November 14, 2022
This article was originally published in Bali.TribunalNews.com and is translated here for convenience.
TRIBUN BALI.COM, MANGUPURA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received the 2022 Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council, an American non–profit organization, last night on Sunday (13/11/2022). This award was presented at the conclusion of the Global Food Security Forum, a series of events within the framework of the G20, organized by the Atlantic Council; supported also by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia; the Ministry of Maritime and Investment Coordination; and the Gaurav & Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation, an American charity that helps people around the world address food and energy security issues.
President Jokowi received this award for his leadership in Indonesia‘s Presidency of the G20, his efforts for world peace through his presence in Ukraine and Russia, and his cooperation in tackling the post–pandemic COVID–19 impacts. In his address, President Jokowi said that the award was a motivation to increase his role in solving world problems. “Thank you for the Global Citizen Award to me and this will further motivate me and the Indonesian government to carry out the great responsibility of being part of the world‘s solutions,” said President Jokowi.
According to the President, while working he never thought of getting an award. The President admitted that he only carried out his duties with full responsibility and in accordance with human values. “Never had it crossed my mind to receive this honorable award. What I’ve done so far is just to work as best as I can with full responsibility for human values,” said the President.
Besides, Indonesia as a multicultural country consisting of 17,000 islands, 1,340 ethnic groups, and 652 local languages is deemed to have taught values of tolerance, peace, unity, and even cooperation. Therefore, the President always takes the time to go down to the field to see the difficulties faced by the people.
“The greatest difficulties are always felt by those who are below, by the poor families, by low-income countries. Therefore, I always strive to fight for the freedom of the little people and also to voice the interests of low-income countries in various forums,” he said.
The President also emphasized that the world cannot be built with rivalry and greed, but must be built with tolerance and cooperation that respects and benefits each other. Through the spirit of tolerance and cooperation, Indonesia will carry out the mandate as G20 Presidency in 2022 and Indonesia’s chairmanship in ASEAN in 2023. “The Indonesian Presidency in the G20 this year and Indonesia’s chairmanship in ASEAN have been entrusted to me next year based on these spirits,” said President Jokowi.
It is known that the Global Citizen Award is an annual event organized by the Atlantic Council during the UN General Assembly session in New York. At the event held on 19 September 2022, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi attended in person to represent President Jokowi to receive the award.
A number of world figures have also received the award for being judged to have made a real contribution to the world. These include the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
In addition to President Jokowi, the 2022 Global Citizen Award was also awarded to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai, as well as actors and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation Forest Whittaker.
Also present at the event were Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto, Minister of BUMN Erick Thohir, and Minister of State Secretary of State Pratikno. ( *)
