Youth Identity

Wan : Assalamu'alaikum wr. Wb. Good afternoon everyone. Today, we will have a panel
discussion that will disscussing about Youth identity in milenial era. I’m Setiawan Hadi
as moderator who will guide you throughout this discussion glad to meet you the
audiences. Without further a do, lets jump out to our main discussion today. But Before
that, let me introduce two panelis who will join and give us their perspective in today’s
discussion. On the right side of me is Mr Ilham Ary Maulana,he is a as the deputy of
Indonesia Millennials Movement. Good afternoon Mr Ilham, how are you today?
Ilham : I’m fine Alhamdulillah Mr Hady,
Wan : Then, on left side of me is mr Sufarwitar NZ, as a self conscious youth.it’s a good to see
you Mr Sufar. How are you today?
Sufar : yeah, i’m feeling good and i’m so excited for today’s discussion
Wan : Well,, glad to hear that spirit Mr Sufar, Thank you.
Alright, as i said before, Our topic today about youth identity in Millennial Era which
mean the concern in this topic is about “Are the identity of youth is still exist on the
Indonesia’s millennials?”
The long journey of this country cannot be separated from the important role of youth
who care for their nation and country. it was starting in fighting for independence
against invaders in the colonial era, until fighting our government in 1998 which created
an era of reformation. Those things are inseparable from the role of youth as an identity
in maintaining the unity of the nation. As Mr. Soekarno said "Give me ten young men
then I will shake the world," implies a very deep message that youth are able to make
changes.
On the other hand, In this millennial era where the development of technology is
rapidly, it makes the level of competition between individual is higher. The youth here
must be able to learn and adapt quickly to become better, also do the right navigation in
order to solve every problem that their face. Thus, the youth are known as agents of
change that are expected to make good changes in the future for Indonesia.
What distinguishes between youth in this millennial era and The youth in previous
generation is the development of technology that makes millennial youth enter the
digital world. This thing one of the challenges of the current millennials in maintaining
their identity as the one who have responsibility in advancing the nation.
Well, now i’d like to ask to our panelis about this issue. Firstly i’d like to ask Mr Ilham,
What is your opinion regarding this topic, do you think millennials are still considered
as youth identity?
Ilham : Talking about youth in this era means we talk about Millennial generation. They are the
hope and at the same time the successor to the ideals of the country, the good and bad
qualities of youth will determine the future of certain country. Of course that youth is
not a community without hope, but youth is a community that is expected.
And based on history, the long journey of Indonesia’s Independece struggle, until now is
inseparable from the colors given by young people who care about their nation and
country. Like the speech of Ir. Soekarno "Give me ten young men then I will shake the
world," it implied a very deep message that youth can make changes.
Moreover with the world today that has moved on from ancient times, and entered into
a millennial era, where this era is referred to as a time where technology is developing
rapidly and becoming a lifestyle for the generations in it. In this millennials Era, it allows
youth to work beyond the limits of place and time. And whatever is done can be eternal
because of what is in our hands, namely smartphones. And the potential of youth to be
extraordinary is also very large.
Therefore, at this era young people are Agents of change who are expected to make
better changes going forward.
Wan : Then, By the fact that the development of technology right now so rapidly and of
course it affected the millennials, What do you think about the characteristics of millennials
in this era?
Ilham : as we know that the millennial generation is very close to technology. The life of this
generation cannot be separated from technology and the internet, in contrast to
previous generations where the influence of technology has not been as prominent as
it is today. The millennial generation was born when smartphones and social media
began to emerge in Indonesia, so it is natural that this generation is more tech-savvy
than previous generations. There are also other differences that arise between the
millennial generation with previous generations, namely related to cultural or lifestyle.
There is a tendency that the millennials prefer to listen to music and hang out with
their friends. So it is not surprising that many cafes or other hangouts place are
crowded with young people nowadays, because that is their social life.
Besides that characteristics, millennials also have a more tolerant nature. This is
influenced by the current of increasingly rapid globalization, where young people
today can interact with humans from various parts of the world. The current of
globalization has succeeded in creating broader direct and indirect interactions
between human beings, that there are no boundaries between one country and
another. Therefore, globalization makes the millennial generation more open to
differences, their perspectives on diversity become wider so that arises a fairly high
tolerance of this generation.
Wan : Alright thank you mr ilham, Well, what do you think about todays topic Mr Sufar, Do
you Agree that millennials are still considered as youth identity?
Sufar : well, a very interesting explanation from Ilham as Indonesia deputy millennial movement
about youth identity in this era, especially when he was quoting the proclamator
statement " give me ten youth I will shake the world'' but this is not only the message
for the youth another message such as "old man just can dream but the youth can
change the world" those are what Soekarno was said about youth on the past. this
massage is not for unfaedah youth in this era. unfaedah here means the youth that
wasting their precious time, don't care and don't give contribute to their nation. what
I believe about the youth now is they lose their identity as the youth. most of them
have forgotten who are the true themself.
I am so sorry to say this but, this is not just only my pessimist opinion. in 2015 there
was a survey about youth and nation's ideology and the result was announced by
former deputy chair of MPR Mr. Hidayat Nur Wahid, the survey result is only 23
percent youth who care and know about our nation's ideology"
this is why I said the youth have forgotten about who actually themself.
Wan : What about The characterisitics of Milleials that Mr Ilham said before? Do you agree
with his statement, or you have another answer?
Sufar : My answer will be 180-degree difference with Mr. Ilham answer. the first one, I agree
with Mr. Ilham about millennials is cannot be separated from technology and the
internet but, the problem is because technologies and the internet can't be separated
from their daily life they have forgotten who are themself, but I will not say technology
and internet don't have benefits, of course, those have a lot benefits but, the reality says
most of them wasting their time. the youth prefer to wasting their time with doing
useless activities. I think I don't need to mention what is the useless activity that I
meant, I believe the audiences already know it. so my point is the characteristic of the
youth in this era is prefer don't care about other people and their nation, most of them
wasting a lot of their precious time with hang-out, playing video game from the morning
till midnight, watching a lot drama from ginseng country, school brawl, illegal
motorcycle racing, alay TikTok video, making stupid prank on youtube, use illegal drugs,
and... I am sorry I think I can't keep mention all of it because, if I keep mention all of it,
the talk show will not end and the audience can't go home.

