Young Indonesians are being encouraged to become more involved in the country’s development in a bid to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

In order to move the plan forward, the government recently held the 2013 Indonesia MDG Awards, at which 21 young people who have introduced positive changes in their own communities were presented with awards. “They should be appreciated because they have struggled to change the status quo,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s special envoy for the MDGs, Nila Moeloek, said.

The award recipients were selected for achievement in several programs, including maternal and infant health care, nutrition, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, access to clean water and basic sanitation and education.

Meanwhile, Surabaya Mayor Tri “Risma” Rismaharini, who spoke during the event, said youngsters should be given space to increase their creativity and entrepreneurship.

She said a great many young people in Surabaya had successfully established their own businesses. There was one young man, she said, who had become a billionaire by producing motorcycle helmets. Many of our officials at the Surabaya administration were also young, she added

   Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/18/youngsters-urged-get-involved-mdgs.html