Chair of the Committee for the 78th Anniversary of Indonesian Independence Suzana Wanggai stated here on Monday that this year's Indonesian Independence Day should be celebrated in a lively and joyous manner, especially after the pandemic.
"As we did before, racewalking competition, fun bike, planting mangrove seedlings, distributing flags, and blood donation," Wanggai remarked.
Wanggai said that her side invited the community to celebrate Independence Day in their respective fields or profession as was done by Petronela Merauje.
"All people in Papua must infuse (cheer into the celebrations for) Independence Day and (by holding activities) that benefit the wider community, such as Petronela Merauje, who has been fighting for the environment and was awarded the Kalpataru award," she affirmed.
Merauje, a woman environmental activist from Papua, was bestowed the Kalpataru award by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for her work in sustainable environment efforts.
According to Wanggai, Merauje's struggle to protect the environment is an example of how to celebrate independence, and it is one of the positive steps that the government looks for.
"To do positive things, we need to keep away from negative thoughts, such as being embarrassed and so on. Keeping these negative thoughts can interfere with the intention of doing positive things," she stated.
She noted that the theme of the 78th Anniversary of Indonesian Independence commemoration is "Continue to Move Forward for Advanced Indonesia."
Meanwhile, Papua's Head of the Communication and Informatics Office, Jeri Yudianto, urged the young generation in Papua to maximize their potential, as the youth will continue the nation's development.
"We urge (members of) the younger generation to continue to increase their capacity, competence, and quality, so they can compete globally," he remarked.
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Translator: Qadri P, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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