G24NEWS.TV, YORK – Concerns regarding the lack of involvement and participation of young people on the democratic stage have prompted calls for a reevaluation or improvement of the entire process of young people’s political involvement (UNDP, 2012).
Young people are the most likely of all population groups to be politically disengaged nowadays (Russel, 2005) — primarily due to a lack of social capital and tend to be less interested in contemporary political concerns and public policies.
Globally, there is substantial evidence that youth participation in formal institutional political processes is relatively low compared to older individuals (UNDP, 2012). Consequently, it threatens the political system’s representation and results in the disenfranchisement of young people; it poses a threat to the form of democracy.
Thus the political parties play a vital role in effecting transformation and devote special attention to boosting youth political participation. Both formal and informal political participation is beneficial to a healthy democracy and must be encouraged.
The Golkar Party, one of the biggest political parties in Indonesia, executes this transformation endeavour through the Golkar Institute (School of Government and Public Policy) by organising the Golkar Institute Essay Competition, and the participants in this competition were all students from universities in Indonesia.
This competition has been held since December 2022, and the winner of the competition was announced on 14 February 2023 at the Golkar Institute Essay Competition Award Night (Malam Anugerah Golkar Institute Essay Competition).
The competition was created to facilitate the younger generation to participate in providing constructive ideas for political parties and to absorb young people’s thoughts in answering the question of how political parties should transform.
Airlangga Hartarto, General Chairman of the Functional Group Party’s Central Leadership Council (Dewan Pimpinan Pusat Partai Golongan Karya – “DPP Golkar”), stated that the younger generation might contribute to a more advanced Indonesia in numerous ways. For instance, they can contribute to developing political parties in Indonesia through their ideas.
According to Airlangga, ideas and concepts for future political parties can be a foundation or factor for pre-, during-, and post-2024 Elections.
“Golkar Institute encourages the young generation, particularly students, to give their thoughts and ideas to political parties in Indonesia, particularly the Golkar Party,” Airlangga said in a written statement on Wednesday (15/2/2023).
Airlangga requested that the Golkar Institute regularly organise events like the Golkar Institute Essay Competition. In addition to being a platform for giving ideas to young people, he noted that the programme was also an effort by the Golkar Party to increase Indonesians’ literacy.
“I appreciate and wholeheartedly support such a programme so it can conduct continuously,” said Airlangga, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs.
Ace Hasan Syadzily, Chairman of the Golkar Institute Management Council (Ketua Dewan Pengurus Golkar Institute), noted that the Golkar Institute had implemented numerous political education programmes for all groups. The Golkar Institute Essay Competition Award aims to educate the younger population, particularly students, about politics.
Other educational activities conducted by the Golkar Institute include training for elected regional leaders, executive education programmes for young political leaders, short courses on political education and public policy in various areas, and seminars addressing strategic topics.
Ace noted that the current topic of the Golkar Institute study is “Welcoming the 2024 Election: How Should Political Parties Transform?” He acknowledged that this event garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from students across Indonesia.
“There were 1,313 applicants for the essay contest. These candidates come from 381 universities and 35 regions across Indonesia. 952 applicants in total have submitted essays. 427 essays made it through the general selection phase. A total of 179 individuals passed the academic screening. In the end, there were 18 excellent writings in three categories,” said Ace Hasan.
The Golkar Institute has chosen 18 essays out of all the written works submitted by contestants as deserving of the award. There were three categories of winners: top prize winners, consolation prize winners and favourite prize winners.
Secretary General of the Golkar Party, Lodewijk F. Paulus, stated that the competition was an effort by the Golkar Party, which received serial number 4 in the 2024 elections, to raise the Indonesian population’s literacy.
Lodewijk, the Vice Chairman of the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia (DPR-RI), emphasised that Golkar would conduct similar literacy programmes more frequently. Furthermore, he highlighted that what the participants generated and wrote was vital input for the Golkar Party.
“These youths also showed the Golkar Party how to go moving ahead. Because the topics raised and the information provided was realistic and widely discussed, such as the social media or digital era issues, etc. It is useful to us,” explained Lodewijk.
Top prize winners:
1. Marcella (Multimedia Nusantara University) received a prize of IDR 45 million
2. Bilal Adi Jaya (Gadjah Mada University) received a prize of IDR 25 million
3. Najwa Mutiara Alia (Diponegoro University) received a prize of IDR 10 million
Consolation prize winners (each received a prize of IDR 2 million):
1. Rifda Najla Marhamah (UIN Syarif Hidayatullah)
2. Wilhelmus F.N (Widya Mandira Catholic University Kupang)
3. Muh Ramadamsyah Prasetya (Hasanuddin University)
4. Noerul Hanin (Tanjungpura University
5. Nadia Oktaria Putri (Andalas University)
Favourite prize winners (each received IDR 1 million):
1. Yohana Selvina Wanda (Ledalero Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology)
2. Sulaiman (Pamulang University)
3. Widia Usada (State Islamic University of North Sumatra)
4. Thomas Vilkanova Kharisma S. (Ledalero Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology)
5. Syarif Abdurrahman (Ma’had Aly Hasyim Ash’ari)
6. Nazilatul Hidayah (Diponegoro University)
7. Ni Luh Putu Yunita K. Dewi (STAH N Empu Kuturan Singaraja)
8. Shofyan Trengganu (Indonesian Institute of Technology)
9. Moh. Muhlis (SKIP PGRI Sumenep)
10. Rionimus Imanuel Nahak (Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta)
Bibliography:
Russell, A. (2005). Political as Vehicles of Political Engagement. Parliamentary Affairs, 58 (3), 555–569. [Online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsi051 [Accessed 15 February 2023].
United Nations Development Programme. Youth, Political Participation, and Decision-Making. [Online]. Available at: https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/fact-sheets/youth-political-participation.pdf [Accessed 15 February 2023].
