Indonesian Youth Groups Collaborate for Forests and Sustainability

At a recent sharing session with Indonesian youths, speakers from RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Hutan Itu Indonesia shared the results of a recent study that looked at millenials’ perspectives on forests in Indonesia, as well as about how forests have an impact on the daily lives of humans. The speakers also shared how the word “forests” carry different meanings to youths across Indonesia.

Co-organised with Youth in Sustainability (YiS), the session was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 24 May 2019. It is a part of the YiS programme’s commitment to raise the level of awareness of sustainable practices amongst Indonesian youths and a continuation from the previous session held in November 2018.

Wider youth audience reached through technology

Although it was held in Jakarta, the event also attracted participation of youths from Bandung and Yogyakarta who joined through teleconference. In total, there were 45 participants from various youth communities, including Earth Hour Cimahi, Kophi West Java, GSC, Walhi Yogyakarta, Earth Hour Yogyakarta, Gifood.id, Young on Top, Indonesia Future Leaders, and Wartapala Indonesia.

After the session with all speakers, the representatives from YiS gave a brief introduction about their organisation, including their past and present campaigns that primarily target the youth. The sharing session by YiS representatives was preceded by a screening of the YiS campaign video about responsible consumption.

The participants found the event to be really insightful. Adrian Pramana, Engagement and Insight Coordinator of YiS said, “After listening to the presentations, we know that as youth, we should play an important role in forest conservation issues, especially in the preservation of forests and biodiversity.”

Given that the event was held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the event concluded with speakers and participants breaking fast together.