Jakarta. Young people should act as agents of change in the current era of digital disruption, a minister said at the recent second Y20 Indonesia 2022 pre-summit in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

According to Minister of Public Enterprises Erick Thohir, young Indonesians face three major challenges, namely health resilience, digital disruption and the global supply chain crisis.

“It is these three challenges that we must face together and of which young people must become agents of change,” Erick told the conference virtually.

Millennials and Generation Z make up 54% of the population. Along with the younger generation taking the lion’s share of the population, they play a crucial role in propelling Indonesia to developed country status by 2045.

“The participation of young people in the development of a country is crucial. And it is for this reason that I convey my appreciation to the Y20 as a forum to formulate the best ideas for the development of Indonesia and the world, [among others] on digital transformation,” Erick said.

“Young people are the spearhead of the future. You will decide where the boat, i.e. this country, will sail and where it will dock,” added Erick, while also calling on the younger generation to be adaptable, agile and adopt a growth mindset.

Similarly, the Minister of Communications and Computing, Johnny G Plate, has also named the younger generation – many of whom are tech-savvy and digital natives – as agents of change.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reported that almost 70% of young people aged 15 to 24 worldwide were Internet users at the end of 2019. Johnny also pointed out how tech geniuses like Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Apple’s Steve Jobs founded their companies when they were 19 and 21, respectively.

“This indicates how today’s youth will lead national or global digital transformation. […] Young people today, who were born surrounded by a digital ecosystem, play a crucial role as agents of change in today’s digital landscape,” Johnny also said at the pre-summit forum. Y20.

The two-day Y20 pre-summit in Lombok focused on digital transformation. Saturday’s discussion focused on educating young people about digital finance. Sunday’s forum is expected to deepen youth inclusion and innovation in digital governance.

“The voice of young people is the voice of the present and the future. What we produce today and tomorrow is not just the voice of young people in Indonesia and G20 countries, but the voice of young people around the world,” said Budy Sugandi, Co-Chair of Y20 Indonesia 2022.