Wan : Wow, i love your spirit and confident in answering those question Mr Sufar.
For Mr Ilham, In the beginning, you said that now youth are Agents of Change. So what can
millennials do in this era with those label?
Ilham : Young people are needed as agents of change in various sectors, including the
political sector. As long as there is such a thing as a "state", politics will always be
there. The problem is that politics has been associated for too long as a dirty thing
and is therefore avoided by many people.
Millennial generation must be able to act as a change agent and break the cycle of
bad actions. Youth must remain optimistic and not stop taking corrective measures,
including in the political sector. Youth must be willing to care about the political
quality of their country and dare to plunge into it. Because political improvement
will only occur when good people, professionals and integrity enter politics.
in fact there is another dimension of politics, that is, a powerful tool that can
provide welfare for the people. If we do politics properly, we can make the world a
better place. As Mahatma Gandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world".
Do not rely on others to make improvements, but we must be willing to intervene
to make improvements that we want.
Wan : What about you Mr Sufar, What do you think about the millenials are the Agent of
Change which was stated repeatedly by Mr Ilham, do you think so?

Sufar : like Mr. Soekarno quotes about the old man just can dream but the youth can change
world and youth can shake the world. it is true the youth can change if they want an
alteration. but most of the agents of change today can't do it. they can shake it, but they
just can shake their finger to kill enemies with their virtual analog on the smartphone
and they can shake they finger to take some tissue paper to wipe away the tears on
their face because their Oppa rejected the love of the protagonist.
sorry for my satire, but I just want to say come on ! youth you are agent of change, we
have a lot of hope for you and you have a lot responsibilty to carry. Don’t think your live
will be easy, because there is no easy thing in this world except instant noodles but you
have to remember even instant noodles if you want to eat it you need to open cover
first.

Wan : Alright, we almost in the end of todays, discussion, now i’ll ask last question each of
you, starting from you Mr Ilham, As the one who support the millenials to utilize the
information technology in maintaining their identity of youth in this nation. What challenges
will the young generation of millennials face in the future, especially the use of information
technology? And what tips must be prepared to be able to overcome these challenges?
 Ilham : allright, In this era everything moves quickly, the world becomes infinite,
information can be obtained anywhere and from anyone. So, the current generation
must try and be able to be wise, especially in the use of social media. Social media is
similar to politics, depending on how we use it. We can be useful and get smarter
when using social media properly, but we can also be hoax spreaders and be stupid if
we use social media incorrectly.
And with all the technological sophistication, the level of competition is also getting
higher. Quality and performance of humans are also demanded to be higher.
Therefore, today's generation of young people must be able to adapt and learn quickly
and to do agilely navigation to be able to solve every problem. Youth are required to
be creative and if not, they will not be able to compete. Furthermore, in the next few
years our position may have been replaced by robots or computer programs.
Wan : Thank you Mr Ilham, Now for Mr. Sufar, your opinion always contrast with mr ilham.
since the beginning, you always said that the youth lose their identity as the youth, what the
solution for this problem or you can conclude your opinion about this topic?

