Khevin Putra

Hi, I am Khevin Angga Putra from Lampung, Indonesia. Last July, I got the chance to travel to Bali for GEAS GYAB Summit which was held on 27-29 July 2022. Despite the fact that I am from Indonesia, which is also where Bali is located, it was the very first time in my life visiting Bali. And even though I was not traveling abroad like other participants did when attending the Summit, I was still thrilled and excited to attend the Summit since I can meet with most of the GYAB members in person for the first time after 1 year of meeting virtually through Zoom.

During the summit I can really felt the diversity where people were coming all the way from different parts of the world. And I was delighted about the warm, friendly, and diverse atmosphere that was expressed by all the participants. The most interesting one is the fact that even though we were not speaking the same language, we sill can built a warm and intense interactions each other. Most of participants were not coming from English speaking country and not all of us can speak English. So sometimes we were communicating by the help of translator, or using broken English, Google Translate, or even body language, but still having a meaningful conversation.

In this summit, youth advisors from different countries in the world were together to took an active role to receive training and produce a shared dissemination product to bring to local and global stakeholders. Youth advisors were divided into two groups to work on a project about issues we are passionate about and would like to bring to a global stage. My group consists of 6 people coming from 3 different countries (Indonesia, DRC, and China). We were working on a project called iHearYouth, a digital safe space for youth to be heard and listened and a platform which shares informational and educational content about youth issues. On the summit, we got a chance to present our project in front of GEAS representatives from Johns Hopkins University.

We also received training and group capacity building session to develop our key message and strategies for communication and dissemination. Besides that, we also had a cultural activity by visiting some cultural and tourism places in Bali. I got star struck witnessing beautiful places and cultures in Bali for the first time.

Overall, the GEAS GYAB Summit was a very enriching and worthwhile experience. I would like to thank the GEAS and Johns Hopkins University for giving me this amazing opportunity. I was truly inspired by the people I met and their dedication to improve the health and well-being of adolescents. I definitely gained a lot from this summit, and this experience of attending the GEAS GYAB Summit in Bali will become an invaluable treasure of memory to be cherished in my life. I am hoping and looking forward to meeting all of the participants again in the future.