed from 27 of Indonesia’s 34 provinces.
“Each moment of togetherness at JPI provides
valuable insights for the participants. These will be even better applied once
they are back in their respective provinces,” said Mulyadi Adnan, deputy assistant
of youth knowledge improvement at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. “The
results from the poll conducted with UNICEF Indonesia [via the youth
participation platform U-Report] made me realize how socially-oriented
participants are. They are eager to give back to society and take part in social
projects,” he added. “It’s really great to see.”
The ministry used the occasion to
promote UNICEF’s U-Report, a free app-based polling system that allows youngsters
to share their perspectives on important issues. In partnership with UNFPA
Indonesia, the UN Population Fund, U-Report has developed a set of open and
closed questions regarding youth-based activities and respondent profiles. Specifically
at the jamboree, the system was used to gather recommendations for a National
Action Plan on Youth, and as a way to acquire feedback on this year’s event.
Some young
U-Reporters from Sumatra, Banten, and Riau together with Drs. Mulyadi Adnan,
M.Si (Ministry of Youth and Sports) and Vania Santoso (Innovation Lab UNICEF
Indonesia) © UNICEF Indonesia/2016/Ananto Mulya Adisasmita
“Come on, now, turn on your
mobile phones! We are going to participate in the online poll,” said Bapak
Mulyadi during the Creative Aerobic Competition on 30 October. ”I strongly urge each of you to
participate, because the Ministry of Youth and Sports would really like to hear
your voice in developing the National Action Plan.” Some 195 of the 480 JPI participants
subsequently signed up and became U-Reporters.
Boosting nationalism (34%), education (19%),
and entrepreneurship (17%) were the top priorities expressed by the U-Reporters,
while the others fell into eight categories of less than 10% each. The
respondents also shared their hope that upcoming youth events would focus more
on youth development and reaching remote districts.
The results are being used by the Ministry of
Youth and Sports together with UNFPA Indonesia and PUSKAPA Universitas
Indonesia to develop a National Action Plan on Youth. Learn more about the
results on the U-Report website here.
The JPI succeeded in helping an impressive
group of youngsters form bonds with a diverse set of peers; indeed, few if any
events can rival its ability to connect so many youth together on such a scale.
“It’s no problem now if we need to travel across Indonesia,” said Arief, a
Ministry of Youth and Sports official and a JPI alum from 2002. “Thanks to JPI,
we have families everywhere who are willing to help.”