sufar : even some of my point difference with mr ilham, we have the same vision about making
the youths better. the first one I want to say I'am sorry if the youth or audience got mad
because I say most of the youth doesn't give contribute for their nation. please don't
santet or jampi-jampi me, I just want to make you aware, because every people are
hoping for you. the youth needed to make an alteration to make a become country
better. only the youth the old can hope. Because of that to solve this problem we need
to make the youth realize how important their role for their country. I am very
appreciated Mr ilham as millennial deputy that have tell to as the youth roles, and mr
Hady as the host of this talk show. I hope the youth start think how important they are
for their around and nation.
Wan : thank you Mr Sufar and Mr Ilham, Well what an amazing disscussion today. I can
conclude that According to Mr. Ilham ,Millenials still considered have youth identity because
they are agents of change who has responsibility on advancement of the nation, Meanwhile
Mr. Sufar seems pessimistic about the millennials today because he thinks they have lost their
identity. so they must be aware of the importance of their role in the advancement of
Indonesia, because it is inevitable that they are the future leaders of our lovely country
Oke now the question session is opened for the audience and will be answered by our Panelis.
Don’t forget to state your name befor asking. Time and place are yours.

QnA session
1. A: how is the millennial generation able to compete and face the challenges in this digital
era?
P: Of course, as the next generation of the nation, the millennial generation of Indonesia must
not lose in competition with young people from other countries. Higher education alone is
apparently not enough, millennial Indonesian youth must be equipped with a variety of
experiences and good soft skills. Now, being a creative, active, and innovative person must be
possessed by every young person. That is the main requirement for millennials to be able to
compete and face challenges in this millennial era.
A: I agree with you. Millennial generation must be creative, active and innovative. But, how can
they be a creative, active and innovative millennial generation in today's modern era?
P: Okay, to be a creative, active, and innovative young man, we need to get used to doing
activities that are positive and beneficial. I can give 5 things.
First, multiply reading books. Reading books regularly is highly recommended for the current
millennial generation. Especially in this digital Era, there are electronic books, which we can
download and read wherever and whenever. By reading books every day, the insights we
gained become broader and this will stimulate the ability to think creatively.
Second, Using the Internet and Social Media Wisely. Basically, the positive impact of
technological progress will be felt when we also use it positively. We can use the internet to
search for creative ideas on Google, try writing articles on Kompasiana, see creative tutorials on
Youtube, make interesting photos to display on Instagram or Facebook, share useful
information on Twitter and much more.
Third, Be Open To New Experiences. Millennials have to get used to being open to new
experiences. there are various kinds of useful activities, such as joining social organizations,
volunteering for poor people, or participating in competitions. These activities will train
ourselves to be able to think more creatively and move more actively.
Fourth, Building Ideas and Vision for the Future. Millennials must try to develop creative ideas
in their minds. we can start with simple ideas first. Besides trying to develop ideas, the
millennial generation must also have a vision in their lives. This vision must be clear and
realistic. This is important so that the millennial generation has goals and objectives in their
lives.
Finally, be diligent in exercising and getting used to get up early. By exercising diligently, we
have a lot of energy needed to increase creativity. In addition, we become more enthusiastic.
Getting used to get up in the early morning, will help our brain become fresher so that it can
bring up creative ideas.
Well, that's all activities that Youth of Millennial Generation can do in order to be creative,
active and innovative.
2. Q : my name is ...... I want to ask question. Mr sufar before the question, I think it is true
about many youth wasting their time with useless activities. like playing game but some of
them aslo get money from playing it. Do you think it’s still wasting time ?
A: hahaha very good question. but now let me ask you how many people that can earn money
from streaming game playing or making youtube content ?
Q: only a few people like that.
A: yes you are right. I think the right proverb is “once in blue moon” it’s so rarely, just few of
them who can earn money from playing game. people who wasting their time with playing
online game will say this as reason but we all know that instead of making money they actually
spend real money by buying diamond in-game.
although they can make money from the internet or youtube it doesn't guarantee they are
doing anything that is beneficial to the nation and country. Take for example the garbage prank
that went viral for several weeks, and so on.

Q: Yes I’am so agree with you mr sufar. May be now any message you want for the youth ?

A: remember the heroes sacrificed to take this independency. they sacrificed their red blood to
take this red flag, they sacrificed their white soul to take this, white flag. your job know is not to
take independency like on the past, but your job is to maintain independence and try to do
something as the best as you can for your nation. remember the quote of our first president "
old man just can dream but the youth can change the world" we believe you the youth. we
believe our nation precious sons and daughters.

Q: thank you for inspiring message mr sufar. I also hope the best for the youth.