IIEE and ICLEI Successfully Holds Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Awareness Raising Program for Youth

Jakarta, Indonesia – IIEE and ICLEI have successfully implemented an energy conservation and renewable energy awareness raising program for youth in DKI Jakarta. The pilot project was called Duta Energi (Energy Ambassador), which was held in October until December 2020. This project involved 24 schools from all levels (elementary, junior high, and senior high), with participants consisting of 120 students, who acted as Duta Energi, and 24 teachers who acted as Energy Managers. All events in this project, i.e. project launching, training for teachers, training for students, monitoring and evaluation, competition judgement, and project closing were conducted virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The project closing was conducted on December 15, 2020, via Zoom meeting. The event was attended by representatives from Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta (representatives from Deputy of Spatial Planning and Environment, Education Office, Manpower Transmigration and Energy Office, and Environment Office),  24 Energy Managers and 120 Duta Energi from 24 schools, competition judges, ICLEI team and IIEE team.

The activity began with an opening by the host (Ade Djunainah from IIEE), then continued with singing the national anthem Indonesia Raya. After that continued with remarks from ICLEI Country Manager, Ari Mochamad. In his remarks, he reiterated the importance of the role of the young generation as driving force in tackling climate change, comparing the students to the world-famous Greta Thunberg. The Duta Energi are expected to spread the “positive virus” of energy efficiency to both families at home, and friends near home and school.

The remark continued by the Directorate of Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, represented by Hendro Gunawan (Deputy Director for Technical Assistance & Cooperation of Energy Conservation). In his remarks, he congratulated the Duta Energi. Congratulations on taking responsibility, to start an energy-saving movement starting from yourself. As taught in the training, saving energy can be started with simple steps, such as turning off the TV when not watching, turning off the lights when not in use, etc. These efforts might be just simple steps. But, as long as they are done consistently, they will definitely reduce energy consumption, reduce electricity bills and the students can directly contribute to controlling climate change.

The next remarks were delivered by representatives from the DKI Jakarta Provincial Education Office, represented by Ali Mukodas (Head of Secondary Education Section). He highlighted the importance of introducing energy-saving behavior from an early age. So involving students from the elementary school level is very appropriate. In daily learning, material on energy has been introduced at the elementary, junior high and senior high school levels. However, with the addition of training on materials on How to conduct a good campaign, materials on energy, especially energy saving, can be more applicable and contribute significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, he hopes that program like this does not stop at closing, but it should be monitored and accompanied continuously.

Then the IIEE Executive Director (Dr. Hakimul Batih) presented the Duta Energi pilot project activities from beginning to closing. In his presentation, Mr. Batih conveyed the activities carried out, starting from compiling modules, socializing and launching programs, training activities, inter-school competitions and monitoring and evaluation activities. In addition, various challenges and obstacles were faced, such as the implementation of the Duta Energi program through the Zoom platform, so there were limitations in building a chemistry between the organizers and the participants. The training time was short, and it coincided with the school’s final semester examination schedule. However, the Duta Energi pilot project program as a whole ran smoothly and provided new experiences, especially in terms of how to create activity packages for different school levels (elementary, junior high, and senior high), and also how to carry out online training. Various achievements have been made during the training.

The event continued with the socialization of the output of the Ambitious City Promises Program to support GHG Emission Reduction Action in DKI Jakarta by the ICLEI Indonesia (Selamet Daroyni). He explained that the Duta Energi pilot project is part of the initial implementation of the Ikhtiar Jakarta. Ikhtiar Jakarta is a program aimed at involving all components of society and business actors to play a joint role with the DKI Jakarta Government in reducing emissions by 30% by 2030. Various backgrounds for the Pilot Project Duta Energi are that youth has an important role as an agent of change; The DKI Jakarta Government has a rooftop solar installation program in schools; The government, NGOs and the private sector collaborate with youth in conducting advocacy and campaigns; It is necessary to increase the role of youth in DKI Jakarta as one of the important actors in implementing climate action. The output of the ACP program or Ikhtiar Jakarta includes: (i) Ikhtiar Jakarta document (ii) Ikhtiar Jakarta website (iii) Pilot project (Waste to Energy and Duta Energi) (iv) Preparation of Interfaith Books to Support Emission Reduction Greenhouse Gases in DKI Jakarta.

After the presentation of the website Ikhtiar Jakarta, the event was continued with testimonials from representatives of Duta Energi from all three levels, then the announcement of the Best Schools of the Pilot Project Duta Energi in DKI Jakarta. The Best Schools from each level are

Elementary school

1^st place: SDN Menteng 01 Jakarta

2^nd place: SDN Kebon Jeruk 01 Jakarta

3^rd place: SDN Cijantung 03 Jakarta

Junior high school

1^st place: SMPN 75 Jakarta

2^nd place: SMPN 203 Jakarta

3^rd place: SMPN 7 Jakarta

Senior high school

1^st place: SMAN 95 Jakarta

2^nd place: SMKN 63 Jakarta

3^rd place: SMAN 1 Jakarta

The announcement was succeeded by testimonials from judge representatives and the closing of the program activities by the ICLEI Indonesia.

Achievements of Pilot Project Duta Energi in DKI Jakarta

Achievements of the Pilot Project Duta Energi during the program until monitoring and evaluation were:

1. 24 schools were involved
2. 120 students from elementary, junior and senior high schools have been trained to become Duta Energi
3. There was a behavior change of the Duta Energi in everyday life

• There is a decrease in electricity consumption at the Duta Energi’s house. For example in one of the students’ houses (Duta Energi of SMPN 75), the reduction in electricity costs reached Rp122,233.

• Unlimited creativity from the Duta Energi in carrying out the Energy Saving campaign. They use various platforms for campaigns, such as Zoom meetings, social media (Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok), webinars. In their campaign, they use posters, videos, photos, fact-finding, and even involved several celebrities to campaign for energy saving