Our journey for the Water for Food Youth Challenge: Pekalongan Edition began with a successful online Technical Meeting on 15th December 2024. This event brought together 20 outstanding participants, selected from over 130 registrants, who represent diverse study levels and backgrounds and formed five multidisciplinary teams.
Field Visit to Pekalongan City
Following the technical meeting, the five teams started the core activities with a two-day field visit to Pekalongan City. Upon arriving on 16th December, they headed straight to the case study location in Krapyak Subdistrict to obtain a firsthand understanding of the site’s conditions through field observations, interactions with affected locals, and the collection of insights to craft well-targeted solutions. This visit was accompanied by representatives from Pekalongan City’s Agriculture and Food Agency, agricultural extension workers, and local farmers.
On the second day, the 20 participants visited the Agriculture and Food Agency’s office to join a sharing session with many of the same attendees from the first day. Aside from presentations by government representatives, the session also highlighted a local expert sharing on “Climate Adaptation,” delivered by Arif Ganda Purnama as a Governance Specialist in Mercy Corps Indonesia.
(from left to right) Figure 1. Participants doing field observation; Figure 2. Expert training session by Arif Ganda Purnama; Figure 3. Group photo during the field visit
Expert Training and Mentoring Sessions
Back in IPB University, Bogor, the fourth day of the Water for Food Youth Challenge: Pekalongan Edition featured dynamic training sessions led by esteemed experts designed to refine the teams’ ideas through professional knowledge exchange.
The day began with a session by Erwin Hofman, Senior Project Manager and Environmental Specialist at Mott MacDonald Indonesia, who shared his expertise on “Sustainable Lowland Management”. This was followed by Jan Verhagen, Senior Scientist on Agricultural Systems at Wageningen University and Research, and Tania Mubita Zambrano, Researcher and Knowledge Leader on Wet Streams Purification and Recovery at Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, who presented on “Climate-Smart Agriculture” and “Water Treatment Technologies and the Food System” topics, respectively.
(from left to right) Figure 4. Expert training session by Erwin Hofman; Figure 5. Expert training session by Jan and Tania; Figure 6. Mentoring session with Erwin Hofman
Beyond the training sessions, participants engaged in one-on-one mentoring with each of the experts and IPB University lecturers who joined in the session. This personalised guidance provided tailored feedback and suggestions, helping teams refine and strengthen their solution designs.
As the fourth day concluded, participants not only gained valuable field and technical insights but also sharpened their problem-solving skills, preparing them to develop holistic water-food solution proposals.
