Young people, as change agents, are strategically positioned to engage in campaigns and educate the community on various issues, including Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and Water Resources Management (WRM).
Recognizing the potential of youth involvement, USAID IUWASH Tangguh collaborated with the youth organization Teens Go Green and Bakrie University to organize the “Youth Movement: Resilient Youth Action for Water and Sanitation” event, held on September 5th -7th. This event aimed to enhance the capacity of youth in the WASH and WRM sectors and to develop effective campaign strategies. Out of 67 applicants, 20 young participants were selected based on their proposed sanitation and drinking water campaign strategies.
During the event, facilitators from USAID IUWASH Tangguh provided participants with knowledge of the sanitation and drinking water sectors through a combination of classroom learning and field visits to a water treatment plant and a septage treatment plant. Alongside facilitators from Bakrie University and Teens Go Green, USAID IUWASH Tangguh also conducted coaching clinics to help participants refine their campaign strategies.
As a result, ten campaign strategies were developed, detailing themes, target beneficiaries, timelines, resource allocation, and draft campaign materials. USAID IUWASH Tangguh will review them and will support the implementation of the selected strategies through collaboration with Bakrie University and Teens Go Green.
Azma, one of the youth movement participants, was thrilled to participate in the event. “I am very happy to participate in this event because I learned a lot about drinking water and sanitation, including the definitions of safely managed sanitation and drinking water access. Moreover, I had the chance to meet new friends from various communities who shared many innovative ideas”, she said.
USAID IUWASH Tangguh will continue to collaborate with Teens Go Green and Bakrie University in engaging young people to get involved in educating the community on WASH and WRM issues. A one-year cooperation agreement also has been signed with Bakrie University, which includes incorporating this sector into the teaching materials of the Faculty of Communication Sciences.