Road To Copenhagen Writing Competition (Featured In VieR First Edition)
On 22 October 2009, a handful of the students in our school e-mailed their 500 word essays to Plan International. Those students, who were keen, entered the “Road to Copenhagen” Essay Writing Competition which was held by Plan International Indonesia, Dewan Nasional Perubahan Iklim (National Council of Climate Change) and The Jakarta Post. They accepted entries nationwide and one lucky winner from each category (Junior High School and Senior High School) would be given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent Indonesia alongside Plan International of Indonesia and report the UN Framework for The Climate Change Convention (COP 15 – UNFCCC) in Denmark live on the scene!
Those who entered had to write a 500-word news article on the topic “Children and Young People and the Climate Change Challenge” that answered either of the following questions:
• What will be the impact of climate change on Indonesian Children in 10-15 years from now?
• What can children do to combat climate change in Indonesia?
After anxiously waiting for the results of the competition, an e-mail from Plan International came to the inboxes of Tiffany Citra (9D) and Yudhistira Andersen Bunjamin (8D). However, the e-mail brought some totally unexpected news that turned the tables around for the competition. They were told that they had made the cut into the shortlisted top 8 in their divisions and to determine the winner, all finalists had an individual teleconference with the judges. The other finalists from Santa Laurensia Senior High School were Marcel Ardiven and Nadia Aswan.
The teleconference was held on 30 November 2009. There were 3 interviewers. The first interviewer, Mr. Harry Bhaskara, Senior Editor of The Jakarta Post, asked questions about their personal life including why they choose Santa Laurensia as their school, what they do at home to combat climate change, what extracurricular activities they enjoy, what writing competitions they have ever joined and even if they had a boyfriend/girlfriend! Then it was passed on to the second interviewer, Dr. Amanda Katili from the National Council on Climate Change, to enquire about the content of their essay. Then it was passed on to the final interviewer, Mr. Avianto Amir, Disaster Management Specialist of Plan International, to ask them about what they would do if they were selected to Copenhagen!
Tiffany’s teleconference lasted about 18 minutes and Yudhi’s lasted approximately 29 minutes. They were told that on 1 November 2009, only the winner will receive a call from Plan International.
Unfortunately, none of them were the chosen one. However, Yudhi managed to come in second place in the Junior High School division, missing the Copenhagen by only one rank! Nadia Aswan also managed to attain third place. The top 3 from each category were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join a one day in house journalism training for writing skills with the senior editor from The Jakarta Post and a dinner gathering the same night with Mr. Rachmat Witoelar who is the former Minister of Environment and now the Head of The National Council on Climate Change of Indonesia on 13 November 2009!
The following are the award winning essays from Santa Laurensia Junior High School:
We’re the Young Superheroes of Our Earth!
By Tiffany Citra
(Attained Top 8 Position)Do you realize that the Earth is getting hotter? The Earth’s climate becomes worse, because of global warming, two words that we often hear these days. But unfortunately, there are a lot of people who still don’t care about this climate change. They don’t think that this issue is important. Some of them might think that it’s just a waste of time if they contribute to reduce the global warming. And so, how about us, the youths, in combating the climate change? Can we just sit nicely in our homes and keep playing games while there are some people out there working hard to save our Earth? No! We have to contribute, even though we only give a small contribution. If there are a lot of children who also contribute, our small contributions will be an enormous contribution to our Earth. We, the children, could be the superheroes that save our Earth. And, to be a superhero, we need to do several tasks, easy ones, but you’ll be surprised when you find out how they combat the climate change.
First, as a superhero we have two transportations that won’t harm our planet, bicycle and our own feet. You could try to walk or ride a bicycle to travel at a close distance, or if you want, even for a farther distance. Besides saving our Earth, we become healthier, and we spend no money. Try reducing to use cars and other motor vehicles, they make our Earth suffers because of the carbon monoxide that pollutes the air!
Second, we also could contribute when we’re studying at school. Every day we use pencils and papers in doing our assignments, and if you don’t use them wisely, it means that you also make our Earth becomes worse. Pencils and papers come from wood and wood come from trees. If you use more pencils and papers, more trees will be cut down. Our Earth will be much hotter than before. So, we also could save our Earth by using pencils and papers wisely. We could write at both sides of paper, and use our pencil until it becomes as short as possible and we couldn’t fist it anymore.
Third, try to reduce using electricity. You could turn off the lamps when the Sun shines brightly and computer or other electronic devices when you’re not using them. Spend your time for doing something’s useful. Superheroes don’t just stay in front of the TV all day long! We have a bunch of other important stuff to be done.
Last but not least, plant some trees or other plants on your garden. The plants will produce oxygen that makes your home cooler, and who says gardening is not fun? Besides, those plants and trees will make your home becomes prettier.
After you do those things, it means that you’ve contributed to save our Earth from the climate change. There are other things that you could do, and it’s your next task as a superhero to contribute more!
What Can Children Do To Combat Climate Change In Indonesia?
By Yudhistira Andersen Bunjamin
(Attained Second Place)We are responsible for our environment. The environment depends on its inhabitants to maintain it. Even children in Indonesia can play a part in combating climate change in many different, fun, unusual and convenient ways. Every small action can be a contribution, so long as it is done on a regular basis. Simple habits such as turning off the lights when nobody is in the room can impact our climate in a positive way.
One of the approaches to fight climate change is to reduce our use of electricity. When we turn off electrical appliances that are not used, we are saving a lot of electricity. Children of this era own and use many electrical appliances in their daily activities. We use our computer to do our work and we play with electronic game consoles. Sometimes we leave these appliances running when we are not using them. This is just one of the many examples of how children today waste electricity. They have forgotten the importance of conserving energy.
A huge fraction of Indonesians in major cities use motorcycles and cars to travel from one place to another. We can use forms of transportation that do not consume gasoline, such as a bicycle or even on foot, whenever possible. It is also a good idea for us to car pool when we go to places such as schools or malls. We should also be cautious in purchasing electrical appliances. It is best to buy appliances that use less electricity. For example, we can purchase florescent bulbs that consume less energy but still give off the same amount of light.
Another initiative the children of Indonesia can take to combat climate change is to convince others save fossil fuel consumption. Students from different schools can campaign to convince people to do simple things that will prevent global warming. Students can hold events in their school or in their community that will educate people about climate change, how it happens, its consequences, and how anyone can help to prevent it. Children can be encouraged to plant as many plants as they can in their own homes.
A number of Indonesian children are very creative, innovative and talented. In fact, Indonesian students have won many international research competitions in the past few years. An effort that can be made is to do research about climate change. Young scientists can try to discover new facts about climate change and any related topics. This may help in the discovery of new ways to combat climate change. Young inventors can contribute by inventing products that can be used commercially and use less energy, thus reducing electricity consumption.
There are many efforts Indonesian children can make to combat climate change. The planet earth is the only home we have and therefore we need to do our utmost best protect it. Every contribution counts. If the children of Indonesia can accomplish such achievements, it will not only affect the people of our country but also the world. Remember, we only have one Home.
