Spreading Peace, One Social Share at a Time
Jakarta. Indonesia is one of the world’s leading users of social media, and peace-building NGO Search for Common Ground is tapping into that media craze to spread — or “share” — the love.
Search for Common Ground Indonesia is holding a three-day event called “#CiptaDamai,” or “create peace,” that showcases young people’s multimedia creations promoting nonviolence and harmonious living. The event, which runs through Sept. 5 at Jakarta’s SME Tower, features their film, design and blog submissions, and hosts discussions and workshops about peace-building. At the end of the event, those selected for submitting the best work in their category will go home with a prize.
Hardya Tranadipa, the NGO’s program officer tasked with preventing violent extremism in youth, said he wanted to use popular modern media outlets to share positive messages. He believes this is particularly important now that violent discourse is so prevalent on social media, and is sometimes used to recruit youth to extremist organizations.
“Maybe the occurrence of violent extremism is a bit decreased ... [but] the problem is people now have too much access to violent narratives in the media,” he said. “If they are too much consuming the negative message, they cannot ... engage constructively.”
Although the festival is the culmination of a multimedia competition, the atmosphere of the event is very much inclusive and cooperative. On the opening day, participants, comprised of students from around Java and Sulawesi, all cheered and clapped loudly for their peers. They were also split up into regional groups — Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Banten and Central Sulawesi — to discuss how to implement peace-building initiatives in their own neighborhoods, with plans to continue working together once the festival is over.
One of the festival’s participants is Dini Arfiani, a fifth-year student at the University of Surakarta who got involved with Search for Common Ground when she attended workshops in Semarang over the past couple years.
To spread the message of nonviolence, she and some teammates created a video documentary showing the aftermath in families whose children have become suspected terrorists. In addition to the sadness they feel about losing their children, some of these families have been shunned by their peers.
“By watching this kind of video, I think we have to think twice, three times, and a thousand times, if we [want to] do the same thing,” she said. “Of course it will influence our parents, our family.”
She added that she feels an obligation to take part in violence prevention, because she and other young Indonesians are the future leaders of the nation.
“To stop the violence is the obligation as the youth,” she said. “By joining Search for Common Ground, I think I put in more talent and more skill ... to promote how we can sort the problem without violence.”
Not all event attendees are participants in the competition, however. Linda Uji Purnasanti, a 20-year-old student at Diponagoro University in Semarang, made the trip out to Jakarta in support of Search for Common ground and its message.
Since discovering the organization a year ago, she has become extremely drawn to its cause due to her observation that violence is all too common in today’s world.
“I see it in the news, and I see [it in] other people around me,” she said. “I don’t know why underage people are involved in violence. Even children are involved in war, or school war, or something ... It’s really uncomfortable for me to go everywhere alone.”
Her desire to make a positive impact in this realm has propelled her desire to work for Search for Common Ground after she graduates — a deviation from her previous plans to become a diplomat or businesswoman.
“To be useful for the state, it’s not about profession, it’s not about your life goals, but it’s about peace and love,” she said.
Dini took it a step further, saying peace building should not just be a priority of NGOs or motivated citizens -- the government, she said, should join the movement as well.
“This is also the responsibility of the government, which has power and has the interest of the society,” she said. “I think the government should adopt the same agenda as Search for Common Ground."
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