TIMESASIANews.com | The world has acknowledged that the success of the Indonesian state in holding events for leaders and major world class figures. This success is inseparable from the motto of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.
The Indonesian motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika means unity in diversity, this symbolizes the country’s view of life. And it is an integral part of the official coat of arms enshrined in the Constitution.
Its manifestation during the Indonesian-led negotiation process was one of the main reasons behind the success of the Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali last week.
At a time when the international community’s focus was distracted by the war in Ukraine, many feared the Indonesian summit would amount to nothing more than purposeless pageantry. Instead, the summit brought nations together and led to meaningful multilateralism at the highest level.
This is, of course, a testament to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s efforts in orchestrating the presence of leaders and representatives with diametrically opposing ideologies around the decision-making table. He used Indonesia’s non-aligned geopolitical status to ensure that consensus was reached in the form of the Leader’s Declaration — a conclusion many thought would never be possible.
At a time when the world is plunging into consecutive crises that threaten to exacerbate existing divisions, Jokowi’s actions, underpinned by Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, demonstrated that division could be healed when genuine efforts are made to build bridges.
Yet this motto was not only seen at the G20 Leaders’ Summit, but across all G20 engagement groups, including the Youth 20 (Y20) Summit as the official youth engagement group, which we had the opportunity to be part of.
The Y20 (the G20’s Official Youth Summit) is a forum that brings future young leaders from all G20 member countries to discuss, argue and exchange ideas, to reach a joint agreement regarding the agenda of the G20 presidency.
This year’s Y20 Summit was held in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, on July 17-24. The result was the Y20 Communiqué, a list of policies presented to the G20 leaders attending the Bali summit, to ensure they championed the voices of young people in their communiqué.
The Y20 is an important platform at a time when many young people feel disengaged, disinterested or disenfranchised from politics. The main reason for loss of faith in the political system is they feel that the powers that be do not listen to them.
Reflecting on the G20 Leaders’ Declaration, we, young people, are hopeful about the significance of youth within the document. Our continuous advocacy, engagement with stakeholders and consultations with other young people show that the size of young people today is simply too big to ignore.
However, we believe that the work is only half done. The most important part of the journey is to transform the policy recommendations into real actions. We are just getting started, and we will continue to embrace our diversity to establish an inclusive post-pandemic future. (**)
