Jakarta. Another young Indonesian student shadowed Danish ambassador to Indonesia for a day on Tuesday (31/01), after winning the fourth edition of an essay competition "Ambassador 1 Day."

The competition, organized by the Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia and The Habibie Center, aims to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Denmark, promote youth leadership and to encourage students to engage in international affairs and diplomacy.

This year's essay competition focused on the cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector, and received more than 300 essays from university students across Indonesia.

Datu is a nineteen-year-old international relations student from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. As the winner of the competition, he received the opportunity to follow the ambassador of Denmark to Indonesia Casper Klynge for a full day of meetings with ministers, civil society organizations as well as representatives of private businesses.

From visiting The Habibie Center to meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Datu took part in discussions and activities aimed at promoting renewable and clean energy investments, as well as visiting the Mass Rapid Transit tunnel excavation sites.

“We believe it is important to increase transparency and openness in the world of diplomacy and encourage the youth to engage in international cooperation,” Klynge said.

Furthermore, Klynge believes that the event showed how Denmark and Indonesia can work together to create sustainable solutions to the energy challenges facing Indonesia, now and in the years to come.

“One thing I learned today: diplomacy can happen anywhere. At the office, living room, kitchen, to the car,” Datu said on Twitter, after the day’s activities.

As the winner of the competition, Datu will also go on a two-week study trip to Denmark in February. During the trip, Datu will get the chance to meet with high-level government officials and private sector executives, giving him insight into the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Denmark.