Program gets young into the swing of voting

Program gets young into the swing of voting

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Suara kamu ngaruh banget! -- "your voice counts a lot" -- was
read and heard all over the west plaza area of Senayan sports
complex last week, amid the din of loud music and people's
chatter.

Around the clock from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. last Saturday, MTV
Indonesia staged MTV Rock the Vote, a program aimed at educating
first-time voters for this year's presidential election, the
first direct election of the country's leader. People voted for
their legislative candidates on April 5 and will vote for
presidential candidates on July 5 (in the event that there is no
clear winner, a second round will be held on Sept. 20).

Through music performances and other activities, the MTV
audience was coaxed to exercise their right to vote, to do it
right and nonviolently.

"This event is part of a series of programs we have in order
to educate young people, especially first-time voters aged
between 17 and 22 years old, which is also within the range of
our target audience," MTV Indonesia's communications manager
Haswati Handrazfil said.

Performers, from noted local bands bip, Pas band and
Seurieus, to indie bands, singer Tere and popular Malaysian
rapper duo Too Phat, took part.

Food stalls and booths where people could have tattoos, body
piercing and hair braiding were sprawled throughout the area.
Other activities included free style basketball, a fire juggler,
a BMX attraction, capoeira, cheerleaders and dancers.

From the stage, the artists and the hosts -- VJs Nirina and
Arie -- provided a constant stream of information and messages
about the election, like how to vote wisely instead of simply
going through the motions and picking any old candidate, and put
on an election simulation on stage.

Rock the Vote is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization which
was established in 1990 in the United States to promote freedom
of speech and artistic expression.

The organization engages youth in the political process by
incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into
its activities, "to make political participation cool".

The goal of the organization's campaigns and activities is to
increase youth voter turnout. However, the work does not end when
the polls close, as Rock the Vote wants to empower young people
to create positive social and political change in their lives and
communities.

MTV is a permanent partner of Rock the Vote, and MTV US has
two other programs to increase youth political participation: MTV
Choose or Lose and MTV Fight for Your Rights.

Here in Indonesia, the Rock the Vote program began in the
middle of March, and is a joint venture between MTV Indonesia,
the General Elections Committee (KPU), the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) and corporate partners.

"We had a similar program in the Philippines recently, and it
was successful. We believe that people have the right to exercise
their right. The idea is to come together and have fun. It's part
of the process for leadership of the country," said Lesley
Desker, MTV Indonesia's content and creative director.

Messages and technical information, as well as PSAs about the
elections in teen lingo, are frequently aired on MTV Indonesia or
spread through the station's off-air activities.

The channel also interviews people all over the country or
Indonesians living abroad for their opinions and to gauge what
they know about the elections.

"This program, however, is not a means for a presidential or
party campaign. From the very beginning, we have insisted that it
is an educational program for first-time voters, not a campaign.
So, there will be no flyers or brochures on presidential
candidates," said KPU member Valina Singka Subekti.

According to Valina, the number of first-time voters in this
year's election is significant, with around 22.1 million voters
registered for the legislative election.

There has been an increase of some 700,000 people for July's
presidential election, or a total of around 22.8 million first-
time voters.

There were over 147 million people eligible to vote across the
country in the April 5 election, and 154 million people for the
July 5 election.

"The number of first-time voters is significant and
influential, that's why KPU pays a lot of attention to it. We
need MTV to reach them, so that they do it right.. It's more
about technical problems," Valina said.

MTV's role, she added, was especially important in reducing
the number of invalid votes, which was estimated at around 8.8
percent nationwide in the April 5 election.

"There has yet to be research showing which age group
contributes more to the number of invalid votes. However, we hope
that first-time voters don't contribute much to the numbers," she
said.

Reaching 13 million households, MTV is a powerful media for
young people, and an estimated 40,000 people visited the Senayan
event.

The effectivity of Rock the Vote in getting young people out
to polling stations has yet to be measured in qualitative number,
but according to Haswati, it seems that young people's awareness
has increased from the off-air activities.

Still, many of those interviewed by the station were unaware
of the election dates, and those in the audience for the music
performances said they were not aware of the Rock the Vote
program either.

"I just came here to see the bands," said Alfred, 16.

Like Alfred, Rully, 23, also came merely to see the
performances. "But I vote, of course. Because I feel like I have
the right to vote," he said.

Successful or not, the program is a good start to increase
youth political participation. The last thing we need is an
apathetic younger generation whose main choice is which mall to
hang out at.

i-box:

MTV Rock the Vote will be aired at 9 p.m. on MTV Indonesia on
June 20, 27 and July 4.