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s the popularity of family planning is beginning to wane, the government is trying to popularize the program among young people through creative competitions.

Via its Generasi Berencana (GenRe) or Generation with a Plan,Action 2012 scheme, students and young people were asked to design posters on reproductive health.

“It’s just wonderful to see how imaginative some of the students are in creating these awesome posters,” said Yunus Patriawan Noya, director of advocacy and communication, information and education at the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), in Jakarta on Tuesday.

After examining the posters, the committee named Elizabeth John as this year’s winner in all categories.

Her work was considered to have clearly displayed not only her impressive understanding of the importance of youth access to sexual and reproductive health services, but also her capacity to tell people about the issue in a fun, creative and educational way.

Elizabeth, a design student at Trisakti University, was presented with the First Lady Ani Yudhoyono trophy by acting BKKBN chairman Subagyo.

“This award is presented annually to remind us that access to sexual and reproductive health care, including information, plays an important role in helping adolescents to achieve their full potential in school, career and life,” said Yunus.

Elizabeth, who lives in Jakarta, was one of 15 students and youth to receive awards in the competition. She was the winner in the university category, followed by Stella Felicia from Ubaya University in East Java and Brahmantyo from the Indonesian Art Institute Yogyakarta in second and third place, respectively.

Maya Meitama from Bangka Belitung and Putu Ari Raka from Bali won the “favorite” award in this category.

The senior high school, the winner was Puji Lestari from West Papua. Mohammad Ashabul Kahfi from South Sulawesi and Mohammad Daus from North Maluku clinched second and third, respectively, while Adi Gayo from North Sulawesi and Arif Irwansyah from Riau Islands were named as favorite winners.

In the general category, a youth activist from Aceh, Mohammad Rizky, won first prize, while Andi Wahyu from East Java and Fastra Rizky Nasution of North Sumatra were awarded second and third place, respectively. Christina from West Kalimantan and Ishak from Papua shared the honors as favorite winners.

Three core messages were presented by the students in their posters. They included: “Say no to drugs”, “Say no to free sex” and “Say goodbye to HIV/AIDS”.

Data from the 2010 population census, conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), showed that 64.6 million people or 27.6 percent of the total population in Indonesia were young people aged 10-24 years old. This indicates that at least one in every four people in the country is young.

The most recent data presented by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) shows that, as of 2008, the number of people using drugs in the country reached 115,404. Of that total, 51,958 or 45.04 percent of them were youngsters between 16 and 24 years old. Of those, 5,484 or 4.75 percent were students.

“This is a situation that concerns us. They should be focusing on learning at school and university, but instead they are using drugs,” Subagyo said.

Studies show that people, particularly adolescents, who use drugs significantly increase their chances of having sex. The latest data from the Youth Health Survey, which was conducted by the BKKBN, shows that 1 percent of female adolescents and 6 percent of male adolescents have had sexual relations before or outside marriage.

The 2010 BPS data recorded that the birthrate among teenagers was 35 per 1,000; this figure did not include sexually active teenagers who aborted unwanted pregnancies.

“We need to pay close attention to this problem as this can negatively affect their realizing their full potential in school, work and life, in general,” Subagyo added.