A rural excursion and a youth engagement workshop were on the cards on the second day of the 2023 conference.
The buses were abuzz with lively chatter early on the second morning of the conference. In the first of two out-of-city excursions included in the conference program, delegates, mentors and speakers travelled to Nglanggeran Tourism Village in Gunung Kidul Regency, a rural destination nestled high in the hills that has incorporated sustainable tourism principles.
Delegates heard of how efforts to conserve water have since morphed into a genuine tourism and tourism education offering for visitors, with activities ranging from hiking to camping to knowledge transfer workshops. All activities are designed with principles of conservation and ecotourism still very much at the forefront – even as the economic benefits flowed to the local community.
Facilitating the session was a local group, Kelompok Sadar Wisata or POKDARWIS, which aims to educate locals and visitors alike about the sustainability mindset that is so important to life in Nglanggeran.
The POKDARWIS team helped delegates learn about examples of grassroots, community-minded and economy-supporting tourism that prioritise responsible experiences.
As the day progressed, participants enjoyed two hands-on, get-stuck-in activities, namely chocolate taffy making and batik mask making, both organised by the POKDARWIS team.
Leaders of the future
The day’s activities then shifted back to a conference setting for a truly eye-opening and bond-creating session, the Engaging Future Leaders (EFL) Program, which was organised by CAUSINDY in collaboration with the AIYA Yogyakarta team.
EFL, another regular conference feature alongside the panel sessions, invites high school students from multiple schools in the local area and provides them with an opportunity to interact and engage in activities alongside CAUSINDY delegates during the conference program.
This year’s program aimed to engage the future leaders not only of Australia in the form of the assembled delegates, but also of Indonesia in the form of almost 60 secondary school students from local institutions which included:
- SMK Negeri 4 Yogyakarta
- SMK Negeri 6 Yogyakarta
- SMA Budya Wacana Yogyakarta
Students were grouped with CAUSINDY delegates and asked to ideate a solution to a particular sustainability challenge in Yogyakarta.
One group considered an English course where participants could use rubbish in lieu of monetary payment. Another group pitched an integrated solution for solving the rubbish crisis in Parangtritis Beach in southern Yogyakarta.
Click here to read more highlights from the 2023 conference.