The UGM Student Executive Board collaborated with the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration to hold the Village Servant Congress entitled “Youth Pledge Synergy in Building Rural Areas: Inspiring Change, Building Sustainable Villages.”
The congress occurred at UGM in Yogyakarta on Saturday (October 28).
The Minister for Partner Village Development at the UGM Student Executive Board, Isroq Adi Subakti, in a statement sent to the press on Friday (November 3), stated that the Village Servant Congress was held in commemoration of Youth Pledge Day, attended by more than 200 participants, mostly youth.
According to him, the outcomes of this congress yielded recommendations to urge the government to be more responsive to village issues.
“This congress is aimed at promoting government responsiveness, inclusive assets, and active residents in responding to the current existence of villages,” he said.
Expert Staff in Development and Society at the Ministry of Villages, Bito Wikantosa, emphasized that village development should be seen from its potential through the acceleration of the digital culture of the community, not merely through the provision of technological tools.
“This digital culture should be the driving identity so that it is deeply rooted in culture, sovereign in politics, and self-reliant in the economy,” continued Bito Wikantosa.
Wikantosa mentioned that rural youth are not only autonomous subjects but are dynamic institutional drivers and adaptive cultural actors as village cadres and organic facilitators.
The Secretary of the Directorate General of Transmigration Area Development at the Ministry of Villages, Sigit Mustofa, acknowledged that the current reality of village issues is still linked to the limited accessibility, especially in villages outside Java.
“In terms of intelligence, they are the same as us. But the difference lies in access availability,” added Mustofa.
However, he added that the Ministry of Villages remains committed to the issue of accelerating village digitalization. The Inclusive Village program was initiated to create organic change for villages throughout Indonesia.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Image: Freepik