Five International Relations students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) joined Youth Leadership Camp for Climate Change conducted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on February 4-6, at Cibodas Biosphere Reserve.
The students were Sandi Nursahamdani, Widya Puspitasari, Muhammad Ammar Hidayatulloh, Andi Firmansyah, and Miraj Maghfirah. Widya informed that about 800 students registered. “One team consists of five students, and only ten teams are accepted,” informed Widya in an interview at Public Relations and Protocol Office of UMY on Tuesday (14/3).
She told that participants had a workshop on climate change and management training of climate change issues. “We learned climate change campaign video-making. In the last day, we were required to present a video whose contents were taken around Cibodas Biosphere Reserve, acclaimed as heritage by UNESCO,” stated Widya.
Meanwhile, Andi Firmansyah told, “There will be post events and we have to make a report. The best participant will be invited to go to the United States.”
A team of UMY will collaborate with Student Executive Board (BEM) of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) of UMY. “We are going to organize a peer education forum, climate change campaign to students, February-May action plan, and tree planting collaborating with Student English Activity (SEA) of UMY,” mentioned Andi.
He also admitted that the youth camp benefited himself. “We knew how to promote awareness of climate change and to contribute to confronting the use after having the film-making workshop. The youth camp also enhance our understanding of carbon footprint, each activity generating carbon affecting climate change, such as overcharging a mobile phone and turning on a lamp 24/7,” inserted Andi.
Additionally, Widya and her team will always raise UMY’s students’ awareness of climate change since UMY is a green campus. “We will join a green campus competition conducted by UMY. We would like to promote that as educated people we have to be more aware of and responsible for our environment such as using water sparingly, not littering, and not smoking at campus areas,” Widya ended.
