[Unpad.ac.id, 30/05/2013] Ten students from Universitas Padjadjaran took part as delegates in the Indonesia Youth Forum (IYF) 2013, organized by Indonesia Student and Youth Forum in Bandung on May 23-26, 2013. The IYF is a national youth forum attended by 200 selected youngsters from 25 provinces in Indonesia.
The ten delegates from several faculties are Galih Ikhsan F. (Agriculture), Yelds L.S. (Agriculture), Soni Sanjaya (Agriculture), Said (Agriculture), Ananda S.M. (Social and Political Sciences), Syafrida (Social and Political Sciences), Riris (Social and Political Sciences), Rinaldi (Social and Political Sciences), Shafira (Economy and Business), and Razan (Communication). This year’s theme is “Stand Up, Speak Up, and Take Action.”
The forum was held in several historical places in Bandung, namely Gedung Merdeka, Bank Indonesia, Gedung Indonesia Menggugat, and Hotel Savoy Homann. It was opened by the Vice Major of Bandung, Ayi Vivananda, and continued with the next program, “Meet the Leader” with Regent of Wakatobi, Regent of East Belitung, representatives from State Ministry for Cooperative Small and Medium Enterprises, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Health.
In addition, the IYF also held “Meet the CEO” with CEO of Social Security, CEO of Bumbu Desa, Microsoft Indonesia, British Council, and founder of Peace Geenariton, free milk distribution at Car Free Day Dago, and mangrove planting in Babakan Siliwangi Bandung. The closing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, Roy Suryo.
In his speech, the Minister addressed “I personally support all the gathering delegates from 25 provinces, representing not only their province, but also their smaller regions. Indonesia is rich and culturally diverse. We can start from the small things that will eventually become bigger.”
Every delegate came with their own social project presentation as the main requirement to take part in the IYF 2013. The projects must relate to their background, such as education, environment, sociology, empowerment, exchange, business, information technology, and others.
“I came with a social project titled agrochooling which is an agricultural education program, through fun farming with the tagline “no farmer, no food, no life.” Hopefully, there will be the next generation for Indonesia’s agriculture. So far, this program has been carried out in Hegarmanah village in Jatinangor with partners from IAAS Unpad, and I am surprised by the responses from other delegates saying that this program is unique and very important,” said Galih Ikhsan F., one of the delegates.
Indonesia Youth Forum is an annual event, and in 2014, Wakatobi will host the forum. Students who are interested in joining the IYF 2014 must prepare by starting with a small contribution for the society.
