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Indonesian Young Thought-Leaders on Environment 2017 is a mentorship program aimed to transform young individuals with knowledge, expertise and passions into agents of change in protecting the environment and improving lives. This program is organized by the World Resources Institute Indonesia (WRI Indonesia), in partnership with the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) since 2015.

Call for essay: January 1st – March 31st, 2017

The program calls for Indonesian final year students or fresh graduates (bachelor and masters) to submit an essay surrounding environmental issues. The essay competition will be followed by leadership trainings and internship at the World Resources Institute offices in Jakarta and Washington DC.

Check your eligibility

To be eligible, you must fulfil all of the following criteria:

  • Final year student in a Bachelor’s or Master’s programme in any field of study OR within one year after graduation from a Bachelor’s or Master’s programme;
  • Born in 1993 or later;
  • Hold Indonesian citizenship and live in Indonesia;
  • Available to be in Jakarta for the Thought-Leaders Camp as part of the selection process (only for the top 20 individuals).

Prize

Following the essay competition, top 20 individuals will be invited to participate in a thought-leadership camp where participants will receive trainings. Top 3 finalists will get a chance to join the internship program at WRI Indonesia, and the winner will spend one month in WRI Washington DC for an internship program. All cost associated with these activities will be borne by WRI Indonesia.

Essay prompt

Crowdsourcing to solve environmental issues – What is your innovation?

The notion of crowdsourcing has appeared on the surface recently, particularly with the development of platforms that deploy the principles of crowdsourcing such Gojek (online transport network), Kitabisa (a fundraising platform), and Kawalpemilu (an election monitoring platform). Indeed, crowdsourcing can be found in various forms and sectors, from politics, business, to environment and may hold potential to contribute to solving issues in those sectors. Environment sector, particularly, has been receiving intense spotlight in the global community. The Earth experienced the warmest April on record last year, keeping 2016 on track to be the hottest year yet and by the biggest margin ever. In 2015, massive fires burned in Indonesia’s forests and land, creating toxic haze not only in Indonesia but also Singapore and Malaysia and resulting in billions of dollars' worth of damages and losses. More environmental problems are taking place and solutions to help address those issues are urgently needed.

The IYTL on Environment program calls for passionate Indonesian youth to think about the innovation in crowdsourcing that can help solve environmental issues – be it in climate, forests, energy, or cities. Pick one of these four areas you are most passionate about, identify a pressing problem in the area and come up with an innovation in crowdsourcing to solve it. You should also argue the pros and cons of such innovation.

We are looking for a data-driven, creative and thought-provoking essay. Candidates should feel free to go out of the box, although it needs to be justified through strong supporting arguments. Graphics and pie charts could be used in the essays to support your points.

Essay criteria

  • Form: Essay (maximum 1500 words)
  • Language: English
  • Deadline: 31 March 2017, 11.59pm WIB
  • Individuality: Individual work expected, no group work allowed.
  • Citation: All sources must be cited and referred to the respective part in the essay

Essay submission

  • Submit your essay, scanned copy of identity card, and scanned copy of student card to indonesiaoffice@wri.org

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to send my resume or curriculum vitae along with the essay? No. Since we are looking for a young thought-leader, your previous work and organizational relationship is not directly relevant at the first phase of the selection process. However, candidate might be asked to provide them at the later phase of the selection.

2. Can I write my essay in Indonesian? No. All essays should be submitted in English, and is no longer than 1500 words. It is important that candidates have good command in English as he would be taking the internship in an English-speaking environment.

3. What kind of essay would win the contest? We are looking for a data-driven proposal that is exhausted through a systematic thinking process. Candidates should feel free to go out of the box, although it needs to be justified through strong supporting arguments. Graphics and pie charts could be used in the essays to support your points.

4. Is there a specific format I need to follow for the essay? No. You could use your own font and font size, as long as it is easy to read and is within the word limit. Your choice of format would not affect the jury’s judgment.

5. How many winners will there be in this contest? The jury will select 20 best essays and we will invite the top 20 individuals to participate in a thought-leadership camp. Based on the results of the camp, 3 finalists will be selected to join the internship program at WRI Indonesia. Finally, we will send 1 winner to WRI Washington DC for a one-month internship program. All cost associated with these activities will be borne by WRI Indonesia.

6. If I’m selected, what can I expect to experience in the thought-leadership camp? During the two-day camp, not only that you will learn about environmental issues such as climate, forests, cities and climate, but also undergo trainings that aims to enhance your writing, communications and research skill. You will also be assigned to work on real-case scenarios in the environment sector and present your proposal. At the end of the camp, the goal is that you can become youth ambassadors for environment and development.

7. Is there a specific reading or person or organization I should talk to in order to understand more about the topic? It is always good to have the initiative. There are many environmental organizations in Indonesia, and you could always start by looking for resources in their websites. Our own http://wri-indonesia.org is an ideal treasure chest. Our recent blogpost might be a good start.

8. If I win, when will the internship be conducted? The internship in the WRI Indonesia office will tentatively be in June 2017 whereas the internship in WRI Washington DC will be in July 2017, depending on the availability of both the winners and the global office. In other words, it would be open for discussion.

The 2015 Indonesian Young Thought-Leaders on Environment

Submissions to the 2015 competition were received from individuals across a variety of study disciplines. The top 10 finalists, for example, hailed from different field of studies, ranging from social studies such as law and sociology to studies in natural sciences, forestry, and engineering. This demonstrates that candidates from various backgrounds are encouraged to participate.

The 2015 Indonesian Young Thought-Leaders on Environment winner, Shita Pina Saphira, has interned for both WRI in Washington DC office and Jakarta office as part of the prize. Her essay focuses on making a persuasive case for the government in private sector strategies for payment on ecosystem services.

Learn more about her experience in the video below

Learn more about WRI internship program in the video below

Have more questions?

Feel free to reach out to Reidinar Juliane at reidinar.juliane@wri.org for more information.