In response to the issue of demography bonus which is significant increase in productive age population, Youth Studies Centre (YouSure) Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM and Institute of Governance and Public Affairs (IGPA) host Demography Forum UGM workshop. It is a series of events that discuss and socialise the demography bonus topic that happens in Indonesia between 2020-2035.
Workshop on Demography Forum UGM ran on Tuesday (29/8) in Eastparc Hotel, Yogyakarta, attended by Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng. and Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM, Erwan Agus Purwanto, M. Si. It also presented Director General of Regional Autonomy in Home Affairs Ministry, Dr. Soni Sumarsono, M. DM as keynote speakers. The participants of the Workshop include regional leaders, regional secretaries, BAPPEDA and SKPD from several regions in the country.
In the event Soni Sumarsono welcomed the workshop because the central and regional governments have not yet been responsive to the issue of demography bonus. So, the Ministry will try to give more attention to it by mapping the expertise of productive age population that contributes to economic growth.
Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM said the demography bonus is important to discuss amidst the reforms era. Indonesia needs to manage this well as it now has entered this phase.
“We now need to prepare productive age population that have healthy characteristics, smart, and productive,” said Erwan.
Apart form the Forum, there is also the International Conference: Demographic Dividend, Youth, Opportunities, Challenges, and Policy Agendas (DDY – OCAPA), an international conference on Wednesday (30/8) in Grha Sabha Pramana UGM.
Becoming speakers in the conference were Dr. Sugiarto Sumas (Head of Planning and Devleopment Manpower Ministry), Prof. Intan Ahmad, (Director General of Learning and Student Affairs in Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry), Prof. Tadjuddin Noer Effendi, Agus Susanto (Director of Manpower Insurance Agency/BPJS Ketenagakerjaan), Dr. Annette Sachs Robertson (UNFPA), and Prof. Dann Woodman (University of Melbourne).
Sugiarto Sumas said that only by working, demography bonus will be beneficial, if not, it can even create dangers. To be able to work optimally, said Sugiarto, there are four aspects to do: protecting working people to sustain their work, opening job opportunities for new workforce, facilitating working people to always have high productivity, and preparing new workforce to have high competence in line with work market demand.
Chairman of Demography Forum UGM, Muhammad Najib Azca Ph.D, in a welcoming speech said that this programme was expected to bring together academics and shareholders to discuss the issue. Better studies are expected to emerge related to demography bonus. “Through this forum, shareholders and academics can share knowledge so as to yield many things to do in the future,” said Najib.