By Liz Pick, Communications Specialist
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The Champions4Children and Minister for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Yohana Susana Yembise (fourth from right) pose with UNICEF Indonesia Representative Gunilla Olsson (third from right) and five young girls at the event in South Jakarta.
©Raditya Henrile / UNICEF/2017 |
Jakarta: It is Sunday afternoon in Jakarta, a city of 10 million
people, and it feels like most of them are at the Kota Kasablanka shopping
mall.
“Children are our future leaders. They are the ones who will
bring change to Indonesia in 25 years, in 50 years,” Indonesia’s Minister of
Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Yohana Yembise says, looking at a
group of current leaders.
Sitting in the front row are a group of prominent Indonesians
– leaders of government, business, civil society, the arts and academia – who have
each committed to use their influence to fight for children’s rights in
Indonesia. These are the UNICEF Indonesia Champions4Children.
The event is part of the Jakarta Marketing Week 2017, put on
every year by UNICEF’s Business Champion, Hermawan Kartajaya and his company
MarkPlus. On this busy Sunday, the audience is primarily families and it is to
them that the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Yohanna
Yembise, speaks.
She urges all Indonesians to work together to end child
marriage, end violence against children and empower young people to shape their
future.
“We need to work together to protect all of Indonesia’s
children – without discrimination. That’s my role as Minister. I hope you are
all committed to join me in protecting our children and our future.”
The Champions are here to inspire ordinary people to take
action that address the challenges children in Indonesia continue to face. Each
one of them has a simple message to share with the audience – a message about
working together now to protect the future.
One of the Champions is rising film star Dion Wiyoko. As a presenter
of a popular TV travel show, he has explored many different corners of Indonesia.
His passion for protecting this beautiful country comes through clearly as he
speaks about his drive to improve sanitation and hygiene practices for a safer,
healthier environment.
“I want everyone to know about UNICEF’s Tinju Tinja campaign,” he says. “During
my trips through Indonesia, again and again I am surprised by how many people
still defecate in the open because they don’t have a latrine. Many children fall
sick or even die because of health problems caused by this.”
“The solution is not only building toilets, it’s also
educating people to use them,” Dion says. “They need to know what the dangers
are, what the impact is. We have to convince people everywhere to end open
defecation.”
Dion helped launching the second phase of Tinju Tinja (which
translates loosely as “Punch the Poo”) and plans on using his considerable
social media presence to increase its outreach into communities across the
country, when the campaign will be re-launched later this year.
Predictably, master storytelling teacher Ariyo Zidni has the
crowd’s full attention as he talks about the importance of tapping into
children’s creativity for their educational development. One way he does this
is by facilitating storytelling
workshops to provide psychosocial trauma healing for children and adolescents affected
by natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding, emergencies that happen
regularly in Indonesia.
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Champions4Children Dion Wiyoko (right) and M. Farhan (left) talk children's rights at the event in Jakarta.
©Raditya Henrile / UNICEF/2017 |
As well as lecturing at the University of Indonesia, Ariyo
is currently collaborating with UNICEF on a project to empower young people through
digital storytelling to find solutions to problems caused by climate change.
Speaking after the event he says working with UNICEF has
given him access to a wealth of information and data about children’s rights
which has helped him better understand the issues children face in Indonesia
and to improve his own practice accordingly.
“I support UNICEF because we have the same idea about the
need to put children at the centre of Indonesia’s agenda,” he says. “As adults,
we need to see through children’s eyes and look at the world from their
perspective for all new ideas and designs.”
Likewise, well-known radio and TV broadcaster, M. Farhan
says he supports UNICEF because its work for children aligns closely with his
own core beliefs.
“UNICEF has important values and it works to help children’s
rights from protection against harm and abuse through to education. That way,
when they grow up they can also protect and fulfil the rights of the next
generation of children.”
Farhan is a strong advocate for healthy living, education,
and economic development to empower youth to achieve a better future for
themselves. Proving he practices the healthy lifestyle he preaches, he shows
photos from a triathlon he competed in while encouraging the audience to “be
moved to move”.
“I want people not only to be moved and show empathy, but
also to literally move and take
action,” he says.
A murmur goes through the audience as the daughter of late President
of Indonesia Gus Dur, Yenny Wahid takes to the stage. An active member of
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest independent Islamic organization with
70 million members, Ibu Yenny has become a well-known social activist for
inter-faith and multicultural dialogue in her own right.
She addresses the parents in the audience, urging them to
listen to their children and teach them positive values so they can navigate
today’s world.
“Parents need to maintain an open communication with their
children. We can’t just tell them bedtime stories and then keep with our busy
schedules. Communication is key. Otherwise, our children will not come to us
when they have problems.”
Recently, the acclaimed former journalist gave her support
to UNICEF during World Immunisation Week to encourage parents of all faiths to
vaccinate their children against preventable diseases like measles and rubella.
Closing the event, Minister Yembise invited the Champions to
her office to talk about how they can collaborate to implement children’s
rights.
