T

he government’s ongoing efforts to eradicate poverty will likely yield better results with support from the younger generations in disseminating programs, a public discussion has concluded.

Speaking at a seminar held on Monday by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), World Bank lead economist Vivi Alatas said the contribution from young people would be crucial to address the country’s poverty issue, as they have the ability to persuade people to accept government efforts aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty.

“Young people can create videos or post on social media to increase public awareness of the government’s programs,” Vivi said, adding that many people were still unaware of the government’s programs aimed at eradicating poverty, such as the Indonesian Smart Cards (KIP), microcredit program (KUR) or student scholarship programs.”

FPCI founder and former Indonesian ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal said that the millennial generation has an opportunity to witness zero poverty in the world for the first time in the history of the human race. This can only occur if three factors are accomplished, namely the optimization of technology, education and entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship drives people to takes risk and become more enthusiastic to change their current circumstances,” he said.

Indonesia has seen the number of people living in poverty decline in recent years. However, the pace is slow.

The percentage of the Indonesian population living below the poverty line decreased by 2.11 percent to 28.01 million people as of March as compared to March 2015, according to data provided by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). The number of people living below the poverty line currently rests at 10.86 percent of the total population, BPS reported.

The World Bank estimated that approximately 40 percent of the world’s population remains vulnerable of falling victim to poverty, as the income of this 40 percent stands only slightly above the national poverty line, set at Rp 330,776 ($25.4) per person per month.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who also served as speaker at Tuesday’s forum, said the government would make concerted efforts to accelerate poverty eradication in the country.

The ministry, she continued, was focusing on decreasing the proportion of poor people to 7 percent by 2019 and reducing the country’s Gini ratio to 0.36 from 0.4.

Novia Eka Yulistyani, a 21-year-old student who attended the discussion, said she felt encouraged to take part in poverty eradication programs in her hometown Bandung, West Java.

“I think I can contribute by teaching underprivileged children or joining local social foundations,” said Novia, who studies international relations at Pasundan University in Bandung. (fac)