Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya Urges Students to Become Globally Competitive and Nationalist Activists

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya Sugiarto has invited students to build an activist mentality, master global competencies, and strengthen their spirit of nationalism as preparation for facing various challenges in an era full of disruption and uncertainty. According to him, the younger generation needs to continue learning, broaden their horizons, and be able to read the changing times carefully.

This message was conveyed by Bima while serving as a speaker at a National Seminar themed ‘Geopolitics and the Challenges for Indonesia’s Young Generation’ during the second National Leadership Meeting (Rapimnas) of the Indonesian Muslim Student Action Union (KAMMI) at the Regional Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMD) of Banten Province in Pandeglang, Banten.

On that occasion, Bima appreciated the activity organised by KAMMI as an important space for dialogue for developing the capacity of young people. He stated that student discussion forums are an investment to prepare future leaders who have strong character, high fighting spirit, and the ability to adapt to change.

‘In my terms, you must have an activist mentality, global skills, and a nationalist heart,’ Bima said.

Further, referring to the thinking of sociologist Anthony Giddens, Bima explained the concept of the cosmopolitan generation, a generation capable of integrating local, national, and global identities in a balanced way. This character is considered important so that the younger generation can participate at the global level without losing their national roots and local wisdom.

‘In the global era, you can smoothly build networks. In the national context, you have a strong national spirit. But you also have very strong local roots,’ he said.

In line with this, Bima reminded students to understand the various changes occurring at both the national and global levels as a foundation for facing the era of disruption and uncertainty. To enrich their perspective, he recommended the book ‘The Great Wave: The Era of Radical Disruption and the Rise of the Outsider’ by Michiko Kakutani, which depicts a world increasingly marked by radical disruption and difficult-to-predict surprises.

According to him, one interesting phenomenon to observe is the emergence of outsider figures who can change the political, social, and economic landscape. This phenomenon shows that major changes are often born from unexpected conditions.