By: Natalia T. Agnika and Ciptanti Putri

That afternoon, a group of young people eagerly opened the pages of a newspaper. In groups, they were seriously discussing which articles they found most interesting. Various arguments arose among group members until finally their group representatives appeared one by one to present the results of news analysis in front of other participants. These young people are representatives of Earth Hour Communities from several cities in Indonesia. During Friday to Saturday (July 31-August 1, 2015) last week, they gathered at Eco Learning Camp Dago, Bandung, West Java, in the "Earth Hour Community Gathering" activity organized by WWF-Indonesia.

The activity was attended by around 20 people, and became a medium for friendship and knowledge sharing for Earth Hour (EH) activists throughout Indonesia. "This event is a form of WWF-Indonesia's appreciation to EH activists for their dedication, commitment, and energy that they have contributed voluntarily in supporting every Earth Hour activity so far," said Nenden N. Fathiastuti, WWF-Indonesia's Public Relations Manager, who coordinated the activity. On the sidelines of the event's hectic agenda, she also conveyed information about the #BeliYangBaik campaign in the hope that EH activists would be motivated to carry out the campaign in their respective cities. "Therefore, the selection of representative cities that participated in this activity was adjusted to the target of the #BeliYangBaik campaign, namely large cities with high consumption levels," he continued.

Present were representatives of the Earth Hour Community from Medan, Makassar, Balikpapan, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Bandung, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, Bogor, Cimahi, and Sidoarjo, most of whom are online coordinators in their cities. They then attended a training on citizen journalism guided by a number of resource persons, including Anton Muhajir (Blogger, writer, founder of balebengong.net), Ahmad Zamroni (photographer of 1000 Words Community and Forbes Indonesia magazine), and Budi Afriyan (videographer). Through the training, it is hoped that the writing, photography and video documentation skills of EH activists within the framework of citizen journalism can be improved. These skills will be very useful for Earth Hour and WWF-Indonesia's action campaigns and documentation.

On the first day, participants received theories about writing, photography, and videography from resource persons. The next day, the participants were divided into groups and worked together to create written works, photos, and videos. Like reporters, photographers and cameramen, they hunted for news material according to their respective themes. Some compiled citizen journalism works on the theme of "Organic Agriculture" and looked for photo objects in the beautiful garden in the backyard of the Eco Learning Camp, while others explored the People's Forest Park to find inspiration about the potential of the city park.

In a fairly short time, the results of the participants' work were collected and presented in front of the speakers. The participants then received an evaluation of their work. Adriani Mutmainnah, Online Coordinator of Earth Hour Makassar, felt happy because the material from the speakers was quite clear and opened her insights. "It's a pity that the time for practice is less. It would be great if the time was increased," Adriani suggested.

Outside the training, participants received various information about green lifestyle. The Eco Learning Camp, represented by Sherly and Ferry Sutrisna Widjaja, in the initial session explained the concept of ""Seven Ecological Life Patterns"" which is the ideal of the existence of the learning center. The session continued with a presentation on the #BeliYangBaik campaign by Dewi Satriani, Campaign Manager WWF-Indonesia. Still in the same campaign series, Margareth Meuthia, Footprint Campaign Coordinator WWF-Indonesia, explained about the #BeliYangBaik Festival that will be held at Bintaro Jaya Xchange Mall on August 8-9, 2015. Earth Hour communities are expected to support and disseminate the campaign and create activities with the discourse in their respective cities. The administrators of Earth Hour Community online media also received new insights about social media from Aditya Aryatama, Digital Channel Coordinator WWF-Indonesia.

Although they just met and came from different cities, the representatives of the Earth Hour Community seemed to be fast friends with each other. The family atmosphere was thick, especially since the young people loved to chat and joke around. Harbayani, Coordinator of Earth Hour Balikpapan, admitted to feeling the familiar atmosphere. "Besides that, I also learn about self-reliance and being more grateful here," she said. Yes, during their stay at the Eco Learning Camp, the participants were taught to live independently, as they were required to wash their own cutlery and clean their beds. They are also invited to get close to nature through morning meditation, gardening, listening to the sounds of nature, and saving energy.