Today, 51 million Indonesians between the age of 15 and 34 already account for almost half of the country’s labour force. Yet another 20 million remain jobless or underemployed.

The sheer size of youth unemployment is equal to a third of UK’s entire population and five times that of Singapore. It’s holding Indonesia back from ever becoming a true economic power.

But the answer isn’t simply to provide more jobs.

Rather, it’s to inspire and invest in a new generation of extraordinary individuals and their communities: young entrepreneurs in the creative industries, environment, and social fields who use their creativity and business acumen to create jobs and grow new markets for their own welfare and that of their communities.

People like Fiki Satari (32) who sold his first T-shirt at the height of the economic crisis, 12 years ago. Today he’s transformed his US$ 50 investment into a US$ 800,000-a-year empire, helping West Java’s home industry get back on its knees.

People like Mahrizal Paru (34) whose community plantation in war-torn Aceh helped protect 280 acres of forest while providing the 192 members of his village with US$ 700,000 annual income.

Since 2006, the British Council has identified more than 400 of these entrepreneurs across Indonesia (1,000 by 2010) through our acclaimed International Young Creative Entrepreneurs and Young Climate Leaders projects.

Imagine if we can help them inspire and help a mere 3% of young Indonesians to become entrepreneurs in the next three years. If each creates 10 more new jobs, by 2012 we will have 15 million new employments!

The British Council as the UK’s cultural relations organisation aims to support Indonesia develop future leaders of this new high-value economy --a creative and community-based economy which even now contributes over 6% (US$ 24 billion) to Indonesia’s GDP and 51% (US$ 49 billion) of its public consumption.

Now imagine how much more we can achieve by working together!

See what opportunities you can get by working with us

See the agenda of the programme