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Jakarta Post

Young minds from across Indonesia gather for Jakarta summit to tackle waste problem

Young minds from across Indonesia gather for Jakarta summit to tackle waste problem Apart from joining a workshop and visiting the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the IYMDS participants also took part in field work to clean beaches in Thousand Islands. (KFC Indonesia/File)
News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta   ●   Sat, September 7, 2019 2019-09-07 21:05 1664 0290f9de4aeb62f98549b410b59d96f8 1 News Indonesian-Youth-Marine-Debris-Summit,Youth,environment Free

The Indonesian Youth Marine Debris Summit (IYMDS) is back in Jakarta, held this year from Aug. 24 to 28.

Involving young people from all provinces of the archipelago, the IYMDS is held by marine environment NGO Divers Clean Action (DCA) in collaboration with the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s Marine Space Management Directorate General.

DCA executive director Swietenia Puspa Lestari, who initiated the IYMDS, said in a statement that the event aimed to empower youth to effect positive change in their surroundings.

“These young Indonesians come with their best ideas, high spirited and committed to realize their action plans to alleviate waste problems in Indonesia, […] targeting to eliminate 70 percent of marine waste together,” said Swietenia.

Approximately 1,000 Indonesians between the age of 18 and 25 had applied to join the IYMDS this year, but only 43 people from 34 Indonesian provinces were chosen.

With all their expenses covered, including transportation, the successful candidates were accompanied by seven mentors during the five-day event in Jakarta, which included a trip to Thousand Islands regency. They were trained to identify waste problems in an efficient manner and create sustainable solutions to marine problems.

Apart from joining a workshop and visiting the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the IYMDS participants also took part in field work to clean beaches in Thousand Islands. Furthermore, they were to present their action plans in @america Pacific Place, Jakarta.

The six participants with the best performance during the event will win a trip to the Our Ocean Youth Leadership Summit 2019 in Norway in October.

Read also: Padjadjaran University to host marine conservation study program

Going beyond the five-day event, the IYMDS aims to provide sustainable solutions by planning activities for the next two years. All 2019 participants will be given funds to implement projects in their home regions.

The IYMDS is sponsored by PT Fast Food (KFC Indonesia), Pertamina Patra Comfort Hotel Jakarta, Danone-Aqua, environmental news portal Greeners.co, Indonesian ocean conservation movement Pandu Laut and the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA). (ran/mut)