Liberal Youth Swipes Right in Bali

Bali is known for its quaint, pristine beaches complemented by its mystical culture and the warm hospitality of its people. It is the ideal place for 30 liberal youth delegates from 12 countries to convene and discuss climate change advocacy, the power of social media, and the importance of capacity-building and international cooperation.

The workshop, with the theme “Climate Change Advocacy and Social Media Campaign,” aimed to gather ideas for the social media campaign of CALD Youth, a regional organization that fosters cooperation among the liberal youth community in Asia on issues relating to liberty, democracy and equality with the goal of  increasing the participation of the youth in mainstream politics and policy-making.

The event was in partnership with the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) and with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).

Yani Saloh, ADB consultant on Sustainable Infrastructure Assistance Program and Forest Investment Project, and former Assistant Special Staff to Indonesian President Yudhoyono for Climate Change issues, presented an overview of the commitments made in the COP 21, and how inaction on the agreement could lead to global uncertainty and massive jump in emissions.  According to her, both the government and the public have responsibilities to push for more renewable resources in order to sustain the target of low emissions.

Sven Gerst, vice president of IFLRY, discussed environmental ethics. He said that philosophers are needed to inform the public about the credibility of scientific modeling and the concepts of uncertainty. Gerst explained that it is important to know why climate change is an ethical problem to understand the moral dilemmas that accompany climate action (or inaction).

The workshop also discussed social media and the powerful impact it could generate if used strategically. “The power of tweet or a post is immeasurable”, according to Natashya Gutierrez, bureau chief of Rappler Indonesia.

She said that Rappler, as a social news network, relies heavily on the collaborative blend of technology, social media, and the wisdom of crowds. In order to effectively utilize social media, she emphasized on having regular engagement on issues, using creative graphics for posts, and tapping influencers to further expand reach.

“There is actually a huge advantage to being a youth organization using social media because…we are digital leaders…Every day, it’s integrated into our lives- checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. The relationships online are most successful if they emulate offline relationships. Be genuine. Engage. Be interesting…”

The discussion also tackled the science behind social media and the elements needed to formulate a social media campaign.  Raphaella Prugsamatz, regional communications officer of FNF Southeast Asia and East Asia Office, said it is important to prepare for social media posts.

“In starting a social media campaign, it is essential to know your numbers, your story, target audience, the way you’ll share it, the outcomes, and the best social media advertising tools to use”, said Prugsamatz.  She added that in social media advertising, “Facebook algorithm is God.”

While the world of social media marketing needs creativity, vision, and strategy, it also needs resources, which is a lot cheaper than the traditional media. However, it all boils down to the amount of work done. “If you want zero, do zero. If you want more, do more,” Prugsamatz noted.

As an output of the event, CALD Youth was able to gather exciting proposals for its social media campaign such as: Increase Renewable Energy Share #CleanIndonesia; Improve Urbanization #SurviveBangkok; and Stop human trafficking #StoptheTraffic, among others.

Consolidating networks was also one of the objectives of the youth gathering, which gave IFLRY and CALD Youth the opportunity to discuss possible joint projects and ways to further strengthen cooperation. An online communications page was set up to continue the dialogue.

Bulgan Bayasgalant, chair of CALD Youth, said “The workshop was successful in terms of the lessons learned during the sessions, networking among organizations, and the sharing of experiences in and out of the conference room. As a result, CALD Youth now has very interesting proposals for its social media campaign.”

“The output is attributed to the vision and work done by the diverse and collective effort of liberal youth organizations present.”