UNS — Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta held a Youth Forum event on Thursday (12/5/2023). This event was in collaboration with Voice of Indonesia (VOI), which is the Overseas Broadcasting Station of Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI). Located in the FISIP UNS Hall, around one hundred students attended in person.

Indonesia as a democratic country will again hold executive and legislative general elections (elections) in February 2024. The General Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) predicts that young voters in the upcoming 2024 elections can reach 60 percent. In other words, the 2024 Election will be the era of students and first-time voters to vote.

According to the Head of the Public Broadcasting Institute (LPP) RRI Overseas Station, Soleman Yusuf, these young voters certainly need to know and understand the importance of holding elections. For this reason, through the Youth Forum held in collaboration with Voice of Indonesia, UNS as a university with many young voters needs to be educated about the importance of elections.

“They should know and understand that elections are not only a means of evaluating government administration, but also nation integration and determining leaders who are able to present a better future for Indonesia,” Soleman said.

He also said the active participation of first-time voters in choosing the nation’s leaders in the elections on 14 February 2024 will be very important in determining the future of the nation and state.

In the talk show, the Youth Forum carried the theme “Gerakan Cerdas Memilih, Menuju Pemilih Cerdas” (Smart Voting Movement, Towards Smart Voters). This theme was discussed by several speakers, namely the Chairperson of the Surakarta City General Election Commission, Nurul Sutarti; Surakarta City General Election Supervisory Board Commissioner, Poppy Kusuma N.W ; Communication Studies Program Lecturer FISIP UNS, Andrine Prima Afneta; and UNS Student Ambassador, Muhammad Rizki.

On this occasion, Andrine explained the reasons why young voters should use their voting rights to vote, especially students who incidentally are part of the Z generation. They were born, grew and developed in the current technological era. A lot of information about the election is very easy for them to access through the mass media.

 “They can get information from various sources. Invite the lecturers to chat and discuss (the election). Going to cafes does not only talk about nobar and mabar, but also about politics in Indonesia,” Andrine explained.

Apart from that, the Youth Forum was also attended by a member of the Supervisory Board of LPP RRI, Mohamad Kusnaeni; Director of Program and Production, Mistam; the Head of LPP RRI Station for Foreign Affairs, Soleman Yusuf; the Head of RRI Surakarta Station, Atik Hindari; the Dean of FISIP UNS, Prof. Dr. Ismi Dwi Astuti Nurhaeni, M.Si. and its staff. Humas UNS

Reporter: Rangga Pangestu Adji

Redaktur: Dwi Hastuti