Joining forces: Environmental activists-in-training take part in a nonviolent action workshop as part of a three-month program run by Greenpeace Indonesia. “It turns out campaigning is a very dynamic and complex activity,” one participant says.
Every year, students enroll in economics schools with plans to become bankers, or in medical schools to become doctors or engineering departments to train as architects.
But where should you go if your dream is to work as an environmental defender? What kind of education can you turn to if you want to apply strategically your passion and become an environmental activist?
Head to Greenpeace University, where Mother Nature is dean and the lecturers are senior environmentalists who provide hands-on knowledge about how to turn a passion into practical work on the ground.
“Nature needs a voice and I want to become one of the vocal forces,” said Mona Lisa, an environmental engineer by training who has decided it’s time for her to focus more on putting her knowledge into practice.
In July, Mona and five other young professionals and students left their nine-to-five jobs and started studying to learn more about environmental activism through the three-month program piloted in Jakarta by Greenpeace Indonesia.
Their backgrounds vary from environmental engineering to veterinary studies. The one thing they all have in common is their burning desire to become advocates for the protection of nature.
Already a Greenpeace volunteer in Central Java’s Semarang since 2007, Mona has been involved in various projects in the field ranging from preserving coral reefs to protecting mangrove forests.
But during the three months she was studying at Greenpeace University, she found another path for green activism.
“I am interested in media and communications, in provoking people to start thinking about environmental concerns,” Mona said.
Nothing but the facts: In the classroom, students learn the facts and figures behind environmental campaigns. “I want to make a change, starting with myself,” says one trainee.
During those three months of training, she realized that, in the world of green activism, her photography skills could prove as useful as her formal qualifications in environmental engineering.
Unlike in the professional or corporate worlds, which tend to be compartmentalized, in the world of environmental activism, it doesn’t much matter what your skills or qualifications are. The only prerequisite is that you are genuinely driven to commit to the work.
“I want to make a change, starting with myself and triggering a bigger change in my surroundings,” said Lalitia Apsari, another “student” who graduated from the program last month.
“I want to do it right, that’s why I joined the program,” she added.
The group of students who made the cut from the dozens of young applicants learned not only from senior activists who came from all over the world to share their knowledge and experiences, but also from talking with bajaj drivers for research for their group project “Blue Bajaj for Blue Sky”.
In the classroom, students learned the facts on environmental degradation and basic campaigning skills, which involve planning a project, conducting background research and investigative journalism, fund raising and communication strategies.
“We don’t just learn about how Greenpeace works,” Mona said. “More importantly, we learn how to do activism in non-violent direct-action way — even campaigning about the environment through theater.”
On the ground, they put their knowledge into practice, having come to realize that a green campaign is about more than just shouting slogans on the street.
“It turns out campaigning is a very dynamic and complex activity,” said Hanifah M. Azzahra, a participant from East Java’s Malang.
Hani learned that, to get the message across, a campaigner has choose from various methods to
get the most out of their own resources to be able to approach individuals through the direct one-on-one dialogue supporter recruitment method.
“We only share what we’ve been doing for years. In the end, each of them will find their own ways to actively do something for the environment,” Greenpeace media campaigner Hikmat Suritanijaya explained, adding that the program will run each year.
Targeting young people in a bid to ensure the wheel of environmental activism keeps rolling, the program intentionally chose people from different professional backgrounds in the hope they could integrate green values into what they already do.
The architect can build green buildings, the engineer can embark on environmental projects, the veterinarian can help keep the wild ecosystem in balance — and all the while, campaigners can continuously build awareness.
As a result, each “graduate” aspires to be a green activist in his or her own way.
Mona and Hani, for example, are choosing to continue on their current NGO-employed paths by continuously reminding authorities of the need for change through their campaig ns.
Lalitia, however, realized through the program that being an activist doesn’t always mean staying in
opposition.
“In the long run, I want to be part of the government and use what I learned from Greenpeace as my guide,” she said.
“It might sound too ideal, but by working from the inside I could probably one day make that happen. I want to one day see environmental NGOs really work hand in hand with governmental institutions.”
This is perhaps another point that brings these young people together. Being young has its own advantages; they are full of idealism and visions about what they want to do next after finishing the program.
And part of the idealism is to think global and start local.
“I want to promote the use of clean and efficient energy back home,” said Dadi Karniawan, a student majoring in Japanese literature who has previously been active in volunteer work for the victims of natural disasters in West Java’s Pangandaran and Yogyakarta.
Having worked in other places, Dadi realized that he hasn’t done enough in his own city of Bandung.
Similarly, Hani wants to start making a change in her hometown of Malang.
“I’m really concerned seeing the way physical development in Malang often disregards environmental aspects,” she said.
Being concerned is one thing; doing something about it is another. What the program does is help students learn more about the latter.
“This is a kind of investment for Indonesia’s future by helping to shape younger generations to guide the country onto the correct path of development,” Greenpeace country representative Nur Hidayati said.
“We want to train young talents and help them be committed leaders for a more environmentally friendly Indonesia.”
— Photos courtesy of Greenpeace Indonesia
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