Microsoft and YCAB Foundation conducted YouthSpark on October 30th, 2013 at SMESCO UKM Building. The half day seminar aims to empower 2,000 high school students with entrepreneurial knowledge and motivation, as well as the use of recent information and communication technology to utilize business activity. Both YCAB and Microsoft share similar vision and mission, that is to youth empowerment to prepare them in entering working place. YCAB and Microsoft partnership has been started in 2011 with Microsoft software deployment for YCAB Learning Centre. The seminar was opened by Citizenship Lead, Microsoft Asia Pacific, Claire Deevy, Founder/ CEO, YCAB Foundation, Veronica Colondam, and Expert Staff of State Minister for Cooperatives Small and Medium Entreprises, Abdul Kadir Damanik. While the speakers were CEO, Farhan Impero Management, Muhammad Farhan, CEO, Kaskus Network, Ken Dean Lawadinata, Office Integration Specialist, Microsoft Indonesia, Albert Subekti, and Head of Information System, YCAB Foundation, I Wayan Sathya Linggawa.
Citizenship Lead, Microsoft Asia Pacific, Claire Deevy stated how important it is to have YouthSpark as Microsoft commitment to empower youth, “There are 75 million unemployed people in the world, and 1 out of 4 who are employed still not able to fulfill their basic needs. YouthSpark is our initiative to create opportunity for them to think creatively, to dream and to realize their dreams. YouthSpark also wishes to equip them to be a worker and an entrepreneur, and utilize Microsoft recent technology to support their job.” Furthermore, Deevy elaborated that YouthSpark ambitiously seeks to extend this program to Jambi Province in 2014 and to Manado in 2015, targeting total of 6,000 underprivileged youth.
While according to Founder/ CEO, YCAB Foundation, Veronica Colondam emphasized to the students in order to become prosper, one has to be independent by means economically independent, “To be economically independent can be achieved through working and doing business. Therefore, one has to dare to have a dream, to innovate, and to realize their ideas.” At YouthSpark Press Conference, Veronica also mentioned that YouthSpark hopes to bring economic independence and empower young people to dream. To YCAB itself, this is the first time three pillars of YCAB, HeLP (Healthy Lifestyle Promotion), HoLD (House of Learning & Development), and HOpE (Hands-On Operation for Entrepreneurship) can be integrated, and therefore, it expected that through this holistic approach, Indonesian underprivileged people can change in a positive manner.
YouthSpark was also attended by expert representative from State Minister for Cooperatives Small and Medium Entreprises, Abdul Kadir Damanik, who praised initiative from Microsoft of having this seminar, “This empowerment seminar is an initiative to develop information technology to enable Indonesian entrepreneur to compete in global market. We truly hope the partnership between YCAB and Microsoft as can be synergized to grow the spirit of entrepreneurship and ownership of small- medium size enterprise, and deliver positive impact.”
CEO, Farhan Impero Management, Muhammad Farhan, as the first speaker delivered four important keys to realize our dreams. First is invention, which is creating a totally new product, breakthrough, and revolutionary. Second is innovation, that comprises of added value, service, new ideas, know- how, method, and design. Third is creation, by means of creating something out of nothing and/ or something out of something else. Fourth key is having the courage to express our self, express our personality, subjectivity, emotional, and artistic.
CEO, Kaskus Networks, Ken Dean Lawadinata explained how everyone’s path to successful life is different each other. The similarity is that everyone has to have a dream first before they become successful. “Therefore we need to think of what we can do instead of following others’ path. We need to find out what we like and give it a go.” said Ken. He also emphasized that we need to have courage to choose, and dare to accept the consequences of our choice.
The last session was presented by Office Integration Specialist, Microsoft Indonesia, Albert Subekti and Head of Information System, YCAB Foundation, I Wayan Sathya Linggawa. Both demonstrated marketing material through social media and cloud computing to the participants that can be utilized for business purpose. Both introduced Microsoft Office 365, as recent Microsoft software that features simple document synchronization (Office 365 ProPlus), documents protection and management (SharePoint), meeting and contact (Lync Online), and integrated email account (Exchange Online).
Both Microsoft and YCAB hope that YouthSpark can motivate the participants to have courage to be an entrepreneur and stimulate their entrepreneurship spirit. Information and communication technology nowadays serve as essential element to support business activity to be more effective and efficient. YouthSpark integrates both element, courage and skills to produce future Indonesian entrepreneur.