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BAGAIMANA CARA BEKONTRIBUSI DAN MEMPERKUAT JEJARING PEMUDA DIKAWASAN ASEAN?

Andi Tri Santoso
BLOGGER INDONESIA

Youth are ambassadors of their own future
Conversely, youth are a source of living changing in the society. With their strength, talent, desire for change, leadership and looking into the future, they have been steering youth-related projects to earn a livelihood, but also conserve nature. In almost every community, youth innovations will meet your eyes either trying to run small scale entrepreneurships, provide sanitation services for the community, providing clean water for the mothers and children, providing alternate energy sources, better farming and water management methods, sharing information with the community through community radios and organizing community events like road shows and artisans’ jobs, among others.

Youth are the voices of the community
Youth are the voices for the community through advocacy activities, while at the same time, providing the community with up-to-date information around the region. Young professionals have designed educational and conservation projects for their communities. In regions where infrastructure is still a challenge, it’s the youth who have devised new ways of transport, repaired the roads, put up bridges, and even provided mobile health and communications service. Billions of trees have been planted and nurtured by young people all over the world. In Kenya alone, the Government has set aside funds to support tree-planting initiatives in all regions of the country, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs. The trees have been planted in primary and secondary schools, and used as a living learning resource by the learners who participate in nurturing the trees. These may be small actions but with great impact and investment into a sustainable future.
Hands, Friendship, Friends, Children, Fun, Happiness

Youth networks- the support system
The success of youth in serving the community and contributing to nature conservation is directly attributed to working in youth networks. Youth have a huge resource base of Energy, Knowledge and Time that the world needs to achieve sustainable development. However, there is need to positively direct their resources to ensure all aspects of sustainable development are achieved. To do so, they require education, resources, and skills and hope that will promote a transition to this sustainability. The youth are looking forward to put into use their resources of in three main areas: improve their lives; improve the lives of their communities; and influence other young people elsewhere to take action (or play the celebrity status). Youth networks are one such avenue where we can support youth through resources, political support, and hope for their present and future. Youth networks are a place where young people help each other to grow their careers, their social lives, build confidence, share experiences, and most importantly have a platform to share and discuss their future as part of the global network. As the leaders, they develop their leadership characters in these networks. Most importantly they become a community of like-minded persons growing in character and skills.
Why a youth network?
A youth network addresses three main needs of youth – to improve their lives, improve the lives of their communities, and to influence other young people elsewhere to take action – and, in addition, a youth network can be established with an aim to address a specific need that a group of young people have realized in the society. They seek to answer the questions of the government, the community, or their peers through this network. This need may also be an opportunity for them to seize and create jobs for themselves. Whatever it is, it must be a need that requires them to work together.
For a network to exist it must have a Strategy and an Action plan. The action plan is preceded by a network profile which details the name of the network (at times the network may be nameless), vision, mission and aims, members, target group, and partners. A network profile should clearly outline the principles and values that the members must observe while in the network and expected inputs and benefits for the members.
An Action plan is meant to actualize the vision, mission and the strategy of the network both in the short- and long-term. Most critical in drawing up an action plan for a network is the recognition of the roles of each member based on their strengths and weaknesses. Youth are the best examples of communities of practice, they strive to specialize in their career while at the same time are open to learn and share with their peers new skills to ensure they achieve their targets.
Youth will continuously build the network membership by inviting more young people and sharing with them their vision. It is a characteristic of young people to dream and build castles while in their social events, but these are now being achieved through the networks. Social events have proved key in growing the membership of the youth networks.
People, Girls, Women, Students, Friends, Talking

·         Well-directed social events have worked wonders in growing the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change in Kenya. This is an organic network of youth organizations working on climate change sustainable development in Kenya. In the first months of the year, we spend time in social events with new members who join the caucus and participate in our mind mapping sessions for the year. With time, they fall in love with the spirit of the network and eventually, they are also part of the dedicated membership.
Visionary leadership and direction is critical; and the same is true for the organizational structure and governance model of the network. This includes electing or nominating the leaders of the network. Where a network is registered, such structures are established at the initial stages mainly by the vision bearers who assist in the registration of the network. However an organic youth movement takes time to have an organizational and leadership structures. Under such circumstances, they may have focal point persons or coordinators/volunteers for different activities in the network. A constitution is also important for the registered network, while a Charter or Standard Operating Procedures works well for the organic movements.
·         A youth network leader has this to say about the experience: “Leading youth networks is the most fulfilling experience. I enjoy the late night work, the wee hours work, travelling, planning, reporting, and corresponding with young people from all over the world who need my attention. I have come to believe that i am in this world, and at this position, at such a time like this, to help the youth realize their potential in sustaining this planet.”
The activities under each network are the reason for its presence. They are the tools that will retain youth, attract others and even encourage other partners to join them. Some networks are formed mainly to provide a platform for young people to meet and share their experiences; such have main activities being meetings, workshops, seminars, travelling, expeditions among others, while others are research oriented. A big proportion of the professional youth networks are focused on development initiatives including providing infrastructural, educational, health, communication, business, and other social services. One such youth network is the CEC Young Professionals, under the Commission of Education and Communication in IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Environmental conservation youth networks in Africa
While I worked with youth networks in Africa, i was interested in youth networks involved in environmental conservation, education and development initiatives. Their activities were diverse: advocacy activities at grassroots, national and international levels; public awareness and education projects; rehabilitation projects; waste management; energy projects in solar, wind and biogas; small income generating initiatives (eco businesses); wildlife conservation activities such as de-snaring, birds monitoring and animal census; ecotourism; filmmaking; mapping; sustainable agriculture; and ICT innovations. In this decade, more advocacy youth networks have arisen – ranging from social and political to environmental advocacy – that are involved in policy processes, right from the grassroots to the international level.
One such example is the International Cimate Youth Movement (IYCM) – the largest most dynamic organic movement of young people involved in international climate change negotiations at the international level since 2004. In small, dynamic, well-directed strategies, the youth have outreached each continent and state involved in the climate negotiations, mobilized the youth and provided them with a platform to take part in the climate change policy dialogues. Having started as a small group in 2004, this organic movement has over 2,000 members who are in daily communication of their climate change activities. In 2009, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat granted them a Constituency, meaning that they could participate in the negotiations are equal players in the world most important debate of the year.
What’s amazing is how this youth network is organized. With two Focal points to the UNFCCC Secretariat, all the network activities are carried out by committed youth on a voluntary basis. They commit months and years to work for the movement in whatever capacity they can. This voluntary commitment includes dedicated policy makers, fundraising committees, capacity building coordinators, website managers, bloggers, activists, action groups, bottom-liners, planners, community builders, minute takers, host organizations, email list moderators, among others. There is always a task for each and every other youth.
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About the Author

Andi Tri Santoso / Author & Editor

Hi, Thank you for reading this article, I am Andi Tri Santoso, now i am one of the students at Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia majoring in English Literature.

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