BNPT Holds State Defence Camp to Prevent Terrorism, Targeting Junior High to University Students
The National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has held a state defence camp. The initiative was undertaken as an effort to build the preparedness of the younger generation in facing the threat of terrorism in the digital era.
The event was organised in collaboration with Jaga Tunas Indonesia in Garut, West Java, on 8-10 July 2026. It was held in response to developments in digital technology that have changed the pattern by which radical and terrorist ideologies spread through social media and even online games.
The activity, attended by 100 students from across Garut Regency, provided training on national awareness, state defence, digital literacy, social media safety and care for the environment. Participants were also invited to take part in various social actions, such as free health checks, distribution of basic food supplies and tree planting in river catchment areas.
BNPT chief Eddy Hartono said that school and university students are a group that needs strengthening in digital literacy, national awareness and critical thinking skills, as they are among the potential targets for the spread of radical ideology via the internet.
“Why are the participants from junior high school, senior high school and university? Because in the current digital era, those targeted for recruitment by terrorist networks are children and young people, so we are building preparedness,” he explained in a written statement on Saturday (11 July 2026).
According to him, the digital space has become an effective tool for terrorist groups to carry out three main activities: propaganda, recruitment and fundraising. Eddy also cautioned that the recruitment process is often carried out covertly and gradually.
“These three activities are carried out by terrorist networks in the digital space, both on social media and in online games,” he said.
On the same occasion, the Regent of Garut, Abdusy Syakur Amin, emphasised that the younger generation has a strategic role in safeguarding national unity amid the various challenges developing in the digital space.
“The Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia did not come about by itself. It is the embodiment of the commitment, seriousness and noble agreement of the nation’s resilient founders, who came from diverse educational, linguistic and religious backgrounds. The task of the younger generation is to nurture it,” the Regent of Garut asserted.
Through this activity, BNPT seeks to encourage the emergence of a younger generation that is not only capable of harnessing digital technology, but also resilient against the spread of radical ideology, intolerance and violence-based extremism that can lead to terrorism.