Jakarta, 24 August 2019 | University of Indonesia (UI), Co-Chair of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Indonesia, together with Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik (GIDKP), the SDSN Youth Indonesia, hosted the SDSN SDGs’ Talk Show with the theme “Indonesia’s Achievement towards SDGs 2030 Agenda” at the local US Embassy’s Cultural Centre know as @america in Jakarta. The event was attended by around 100 participants who were interested in discussing the SDGs.

The SDSN SDGs’ Talk Show was divided into two sessions. The presentations in the first session were delivered by three speakers. The first two speakers were from the SDSN Indonesia members KEHATI foundation and Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), and the third speaker was a member of the Angel Investment Network (ANGIN). The KEHATI foundation presentation focused on its work on conservation and sustainable use of Indonesian biodiversity resources with a primary focus on SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 13: Climate action, SDG 14: Life below water, and SDG 15 Life on land. Other activities of the KEHATI foundation in supporting SDGs in Indonesia include the SRI KEHATI Index, a sustainable and responsible investment equity index, and a program on revitalizing sorghum in East Nusa Tenggara.

The second presenter, CSEAS, is a research center with expertise on climate change, microplastics, circular economy, and sustainable cities. CSEAS presented on the key challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for improving SDG achievement in Indonesia. It was noted from CSEAS that the lack of public awareness, as well as insufficient capacity from local government, were among the challenges of achieving Indonesia’s SDGs.

Finally, ANGIN shared their activities in supporting aspiring entrepreneurs to create more impacts. ANGIN connected the aspiring entrepreneurs in Indonesia with connect capital to impact, in addition to helping to develop the entrepreneurs through leadership programs. Like SDSN, ANGIN was also involved in the AVPN (Asian Venture Philanthropy Network) and the current AVPN representative in Indonesia is based in ANGIN’s office in Jakarta.

The second session was dedicated for SDSN Youth Indonesia speakers including Emancipate Indonesia, Sandya Institute, and the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IIAS) Indonesia. Emancipate Indonesia is a youth organization which aims to combat modern slavery, including gender inequality, as well as promoting fair trade. Their program helps to achieve SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth. From the presentation and discussion with Emancipate Indonesia, it was noted that a lot of people in Indonesia still have a work-life imbalance. An interesting question from a participant was, “How do we differentiate humanitarian work with modern slavery?”

Sandya Institute then discussed how they helped some communities in Indonesia to obtain birth certificate as their legal identity, given that many local and remote villages in Indonesia were still not yet aware of the importance of legal identity. Lack of access to birth certificates for underprivileged communities impacts their access to health facilities, national ID, and much more. Their program helps to achieve SDG 16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions.

Finally, IAAS focused their presentation on agriculture related issues and shared their activities and programs related to SDG 2: Zero hunger and SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production. IAAS has initiated many activities, including a campaign to reduce food waste through a movement called “Snap Food” as well as a social project to increase youth awareness on agriculture and environment under the program “Youth Agricareture.”

SDSN Indonesia and SDSN Youth Indonesia took notes on the insights and suggestions from the presentations and discussions in both sessions. Moving forward, SDSN Indonesia will try to support local government toward enhancing their knowledge on the SDGs by involving many experts of SDSN Indonesia spread out across Indonesia. As for SDSN Youth, more involvement of youth to share their aspirations and thoughts to government and other stakeholders on SDGs related matters will also be enhanced. It is well understood that in this region it will take both a top down and bottom up effort to achieve the SDGs and that’s just what the SDG Hub at the University of Indonesia aims to facilitate with events such as this.