Youth Pledge at the Queue for Coffee in Jakarta’s SCBD

Last week, I deliberately arrived an hour early for a business meeting at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), in Jakarta’s SCBD district. It had been three years since I last set foot there, after choosing a slower pace of life as a digital nomad in Bali and Bogor.

This area used to be part of my daily rhythm. After dawn prayers, I would hurry to Bogor station, take the commuter train, then continue by ride-hailing motorbike or TransJakarta. Thousands of people followed the same routine.

While waiting, I sat in a local coffee shop and watched people come and go. In an hour, around 100 people bought coffee there. Most were young people dressed smartly or in business casual clothes, walking briskly with their phones in hand.

At several tables, I overheard conversations about the state of the nation, geopolitics and their impact on people’s jobs. It had been a difficult week, with the Indonesia Stock Exchange Composite Index (IHSG) in the red. But what caught my attention most was that, for this generation, business and national affairs are no longer separate concerns.

I was reminded of something. Two weeks earlier, one of my team members had asked permission to attend a Youth Pledge commemoration event in Jakarta. Sitting in that coffee shop, the request took on a new meaning.

The youth of 1928 and the young people queuing for coffee

Youth Pledge Day falls on 28 October. In 1928, representatives of various regional youth organisations gathered in Batavia at the Second Youth Congress: Jong Java, Jong Celebes, Jong Ambon and others. They came with different identities.

There was no independent country, no large capital and certainly no technology. All they had was the conviction that differences did not have to be an obstacle. That conviction gave rise to three pledges: one homeland, one nation and one language of unity, Indonesia.

Today, we often treat the Youth Pledge as a ritual: a ceremony, a social media post, and then it is over. Yet it was a strategic document rich in meaning. Without military power or capital, those young people built what we now call a shared identity—the foundation that enabled millions of people who had never met to move in the same direction.

The young people in the SCBD coffee shop face different adversaries: not colonialism, but global competition, technological disruption and economic uncertainty. Yet the underlying spirit is the same: they refuse to be spectators and want a say in shaping their own future.

Working from anywhere, uniting in new ways

A slower pace of life does not mean stopping work. It means being able to work from anywhere and remain productive. My 75-year-old mother is still active at work and continues to travel, both for professional and personal reasons. The world of work changed after the Covid-19 pandemic. We can now choose to work remotely or go into the office, and jobs are no longer tied to one building or city.

This change has also altered the meaning of unity. In the past, unity was associated with physical togetherness: gathering in one place, raising the same flag and singing the same song. Today, a young person in Labuan Bajo can work for a client in Singapore, collaborate with a designer in Yogyakarta and talk with an investor in Jakarta or overseas—all in one day without moving.

Technology removes distance and should make unity easier. But it also brings risks: algorithms that confine us to narrow bubbles, hoaxes that spread faster than corrections, and polarisation cultivated for engagement. The youth of 1928 had to travel for days to meet. We have conveniences they did not, but often forget to use them to bring people together.

Geopolitics has reached the coffee queue

These young people discussed geopolitics as if it were an everyday matter. And it is. Trade tensions, fluctuations in energy and commodity prices, shifts in global interest-rate policy and technological rivalry between major powers all affect the cost of goods, the availability of jobs and opportunities for start-ups.

In the past, mastering just one field was enough for me. That is no longer sufficient, because everything is interconnected. This week offers an example: forest and land fires in Kalimantan have prompted protests from several countries in the region, and responses to those protests have varied. We need to weigh different perspectives before taking a position. One thing is certain: events in Kalimantan can now be known around the world in an instant.

Geopolitics used to be discussed in diplomatic circles. Now it is discussed in coffee queues because its effects are felt directly. To me, that is good news. A nation whose citizens understand geopolitics is harder to divide and better able to spot opportunities. The youth of 1928 also read the times. They understood that the fate of the Dutch East Indies was connected to global developments, from the rise of Asian nationalism to the idea of self-determination.

But understanding is not enough. What matters is whether that understanding leads to productive action: building businesses, creating jobs, generating value-added innovation and avoiding a future in which we are merely a market for other nations’ products.

The demographic dividend: an opportunity that will not wait

More than half of Indonesia’s population now belongs to the Millennial and Gen Z generations. This age structure, dominated by people of working age, is what we call the demographic dividend, and economists often warn that the window is limited.

If managed well, it could help propel us towards Golden Indonesia 2045. If not, it could become a burden: youth unemployment, skills that do not match industry needs and widening inequality.

The scene in SCBD shows the optimistic side of this story. But SCBD is not all of Indonesia. Outside the district, many young people still lack reliable internet access, quality education or the capital to start a business. If the Youth Pledge is about unity, then unity today must include equal access to opportunity. No young person should be left behind simply because they were born in the wrong place.

Three pledges, reread at the age of 98

This year, we mark the 98th anniversary of the Youth Pledge. Allow me to reread its three pledges through today’s lens, as a reminder of the importance of history.

One homeland. The homeland of young people today extends beyond the physical map. It includes digital space, global supply chains and innovation ecosystems. Protecting it means building sovereignty in all those areas—data, technology and food, not just territory.

One nation. A united nation is not a uniform one. It can work across backgrounds, whether between corporations and start-ups, Jakarta and the regions, or older and younger generations. My mother, still working actively at 75, is a reminder that youthful spirit is not the preserve of the young.

One language. Indonesian is the bond inherited from the youth of 1928. Amid the spread of foreign languages in the workplace, we need not be anti-foreign, but we should take pride in our own language. The language of unity must also be able to explain science, business and technology clearly.

Working from anywhere, making a pledge to everyone

I left the coffee shop with one thought. The world of work has changed, and yes, work can be done from anywhere. But the same question asked in 1928 still applies: who are we working for, and what kind of nation do we want to build?

The youth of 1928 did not wait for ideal conditions to make their pledge. They made it when conditions were far from ideal. Today’s generation has far greater resources: technology, global networks and a demographic dividend. What is needed is the will to bring them together in one direction.

Perhaps it is time to add an unwritten pledge for ourselves: that every job we do, from a café in Ubud, an office in SCBD or a home in Bogor, should help create value for Indonesia. That is the most tangible way to celebrate the Youth Pledge in the 21st century.

Happy Youth Pledge Day. Indonesia is waiting for our actions.