The National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) held the 2020 Family Planning Youth Ambassador Appreciation Day and Creativity Celebration Jamboree with 68 finalists of this year’s Family Planning Youth Ambassador (Duta GenRe). This event is BKKBN’s annual agenda that celebrates the young generation as a vital element of the Indonesian society. “The young people are agents of change,” said BKKBN Chairperson Dr (HC) dr. Hasto Wardoyo Sp.OG (K) during his virtual opening remarks on Monday (23/11/2020). Underlining this message, Hasto quoted the famous remark of Indonesia’s founding father and first president Soekarno: ‘Give me 1,000 old men and I will rip trees to their roots. Give me 10 young men, and I will shake the world’. Because of this, Hasto said, “BKKBN must focus on adolescents, millennials, the young generation.” Hasto also encouraged young people to be creative and innovative in any situation, both during in-person and virtual interactions. This is important, as Indonesia is facing an important work of not only maintaining but also improving the quality of its human resource.
“I hope that, more than promoting family planning messages, GenRe Ambassadors can also give example of leading a planned family life.” Using stunting prevention as an example, Hasto strongly reminds GenRe to delay first age of marriage to 21 years old for female and 25 years old for male. “Stunting is caused primarily by early marriage,” Hasto said, and explained that age of marriage contributes to determining the health condition of baby born of the marriage. Age is an important factor in the readiness of reproductive organs during delivery and is equally pivotal aside from physical and mental readiness. For male, delaying age of first marriage will give them enough time to prepare themselves – health and nutrition, mental, values, emotional, and financial readiness as well as maturity in social interactions. Intellectual skills and readiness are also key. “Be the role models, show how to prepare parenthood with sound planning,” Hasto said. “We may revoke the certificate of GenRe Ambassadors if any of our former ambassadors go through a divorce. GenRe must be set an example,” Hasto Wardoyo said.
The event, also known as “AduJak20 GenRe”, was held to promote healthy generation with strong moral values. To that end, a mental revolution is needed to internalize essential values to individuals, families, communities, and institutions. This is strategic undertaking, considering 66.9 million people in Indonesia are between the ages of 10 and 24 years old. It represents 25.6 percent of the total population and means that 1 of every 4 citizens is an adolescent.
Image: BKKBN’s Family Planning Youth AmbassadorsHasto Wardoyo further said that today’s adolescents will make up Indonesia’s Golden Generation by 2045, the year when the country will celebrate a centennial of independence. By that time, today’s young people will fall in the 35-44 age bracket – the productive group of the population that will determine the direction of this nation. The Golden Generation is expected to consist of individuals who are smart and well-rounded: productive, innovative, promoting peaceful social interactions, healthy, wise in their interactions with nature, and capable of building an advanced civilization. All of this, however, stems from the right investments in adolescents. Hasto then reminded that Indonesia is experiencing an emergency in stunting cases. “We need real actions to change this situation. Stunting has life-long, irreversible effects. We need to make sure this does not happen among the next generation. It is therefore important to educate adolescents about nutrition and reproductive health to prepare them for parenthood. Currently playing a central role in stunting reduction, BKKBN realizes that knowledge on family forming and parenthood need to be imparted to teens, who are naturally curious about their physical changes. “Without adequate knowledge, they won’t be able to care for their children,” said Hasto. He added that BKKBN is developing a prevention-oriented modelling.
Under BKKBN, adolescent empowerment is carried out among others through the Center for Youth Information and Counselling, or PIK-R. There are 24,000 PIK-R across 34 provinces that offer a safe space for adolescents to gather, share knowledge experiences, and express their creative streaks. Not only that, PIK-R is also strategically used to educate adolescents. Hasto believed that BKKBN needs youth motivators that other young people can look up to: the GenRe Ambassadors. “By having GenRe Ambassadors, program dissemination and promotion to teens will be even more effective. Teens relate to teens, making the program as an initiative that comes from, by, and for young people,” concluded Hasto.
Meanwhile, the Deputy of Prosperous Family and Family Development of BKKBN M. Yani said that ‘GenRe Ambassador’ is a title a person holds for perpetuity. “A year of duty, a lifetime of dedication,” said Yani. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Yani expects that GenRe Ambassadors can find ways to contribute propagating development messages using various channels and prepare Indonesian youth to be individuals with strong moral values, competitiveness, and the willingness to advance Indonesia. “GenRe are the strategic counterparts for the National Disaster Management Body (BNPB) in tackling Covid-19 pandemic,” Yani explained to illustrate the important role of GenRe for Indonesia.
Adujak20 GenRe involved a total of 1000 young people. The Chairperson on BKKBN also took the moment to inaugurate the new Executive Committee of GenRe Forum 2020-2022, one of BKKBN’s partners AduJak.