“Laut Kita, Masa Depan Kita” (Our Ocean, Our Future) Theatre Play

Source Image : Segara Nusa Nawasena. Theater play title "Laut Kita,Masa Depan Kita".

This project is innovative in its use of a collaborative art approach to systematically co-create a youth theatre performance. It highlights the barriers and disconnects that prevent coastal communities, including young people from the small-scale fishing community in Cilincing, from actively participating in decision-making processes and implementing blue economy activities.

Source Image : Segara Nusa Nawasena. Theater performance visualizes coastal communities lived experiences, injustices that they face daily.

We integrated evidence from the 'Ocean Justice and the Blue Economy' research project with discussions involving art collectives and young individuals to create a foundational understanding of the acknowledgment of young people's involvement in Jakarta's blue economy processes and to collaboratively design the theatre performance.

There were a series of online and hybrid meetings involving representatives from the Government Research and Innovation Agency (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional) and Yayasan Segara Nusa Nawasena; the art collective, Sanggar Insani Teater Cilincing; a small-scale fisher cooperative, Koperasi Nelayan Kalibaru Timur, Cilincing; and a community-led recycling initiative, Kelompok Kerajinan Tangan Cangkring Utara. Community members, including young people, collaborated to co-develop the theatre play titled “Laut Kita, Masa Depan Kita” (Our Ocean, Our Future).

Source Image : Segara Nusa Nawasena. The 20 young people from Cilincing small-scale fishing community.

In total, approximately 20 young individuals aged 18-35 from the coastal community in Cilincing, with whom we have previously collaborated, were recruited through partnerships with other project partners, the local art collective, and the fishers' cooperative. A director and his team from the local art collective trained these 20 young people, most of whom had no prior art or theatre training, over 20 sessions. The training aimed to enhance their acting skills, character, and self-confidence. These young participants, including students, fishers, and fish workers, learned basic techniques such as body language and vocal skills.  

Source Image : Segara Nusa Nawasena. The aspiration for positive changes.

There is an urgent need to involve young people in ocean and climate governance. Individuals aged 15 to 35 make up one-third of the global population (European Youth Forum, 2024; UNFCCC, 2025). In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, there are 213 million young people, forming the largest group of ASEAN youth ever recorded (ASEAN, 2016). This represents one-third of the total population of ASEAN nations (ASEAN, 2024). However, in terms of ocean governance, young people are often excluded from decision-making processes. It is not immediately apparent to them how to express their concerns or what meaningful participation in conservation and blue economy initiatives entails. This is particularly concerning as ocean degradation and climate change disproportionately affect young people's rights to food, education, and development. To enable transformative ocean actions, young people, as both agents of change and human rights holders, must be meaningfully involved in the blue economy process (Strand & Febrica, 2023).