Supporting Clean Air, UMN Hosts BLUE VOICES 2023 Roadshow

Vincent Ricardo expressed hope for the awareness of the younger generation on environmental issues.

Friday (26/05) Tangerang, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara hosted the BIRU VOICES 2023 roadshow, which was also a guest lecture with the theme “Making Change: Documentary Filmmaking and Social Impact.” This guest lecture was held in collaboration with Multimedia Nusantara University (UMN) and Komunitas Bicara Udara, which aims to voice the importance of clean air in Jabodetabek. It is also part of UMN’s efforts to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 and 11, Good Health and Well Being and Sustainable Cities and Communities. 

The event was opened by screening the documentary film “Sengal,” which talks about the various causes of air pollution in Jakarta to illustrate that social change should be done more creatively. The Head of the Strategic Communication Study Program, Cendera Rizky Anugrah Bangun, M.Si., Secretary of the Strategic Communication Study Program, Irwan Fakhruddin, S.Sn., M.Ikom., and UMN students from the Community Relations and Engagement class, as well as other classes enthusiastically participated in this activity. 

In her speech, Cendera said that UMN was honored to be able to host the Biru Voices 2023 roadshow event and hoped that many students would care and be active in various activities that voice environmental issues, including air pollution. Furthermore, Cendera said that UMN is open to other collaborations.

Producer and director of the Sengal Movie, Vincent Ricardo, hopes that through this 50-minute movie, more people will care about the air pollution situation in Indonesia, especially in Jabodetabek. “This issue is actually close to us, many of our closest people are actually affected, but we didn’t realize it before. I hope more young people will want to talk about the issue,” he explained further.

In line with Vincent’s expectations, Community Specialist Bicara Udara, Pramita, said that through this activity, Bicara Udara hopes to increase the awareness of various parties, especially the younger generation with concerns about environmental issues. 

Pramita further added that in addition to the roadshow, Bicara Udara also has a recruitment activity called BIRU VOICES 2023, where selected students will later attend a boot camp to be equipped with various knowledge and skills to become Ambassadors in carrying out clean air campaigns. Students also get the opportunity to intern at Bicara Udara, Nafas Indonesia, or Yayasan Indonesia Cerah as a step to prepare for a bright career. 

This guest lecture is expected to encourage students to become agents of change through creative ways. Through the documentary, awareness of the deteriorating air quality, especially in the Banten area, must be addressed to maintain good health. According to data from the Air Quality Data Institute (IQ Air) in June 2022, the Pasar Kemis area, Tangerang, ranked first in Indonesia as the area with the worst air quality.

BOWIN’s CEO, Edwin Tanbowi, explained that BOWIN, as a company that produces masks, hopes that through this guest lecture, more students will be aware of the dangers of air pollution and better understand effective protection for themselves, one of which is to keep using masks. 

One of the UMN students who participated in the guest lecture, Salomo, expressed his opinion after the event. “There are many new things that I got and learned from today’s movie screening and discussion. As a member of UMN Eco, I feel that many of Bicara Udara’s activities align with UMN Eco and hopefully can be collaborated in the future.” 

By Frenia Nababan, Anton Binsar

English translation by Levina Chrestella Theodora

Kuliah di Jakarta untuk jurusan program studi Informatika| Sistem Informasi | Teknik Komputer | Teknik Elektro | Teknik Fisika | Akuntansi | Manajemen| Komunikasi Strategis | Jurnalistik | Desain Komunikasi Visual | Film dan Animasi | Arsitektur | D3 Perhotelan , di Universitas Multimedia Nusantara. www.umn.ac.id