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The Indonesian Youth Conference, to be held next July, features film screenings, musical and cultural performances, a bazaar, discussion panels and workshops. The gathering aims to provide a platform for the voices of young people.

To promote the event and encourage young people — especially high school and college students — to speak up, conference organizers and the Jakarta Globe held the Make Your Voice Heard! blog competition in August to coincide with the launch of the Web site www.indonesianyouthconference.org. There were 30 entries, with the writers of the top three essays getting complimentary subscription vouchers from the Jakarta Globe and free books and merchandise from Terrant Books.

The winner of the competition, Cassandra Niki Sucahyo, is 19 years old and studies philosophy at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. She is also an experimental photographer, part-time illustrator and a blogger.

Below is her winning essay as submitted.

Nowadays, Internet seems to be a vital need for everyone. I feel it is not just the best search engine ever, but also a way for me to meet up with my friends and (sometimes) interesting strangers.

As a teenager, being on a social networking sites is pretty common. You can really find everyone there! I find these sites have influenced me a lot in my daily life. Without any scientifically sound reason, I feel like I always need to be online to check on my friends' updates. Even now, while writing this blog entry, I'm keeping track of what's happening on Twitter.

What do we teenagers do on the Internet? We do all sorts of stuff, but generally, we socialize. How important is it to us? It's crucial!

Some parents -- especially those who aren't on the Internet -- are concerned about this. They don't understand why most teenagers prefer to stay at home in front of the computer rather than go outside in the afternoon. Furthermore, some people argue that because of the Internet, teenagers no longer cherish their cultural heritage.

I am a very proud Indonesian and I disagree. Okay, so fewer teenagers go to traditional dance lessons, listen to keroncong music or dye Batik patterns on textiles in this century. But that doesn't mean we don't treasure our roots. It's true that I sometimes feel weird when I see my little cousins obsessing over the Internet. I remember that at their age, I was one of the best players of "Tak Jongkok," a traditional kind of tag, in our area. But I'm glad we're no longer left behind by other developed countries. And we can actually promote our culture through the internet so people from around the world can see what a beautiful country we're from.

Is the Internet good or bad for our culture? I'd say it's a matter of perspective. I admit I might have less knowledge than some people about the culture my ancestors have left me, but because of the wonders of the Internet, I can easily research it. I can discover a lot about my country online, and I know I'm not the only teenager who feels that way. When we have to write all those high school and college papers about Indonesian culture, most of us do our research on the Internet! We also use blogs, social networks and chat to talk about our issues concerning our country.

The Internet has changed our centuries-old culture, but it is not a barrier to it. In fact, the online world has become part of our culture. The Internet has helped us, the teenagers of Indonesia, unite more easily than ever before. I can't wait for this technology to spread throughout the whole nation, even the most remote areas, so we can all learn from each other and about each other online.