Series of Being Active Citizens (Part 1): How to be Good Citizens for Gen Z

August 16th, 2021, VDMI held the Series of Being Active Citizens. The first part of the series discusses how to be good citizens for the Z generations. Gen Z has several characteristics which are: focus on financial health, interested in Entrepreneurship, reliant on Technology, determined to Win, engaged in change, welcome diversity, desires independence, expresses their opinions, looks for security, skilled at multitasking, and seeks human interaction.

The participants were divided into ten groups to do the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis for the characteristics of Gen Z. Indonesian youths currently have four roles for this country which are: guide of value, iron stock, agent of social control, and agent of social change. We can start small for bigger purposes. For instance, start to greet people in our closest environment. For the example of what youths can do, Ibu Ani provided videos of Craig Kielburger (child-right activist) and Alturo Alvarez (ex-gang member).

Febian Haganta Gibran, a grantee from Medan State University, asked how she can manage her energy while multitasking so that she does not feel exhausted. Ibu Ani suggested, “You should understand time management. Ensure to put things that are urgent and important first. So, you do not lose anything even when you let go of some things due to running out of energy. This is because things that you let go are not significant.