EduAsiaNews, Jakarta — Roidah A’isyi Shofwah, an undergraduate student in International Relations at Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jakarta (UPNVJ), has won first place in the 2026 Indonesia GenRe Ambassador competition after advancing through a national selection process involving representatives from provinces across Indonesia.
For Shofwah, the victory is more than an achievement on stage. Her title as Indonesia’s GenRe Ambassador is an acknowledgment as well as an impetus to expand her work with young people through the GenRe Forum and Youth Information and Counseling Center (PIK-R).
“For me, winning is not the only goal. It is an appreciation and motivation to continue serving young people by strengthening the GenRe Forum and Youth Information and Counseling Center (PIK-R),” Shofwah said. She said the achievement had encouraged her to continue her efforts while providing a platform for young people from diverse backgrounds to voice their aspirations.
A Long Journey to the National Stage
Shofwah’s national achievement was the result of a lengthy process. Her journey as a GenRe Ambassador began in 2024, when she became the GenRe Ambassador for Sukmajaya District. That same year, she was selected as the first-place winner of the Depok GenRe Ambassador competition.
The following year, Shofwah continued her work and won first place in the 2025 West Java GenRe Ambassador competition. After about a year of service at the provincial level, she earned the opportunity to advance to the national competition and eventually won first place in the 2026 Indonesia GenRe Ambassador competition.
The national selection process was highly demanding. Finalists had to complete an administrative screening, prepare reports on PIK-R development and reactivation, participate in weekly reels challenges, interviews and motion challenges before reaching the grand final.
From the outset, however, Shofwah said winning the title was not her sole objective.
“From the beginning, I have always been committed to making sure that whatever the outcome, the knowledge and experience I gain can be useful and shared with the people around me,” she said.
This principle led Shofwah to view the competition as a learning opportunity. She gained experience not only through training and briefing sessions but also through interactions with finalists from various provinces, PIK-R members, and young people at special-needs schools, Islamic boarding schools and community learning centers (PKBM).
PIK-R Reactivation Poses Biggest Challenge
Behind her achievement was a lengthy process that was not always visible to the public. Shofwah described PIK-R reactivation as one of the most challenging stages of the national selection.
Each finalist was required to mentor five PIK-R centers and reactivate another five, meaning that a total of 10 PIK-R centers had to be empowered. The process also had to be supported by various documents, reports and activity records.
According to Shofwah, reactivation was not simply about establishing new groups but about revitalizing PIK-R centers recorded as inactive in the Family Information System of the Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga)/National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN). The process required coordination across several levels, from provincial, city, district and subdistrict administrations to regional government agencies responsible for family planning.
Amid the process, Shofwah traveled to several areas in West Java while fulfilling her responsibilities as an intern. She spent weekdays completing her internship duties and much of her weekends working through the GenRe Ambassador selection stages.
The challenge became greater when the selection process coincided with a national working meeting at her internship workplace, the Association of Indonesian Municipalities. Shofwah spent 10 days in Medan as part of the committee handling government affairs from 98 cities across Indonesia while continuing to complete weekly national selection assignments.
With limited time, she had to find opportunities to record videos, edit content, prepare reports and complete other selection requirements. After returning from Medan, she continued making regular trips between Depok and Bandung to attend GenRe Ambassador development sessions at the West Java level.
Promoting Youth Participation and Sexual Violence Prevention
For Shofwah, being a GenRe Ambassador is about more than a title or competition. Through the GenRe Forum and PIK-R, she seeks to promote meaningful and inclusive youth participation, gender equality and the prevention of violence against adolescents, particularly sexual violence.
These efforts involve reaching young people from diverse backgrounds, including communities in scavenger settlements, special-needs schools, orphanages, Islamic boarding schools and community learning centers.
During the competition, Shofwah also presented an innovation called “Remaja Keren Peduli Kesehatan Reproduksi” (Cool Youths Care About Reproductive Health), an interactive booklet integrating Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) with a Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) approach. The material is available digitally through Instagram and supported by a digital campaign.
Shofwah said one of the strengths that helped her throughout the journey was her character and ability to create a comfortable communication space. Other finalists, she said, often saw her not as a competitor but as someone open to learning and supporting one another. She also continued to hone her public speaking skills and deepen her understanding of the GenRe program.
National Title Marks the Start of a New Responsibility
After winning the national title, Shofwah does not want the programs she has developed to end with the competition. She continues to mentor PIK-R centers that she previously supported or reactivated, including SMPN 3 Depok, SMA Tugu Ibu Depok, SMK Dwiguna and several community-based PIK-R centers at the neighborhood association (RW) level.
Each PIK-R center has developed innovations tailored to its respective needs. At PIK-R Seruni, for example, community members process used cooking oil into dishwashing soap that can be marketed commercially. At PIK-R SMPN 3 Depok, the program also reaches adolescents at orphanages through reproductive health education.
For Shofwah, being named first-place winner of the Indonesia GenRe Ambassador competition marks the beginning of greater responsibility.
“A greater responsibility awaits me: empowering PIK-R centers throughout Indonesia and serving as a bridge for young people so that their aspirations can be heard by the government,” she said.
Shofwah said young people’s aspirations are promoted through development planning deliberations (musrenbang), from village and district levels to the central government.
Seeking Synergy with UPNVJ’s PIK-R Patriot
On campus, Shofwah also plans to use the experience and network she has gained to bring GenRe programs closer to UPNVJ students.
UPNVJ has PIK-R Patriot, which also serves as a platform for developing GenRe Ambassadors. Shofwah hopes to work with PIK-R Patriot to introduce more students to the GenRe program and encourage them to participate in activities that benefit young people and society.
Amid her various activities, Shofwah continues to prioritize her studies. She maintains communication with lecturers and classmates, reviews course materials before attending lectures and strives to complete her academic responsibilities first when balancing them with her GenRe Ambassador activities.
Looking ahead, one of Shofwah’s major goals is to expand the peer facilitator network for “Remaja Keren Peduli Kesehatan Reproduksi.” The peer facilitators have already been established in West Java and provide education through a peer-learning approach. She hopes the model can be replicated in collaboration with PIK-R centers in various regions across Indonesia.
To UPNVJ students who remain hesitant to take the first step toward pursuing their dreams, Shofwah offered a message: do not wait until you are perfect before getting started.
“You don’t have to be perfect to grow. We need to take the first leap so that we can move forward to the 1,000th step. If the process is sincerely intended to spread goodness, God willing, the path will always be made easier and everything we encounter will be blessed,” Shofwah said.(www.upnvj.ac.id)
