Author: Vinny Shoffa
Universitas Indonesia (UI) as one of the Science 20 cooperation partners held a national webinar on the official launch of Science 20 in Indonesia’s 2022 G20 presidency. The event was held live via Zoom’s virtual room and Youtube channel. The G20 is a multilateral cooperation forum consisting of 19 major countries and the European Union (EU). The G20 represents more than 60% of the earth’s population, 75% of global trade, and 80% of the world’s GDP. The G20 consists of 20 countries and Indonesia is one of them.
UI collaborates with five other partner institutions in organizing Science 20 or a series of engagement activities after the Kick Off of the G20 Indonesia 2022 Presidency which was officially held on December 1, 2021. The event’s cooperation partners consist of research institutions, educational institutions, and banks, namely Science 20, BRIN (National Research and Innovation Agency), AIPI (Indonesian Academy of Sciences), Asian Development Bank, and UGM (Gadjah Mada University).
In this national webinar, UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro, Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Ir. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim, B.A., M.B.A., Chair of Medical Sciences AIPI Prof. Herawati Sudoyo, Chair of AIPI / Chair of Science 20 Prof. Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, Head of BRIN Dr. Laksana Tri Handoko, M.Sc., Indonesian G20 Co-Sherpa, Plt. Deputy for International Economic Cooperation, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Dr. Edi Prio Pambudi, Co-Sherpa G20 Indonesia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Dian Triansyah Djani, SE, MA, and UGM Rector Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono.
As the first time host of the upcoming G20, Indonesia will organize the G20 which runs until October 2022 and is expected to be filled with more than 150 meetings and attended by 20,988 delegates from all G20 countries and invited countries. At the launch of Science 20, AIPI Chair and Science 20 Chair, Prof. Satryo Sumantri Brodjonegoro, officially presented the Science 20 Agenda proposed by Indonesia. “The priority agenda carried out in Science 20 are: 1) Building Resilient System; 2) Advancing Sustainable Low Carbon Health System; 3) Bolstering Transdisciplinary Science and Technology for Climate Change and Pandemic Preparedness; 4) Guarantee People at the Center; and 5) Strengthening the Nexus Between Research-policy-practice for Climate Change and Pandemic Preparedness. It is hoped that this discussion agenda can be more focused and have a big impact on the countries participating in the upcoming G20, especially for Indonesia,” said Prof. Satryo.
In his remarks, UI Rector Prof. Ari Kuncoro said that climate change has become an important topic of discussion amid the Covid-19 pandemic that is now being faced by people around the world. “Regional and global climate change has been the subject of extensive discussion at various forums. If early warning is not done, our earth will no longer be a habitable place for our children and their children. The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a momentum for health innovation and strengthening about Health,” said Prof. Ari.
He continued, “The collaboration of various lines and international cooperation in controlling the pandemic as well as the ability and speed to prevent Covid-19 virus infection from becoming an endemic disease are the measures of the success of global Covid-19 countermeasures. Science and technology development plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable development. Indonesia’s presidency of the G20 fosters optimism and opens up opportunities that will be more tangible to produce solutions to climate problems and strengthen health, both nationally and globally. UI will continue to encourage joint efforts to take part in anticipating and addressing climate change issues and strengthening national and global health.”
Nadiem Anwar said that 2021-2022 is an important year for Indonesia because it holds the 2022 G20 Presidency. “In planning the strategy ahead, we need to draw lessons from the situation we are in. One of them is to build efforts to build a greener and more sustainable future. This is something that should concern us, because it is human life that will be most affected. Through the Merdeka Belajar Movement, we support teachers to take a project basement approach in climate change topics and themes so that students will be trained to face and answer challenges and more efforts can be made in preserving the environment. Let’s work together to make the upcoming G20 Presidency a success,” he said.
Next year, Indonesia officially holds the Presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) for a full year, starting from December 1, 2021 until the G20 Summit in November 2022. The handover of the Presidency from Italy (as the 2021 G20 Presidency) to Indonesia has been carried out directly on October 31, 2021 in Rome, Italy.
The G20 Presidency carries the theme “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”. Through this theme, Indonesia invites the world to come together to achieve a stronger and more sustainable recovery. As the global economy becomes more integrated, the success of pandemic management and economic recovery in one country will not be sustainable if it is not followed by the same success in other countries. Through the G20 forum, Indonesia has the opportunity to encourage the world’s collective efforts to realize policies that can accelerate global economic recovery in an inclusive manner.
