1.
Introduction (profile/background/context)
Hello good evening, magandang gabi! Before I introduce myself, I would like to express
my respect to the Royal Highness of Philippines and to the committee of this wonderful
event for providing a platform for us to connect, learn more, and be a part of a global
citizen. I would also like to greet my fellow speakers, and the audiences, who are here
today. May this event be the start of our long-lasting connection and opportunity to build
a better community together.
My name is Januarsti Supramita Ningrum. My friends and family call me Januarsti. I am a
student at a state vocational school in Sumbawa, Indonesia and I am now studying
interior design and furniture. I am 18 years old and very motivated to develop my skills
and grow as a person. I am passionate about the issues of education and social justice as
well as environmental issues. I usually express myself through my drawings and
paintings.
2. What are your advocacy projects and activities?
As I am very passionate about the issues of education and social justice, I have been
actively involved in activities that promote their values. For example, I have participated
in a painting competition for high school student at a national level from which I won the
first place. The theme of the competition was “Mind Revolution” and I decided to paint
about the diversity in Indonesia. Through my painting, I want to show that mind
revolution in Indonesia should start from acknowledging, respecting, and accepting
various culture and social backgrounds that exist in the country. My painting highlighted
Indonesia’s official motto, that is “BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA”, which means Unity in
Diversity.
In addition to education and social justice, I am also passionate about environmental
issues. Indonesia is among the countries with highest contribution to plastic pollution and
use a lot of papers in our daily life. In school level, both teachers and students still use
many papers in teaching and learning activities. So, it is not surprising to find piles of
papers sitting in our classroom or teachers’ room. Looking at this, my friends at intra-
school student association and I are initiating a project called “Bank Sampah”. This
project encourages students and teachers to collect plastic and paper wastes around
their classes and/or houses and sell them to us. This project is in partnership with a non-
profit organization called Komunitas Pemuda Peduli Sumbawa. At the same time, we also
launch less plastic and less paper movement at school.
3. How do you address cultural diversity and other related issues? What impact have you
created locally and internationally?
When I hear the word cultural diversity, I always think of Indonesia, my country.
Indonesia is an archipelago of thousands of islands. It is very diverse, culturally and
linguistically. For instance, I live on an island called Sumbawa. On this island, live 3 major
ethnicities; Samawa, Bima, and Dompu. Samawa itself consists of more than 200 villages,
where the majority of it has its own native language and culture. Coming from such a
diverse community, I find it easier to connect with people from different culture. I
personally believe that behind all those various social identities we carry, we all belong to
one absolute identity, that is our humanity. No matter what our nationality, race, religion
is, we are all human being with dreams of a better future. Therefore, everytime I meet
someone new and find myself judging them by their social identity, I always remind
myself of my own belief.
4. What are your experiences and insights on the role of the youth fostering understanding
and unity during the pandemic?
