Students For Tomorrow is a youth organization in Jakarta, Indonesia and in Baguio City, Philippines, which aims to bridge the gap between public and private school students in our communities by holding collaborative extra-curricular activities directed towards community development. We will be working with students from secondary schools in Jakarta and in Baguio City.

Students For Tomorrow was founded because of a situation that we constantly face but, most of the time, are not aware of - the gap between public and private school students. It’s sad to know that these gaps cause negative drawbacks such as stereotyping. If we can just get to know each other better through communication and interaction, then we can direct all this negative energy into the development of our communities. Just imagine how many students there are in Baguio City and Jakarta! If we can just tap into our potential, together we can work towards creating a better tomorrow for all of us!

Problem Statement

A crucial part of community development is the creation of channels of interaction and communication among diverse local groups in the locality (Barnett, Baugh & Brennan, 2007). Two “diverse local groups” that our communities face are the student groups from public and private schools. In Jakarta, Indonesia, a cultural gap is prevalent within these two divisions (Reges, 2008). In Baguio City, Philippines, the situation lies in a socioeconomic gap which casts a line between the students (“Has Anyone”, 2010).

What is wrong with these current scenarios? Felix (2003) states that challenges to youth involvement in communities include lack of communication and turf issues among groups. In other words, unless this problem is addressed, communities will never see an increase in youth involvement. If we desire to fast-track community development, these barriers should be bridged- if not brought down. We believe that the best way to address this is to provide an avenue for both private and public schools students where they could work together for the progress of their communities. This collaboration could also lead to skill enhancement, confidence building, and ownership that prepare them as they navigate toward adulthood.

We also believe that targeting students is more effective because of the fact that students are receptive and more pliable to change. Once students engage themselves in activities directed towards social growth, their older counterparts will eventually be pressured to act. Nitzberg (2005) also suggests that if the youth are to learn to function as effective members of society, they must be fully engaged and involved in change efforts at the community level.

See link for references: References

Mission

Our mission is to create effective and productive ties between public and private school students in Jakarta, Indonesia and in Baguio City, Philippines through collaborative extra-curricular activities that are directed towards the development of their respective communities.

Vision

We envision a more peaceful Indonesia and a more developed Philippines through the establishment of amicable relationships between various social and racial groups so that tomorrow's nation builders are tolerant, unbiased and understanding of each others' circumstances.

1 Engage at least 50 members from a quarter of the secondary private and public schools in Jakarta and Baguio City, on TakingITGlobal and Web 2.0 tools-based discussions on issues involving our communities by the end of 2010.

2 Hold at least 5 community development-focused extra-curricular activities during the first phase of our project in Jakarta and in Baguio City and get at least 100 students from both public and private schools to participate before the end of 2010.

3 Recruit at least 400 students from secondary public and private schools in Jakarta an in Baguio City as members of Students For Tomorrow by the end of 2010.

Publicizing