By: Natalia Trita Agnika

Since its inception, the EARTH HOUR movement has been a testament to the power of the public. It has brought together individuals, communities and corporations to take action against climate change.

Ahead of the EARTH HOUR switch off which will take place on Saturday, March 19, 2016, regional EARTH HOUR communities in 19 cities in Indonesia will hold a NATIONAL SERIES EARTH HOUR 2016 Action on Sunday, March 13, 2016. The action is carried out simultaneously with the hope that the public will remember the EARTH HOUR campaign and participate in the switch off (blackout of lights and electrical appliances). The public is also expected to start taking environmentally friendly actions that are cheap and easy and can be done starting from yourself and making it a lifestyle.

The EARTH HOUR communities that carried out the simultaneous action included Aceh, Padang, Palembang, Balikpapan, Pontianak, Samarinda, Banjarbaru, Bogor, Bandung, Cimahi, Subang, Yogyakarta, Solo, Surabaya, Malang, Sidoarjo, Palu, Banjarmasin, and Mataram.

They socialized EARTH HOUR through various creative activities. There are those who do long march and campaign on the street. Some packaged the campaign in artistic nuances through energy-themed flash mob dance movements such as those that EH Bandung will do. Not only socialization, some concrete environmentally friendly actions were also held. To campaign for environmentally friendly transportation that is free of emissions, EH Palembang and Solo will carry out a joint cycling action at the Car Free Day event while reminding about the EARTH HOUR campaign.

In collaboration with other communities and corporations, EH Malang activists held a coloring competition and talkshow #BeliYangBaik to encourage the public to use environmentally friendly products. Furthermore, they will educate the public in the mall about plastic waste through a plastic bag raid that is exchanged for cloth bags that have been provided. Plastic awareness action will also be conducted by EH Mataram at the simultaneous action. After jogging together, they will "rob" the plastic bags of culinary center visitors and replace them with reusable bags. Similar activities will also be carried out by EH Banjarbaru. They will distribute reusable bags made by recycling used t-shirts. The recycling action can inspire the public to practice the 3R program (reduce, reuse, recycle).

Want to get involved in this simultaneous action on Sunday, March 13, 2016? Please join the simultaneous action in your city. Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge facing Planet Earth. As a public movement, EARTH HOUR invites everyone to take part and shed light for a change for the better.

Let's shine a light on climate action! HERE'S MY ACTION!