As Indonesia takes steps towards recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, how can we put the youth at the center of the country’s next economic agenda? Our latest edition of the SDG Talks unpacked the youth role in addressing today’s crises such as climate change and unequal access to health services, for tomorrow’s thriving economy.

This August, SDG Talks observed International Youth Day in collaboration with Padjadjaran International Model United Nations. The discussion involved youth figures , Rafa Jafar, founder of non-profit e-waste disposal company EwasteRJ, Herawati, founder of Shop141, an impact-driven e-commerce company, and Dr. Unang Mulkhan, Director of the SDG center at the University of Lampung.

During opening remarks, Dr. R. Widya Setiabudi Sumadinata Dean of The Faculty of Social and Political Science, Padjadjaran University, conveyed the vision of the founders of Padjadjaran University which align with the SDGs and champions youth’s involvement.

“The growth of SDGs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic is imperative as we work on the future of the country. The youth have a critical role to play as they work on protecting our earth in its current state and protecting it for future generations,” he said.

Ms Juliaty Ansye Sopacua, SDG Advisor at UNDP Indonesia and Director of  SDG Academy echoed his words and described the importance of putting SDGs actions at local levels, “UNDP Indonesia has been working with universities, including Padjadjaran University and University of Lampung, to strategically involving youth, academia, and the society for knowledge capacity of SDG localization in Indonesia,“ she said.

”It is time to learn and to act upon the crisis that is inevitable, unless we change our way of life to save the environment and our future,” she added.

Representing the youth, social entrepreneurs Mr. Rafa and Ms. Herawati shared their “SDGs in actions” with the SDG talks’ audience of 300 people from around Indonesia. 

”I developed an interest in building social enterprises after witnessing poverty and issues like stunting of newborn babies in my hometown in East Kalimantan. I did not realize how much of an issue it was until I began my undergraduate research. Currently, the social enterprise Shop.141 supports low-income families to earn more and also helps us to finance our nutrition program for the stunting newborns in the region,” said Herawati.

18-year-old Rafa has been involved with the electronic waste issues since he was 11 and emphasized the importance of looking downstream in the value chain.

”Surely right now many households have difficulty in disposing electronic waste – or may not know how to go about it,“ he began. “If not properly removed, it will have exponential damage for humans and the environment. It has something to do with business practices and is also related to consumption, as well as regulations. EwasteRJ works  downstream to collect electronic waste at the household level because e-waste handling is expensive,” said Rafa, who is currently pursuing a degree in Law.

As the event concluded, Dr. Unang Mulkhan noted, “SDGs are interconnected and emphasizes a holistic approach to ensure that no one is left behind. It seems quite ambitious, but since the pandemic started, we realize that there is no one-fit for all solutions. Careful assessments in different regions will help to determine appropriate solutions. During this process, we need to make sure that more youth can join the effort and to learn, with the governments, business actors, and also civil society groups.”

The moderator, Ms. Yenny Widjaja, Gender Specialist at UNDP Indonesia, urged the importance of providing the ecosystem for youth, noting, “The young generation with their curiosity and their innovative thinking needs to be nurtured. Because in the right environment, more critical thinkers will shape the future as we move forward and build back better.”

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EwasteRJ was established in 2014 and has become one of Indonesia’s leading grassroots non-profit organizations focusing on the issue of electronic waste led by Youth. EwasteRJ provides dropboxes for household e-waste disposal. Its goal is to shape responsible e-waste management to support the implementation of circular economy and achieve sustainable technology development in Indonesia. EwasteRJ strives to create a new lifestyle by shifting the mindset of society through our program, EwasteRJDropzone. For more information, visit: https://linktr.ee/ewasterj

Shop.141 is as an impact driven Social E-Commerce to enable everyone to #BeAZeroHungerHero to Save More Stunting Children. Shop.141 is a platform and marketplace, where each transaction has social value but still in fair prices for all.  It  adds the value of products sold through its platform, make order-make impact. The world we want is the future for all, without children suffering chronic malnutrition. For more information, visit: https://shop141.id/

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Written by Enggi Dewanti

Edited by Tomi Soetjipto and Ranjit Jose