Managing time carefully to build networks. This principle seems to be firmly adhered to Zulfikar Dabby Anwar, student at the Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University. One way used by Zulfikar in managing his time was by becoming an East Java delegate in The Ship of Japanese and Asian Youth Program from the Cabinet Office of Japan, last December.
For ten days, Zulfikar and nine participants from Jogjakarta, Bali, South Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, Jakarta, West Nusa Tenggara, Papua joined the Inter-Country Youth Exchange program initiated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. “SSEAYP is actually attended by 10 ASEAN countries + Japan, and every year, Indonesia sends 30 delegates. However, last year specifically, only 10 young people were sent since it coincided with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation,” he explained.
During in Japan, Zulfikar had the opportunity to explain culture and discuss food. “This program began with an opening ceremony by the Cabinet Office of Japan, then there was a volunteer activity where we, Garuda 47, explained the concept of a traditional wedding procession,” he explained.
Furthermore, the man who is familiarly called Zul also had the opportunity to undergo a local program in Yamanashi for 3 days before starting a Discussion Group which discussed the issues of Energy, Climate Change and Recycling-Oriented Society.
Zulfikar had gone through quite long process. After passing the administration, he must complete a written test and interview. “We were interviewed regarding 5 things, namely motivation, English language skills, social projects, culture and personal interests, then continued to quarantine,” explained this student of 2021 Batch.
Also at this event, Zulfikar had the opportunity to discuss the issue of a recycling-oriented society by emphasizing the importance of awareness and understanding regarding sustainable practices in ASEAN and Japan.
“We discussed the issue of sustainability which has not been implemented well due to two big landscapes, namely education which includes a lack of awareness regarding negative impacts and socio-cultural which includes the absence of social norms in several ASEAN countries,” he explained.
As a result, Zulfikar and the team formulated several things that needed to be reviewed, namely the principle of recycling as a responsibility, the use of alternative energy for the future, changes in environmentally friendly thinking patterns, the power of education and joint commitment regarding waste and environmental issues in their respective countries.
“Departing by the fact that Indonesia is famous for producing very large amounts of food waste, the Indonesian contingent formulated the Save Your Plate campaign to reduce the production of small-scale food waste through the active role of households,” he concluded. (VQ/ UB PR/ Trans. Iir)
