Kementerian PPN/Bappenas, Jakarta, 13 July 2018 - Youth development is an important strategic agenda for Indonesia in order to prepare for a strong future generation to play leading roles in the further development of the nation, according to the Indonesian Youth Development Index 2017, published today by the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Coordinating Ministry of Human Development and Culture, and supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The Youth Development Index (YDI) is particularly important when it is linked with the demographic dividend which will be faced by Indonesia over the next few years. The YDI gives valuable information on the development status of youth in the country and provides a useful performance measure on the many policies and programmes related to youth development that have been initiated by the government.
“Youth development is the strategic agenda in preparing for a future generation that is strong and capable to play a role in nation building and take advantage of demographic opportunities. The YDI is an instrument to give a portrait of the progress on youth development in Indonesia. The YDI 2017 could be one of the main references in giving the recommendation regarding youth development policies and strategies in Indonesia,” the Minister of National Development Planning, Prof. Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro said. “As a mandate of the Presidential Regulation No. 66/2017 on Cross-Sectoral Strategic Coordination and Implementation of Youth Service, the YDI can also become a reference in the framework of coordination cross-sectorally for the youth organization, both at the central and regional levels.”
The YDI consists of five domains, which are education, health, and well-being, employment and opportunity, participation and leadership, also gender and discrimination. “Those five domains are relevant to the five rights of Indonesian youth as mandated on the Youth Law No. 40 of 2009, which are protection, access to services without discrimination, advocacy, the opportunity for self-development, as well as the opportunity to participate in planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policy and decision making related to youth,” said the Minister of Youth and Sports, Imam Narwawi.
Youth development in Indonesia is undergoing some progress, as the report showed that the index increased from 47.33 points in 2015 to 50.17 in 2016. Education has the best index value among the five YDI domains in two consecutive years, due to the strong contribution of high school participation rates and the average length of schooling. This domain reaches 63.30 during 2015-2016. In terms of changes in index values, gender domains and discrimination experienced the greatest increase from 36.67 to 43.33 during 2015-2016. This is because of the improvements in reducing child marriage and also the increased number of young women that are working in the formal sector. Although the domain of Employment and Opportunity is listed as the domain with the second largest improvement, this domain requires special attention, as this domain is the weakest one with values of 35 and 40 over two years.
“The YDI becomes important because it will enable government and other stakeholders at national and provincial levels to assess the effectiveness of current policies and programmes concerning youth, particularly in the area pertaining to the SDGs implementation in Indonesia. Supportive policies can contribute to the efforts of young people and government to end inter-generational poverty, illiteracy, child marriage, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence and sexual violence, and gender inequality.” The UNFPA Representative in Indonesia, Dr. Annette Sachs Robertson said.
In a more comprehensive overview, most provinces are making progress, where 30 provinces accounted for positive changes in the YDI. The dynamic movement of youth development in the provinces has decreased the YDI inequality between one province and other provinces. In 2016, Yogyakarta is ranked first for the overall YDI and the score the best for Education domain, Participation and Leadership domain, and Gender and Discrimination domain. There are at least six provinces that move upwards, including North Sulawesi which is the most improved province between 2015 and 2016 due to the decreasing morbidity rate among youth and teenage pregnancy.
“We hope that the Indonesian Youth Development Index is not only seen as a detailed review of the youth situation in Indonesia but also as a starting point for measuring the current state of youth and the impact of various policies and programs related to youth development.” The Deputy for Human Development and Culture of Bappenas, Dr. Ir. Subandi, M.Sc said. “Hopefully this publication is useful to all relevant stakeholders, especially those interested in forming and developing Indonesian youth who have a noble character, healthy, intelligent, innovative, independent, and professional.”
At the YDI launching, the youth representative, actress and activist Tasya Kamila, positively welcomed the YDI. "The YDI can be an important source of data that can be use by youth organizations and youth leaders in Indonesia to advocate for issues that matter to them. In addition, the YDI can also be used as a source of data for Indonesian students to conduct research as well as a benchmark to understand the strategic youth issues in the country and to know what has been done well and what still need improvement.”
About the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas: Bappenas is an Indonesian central government institution which is responsible for formulating national development planning. Bappenas has also a responsibility to coordinate international development, including bilateral, unilateral and multilateral cooperation.
About the United Nations Population Fund: UNFPA’s mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA works to end unmet need for family planning, end preventable maternal deaths and end gender-based violence and harmful practices through presence in more than 150 countries.
Press Contact:
Bappenas: The Directorate of Family, Women, Children, Youth and Sports - kpapo@bappenas.go.id.
UNFPA: Ms. Margaretha Sitanggang, National Programme Officer for Youth and ASRH – sitanggang@unfpa.org.
