JAKARTA — To cultivate young entrepreneurs with a philanthropic spirit, Dompet Dhuafa Volunteer (DDV) has initiated the Volunesia Bootcamp 2022 program. This initiative consists of a series of activities that have been ongoing since March 2022 for DDV members across Indonesia. Over the past six months, 22 social projects from various regions have been submitted, with 11 projects from nine provinces in Indonesia selected as finalists. These 11 finalists competed to present their ideas to the Dompet Dhuafa Central Team at the Volunesia 2022 Spectacular on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at the Philanthropy Building in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.
Volunesia is a combination of the words “volunteer” and “amnesia.” It means that Dompet Dhuafa reminds volunteers that while they are striving to change themselves, they are also changing the world. During the event, participants were encouraged to learn more about managing a sustainable social project. Some of the topics covered included volunteer management, crowdfunding, networking, and how to inspire other good causes.
Senior Officer Community & Volunteerism DDV Maya Nuraini said that during the three-day Spekta Volunesia 2022 event (September 16-18, 2022), Dompet Dhuafa hopes to inspire young volunteers with the best ideas and project concepts. Of course, the projects must also be beneficial to the environment and the surrounding community.
“By leveraging digital technology, they have successfully implemented the projects they conceived. Now is the time for them to present their projects and compete to be the best. We hope this effort can bring about change to the current stagnant social system, which lacks adequate support within the community,” she said.
To the participants, Maya said that although the Volunesia Bootcamp has ended, she hopes that the participants will continue to develop their respective projects and become influencers for others. The hashtag #SatuHariSatuKebaikan, according to her, aligns with the Prophet’s hadith that states, “Convey even if it is only one verse.” This means DDV encourages everyone to do good every day, even if it is just one act of kindness. Because truly, humans never know the magnitude of the good they do.
GM of Advocacy & Strategic Alliances Arif R Haryono also said, “Volunesia Bootcamp can produce local champions in the movement of kindness. These local champions are the initiators of social projects on various issues ranging from the environment, mental health, da’wah, to education. Dompet Dhuafa today manages poverty not only by providing direct assistance, but also by developing assistance formats with program schemes that can have a long-term impact on young people.”
According to him, philanthropy is no longer just about giving, but also about helping those who are struggling to stand on their own feet. This is the goal of philanthropreneurs. In practice, philanthropreneurs work using two approaches that cannot be separated. The first approach is philanthropy, which forms the basis of the movement’s values. The goal is to open up access for the poor so that they can move more freely in actualizing themselves. That way, they can be better prepared to fight poverty on their own.
At the Volunesia Bootcamp 2022, participants, who were students, had the opportunity to take part in a campaign.com program, a zero waste program, and a visit to the Lembaga Pengembang Insani Dompet Dhuafa (Dompet Dhuafa Human Development Institute). The participants were expected to come up with creative ideas and continue to innovate in the field of social marketing. Through this, each participant can build the credibility of their brand, whether it be community branding or personal branding.
From the eleven finalists who presented the results of their project implementations, two best projects were selected. These two projects received additional implementation funding totaling Rp15,000,000 (fifteen million rupiah). There were five criteria for evaluation: the project must be sustainable, impactful, creative, influential, and inspiring, and demonstrate commitment. The judges for this idea competition were GM of Advocacy & Strategic Alliances Arif R Haryono and Outreach Manager of campaign.com Anugerah Putra.
The first winner was Muh. Ahlun Nasab with his project Sekolah Maggot Berdaya (Empowered Maggot School), which can be accessed at maggolity.id. This project is about a maggot farming management system in South Sulawesi. The target beneficiaries are those who are economically disadvantaged.
The runner-up was Oksa Reza Ernanda with her project, Bertuah. The woman from Riau explained that Bertuah is an entrepreneurship training program for people with disabilities, specifically those who are deaf and mute, through a series of activities that will lead to entrepreneurship based on hydroponic plant cultivation.
“It feels wonderful to be chosen as the best. As intended, the prize or recognition in the form of funds will be used to develop the maggolity.id project so that its benefits can reach a wider audience. My message to the other participants is that this maggolity project isn’t the best. I’m sure the projects you’ve initiated are just as good. Let’s support each other, collaborate, and compete to do our best,” Ahlun said after the event concluded. (Dompet Dhuafa / Muthohar)