The Faculty of Da'wah and Communication (FDK) at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta is encouraging students to take an active role in addressing the climate crisis through the seminar “Youth Climate Action: Students as Drivers of Solutions Amid the Climate Crisis,” held Thursday (9/24/2026). Running from 8:00 a.m. onward at the FDK Hall, UIN Sunan Kalijaga, the event forms part of a series marking FDK's 56th Anniversary and UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's 75th Anniversary.

The seminar featured Ikrom Musthofa, S.Si., M.Sc., a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Engineering at Universitas Islam Indonesia, and Siti Aminah, M.Si., Advisor of Climate Warrior, sharing perspectives on literacy, action, and collaboration in addressing the challenges of climate change.

Climate Warrior Advisor Siti Aminah said the event grew out of students' experience with Project Eco Cupir, an initiative that processes used cooking oil into environmentally friendly dish soap. The initiative won the Best Collaboration award at the final round of the Green Impact Project 2026, held in FEB UNS (Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sebelas Maret) Surakarta on August 22, 2026.

According to Siti, this experience shows that climate action can begin with simple issues close to everyday life. For that reason, Climate Warrior's achievement should not remain the success of a single group alone but should be shared so that it can inspire and serve as good practice for other students.

“We want this experience not to stop with one team, but to spread to other students. This seminar is a space to share the spirit and good practices of climate action,” Siti said.

She explained that students hold a strategically important position in facing the climate crisis. Beyond being the generation that will bear the long-term effects of climate change, students possess the energy, networks, and communication skills that can be mobilized to drive change.

For FDK students, Siti said, environmental care can also be understood as a form of da'wah (Islamic outreach). Protecting the environment is part of humanity's responsibility as khalifah (steward) of the earth. Environmental awareness, therefore, needs to be realized through concrete action alongside the community.

Siti also emphasized that students can begin taking action within their immediate surroundings, such as managing household waste, reducing single-use plastics, mentoring communities, and voicing environmental issues through social media. She noted that such actions tend to succeed more when carried out in collaboration with the community, rather than individually.

This approach has already been put into practice through Project Eco Cupir, which began at TBM Delima (a community reading center), Bantul, on July 6, 2026. Throughout July and August 2026, Climate Warrior carried out mentoring alongside residents of TBM Delima and the Kalimaya Group in Bantul, including housewives and Karang Taruna (youth community organization) members, using a learning-by-doing approach.

Meanwhile, Ikrom Musthofa emphasized that the climate crisis needs to be understood in a broader sense. The issue, he said, is not solely environmental, it also touches on humanity, social justice, morality, and religion. For this reason, students need both climate literacy and the ability to communicate these issues to the wider public.

“Students of the Faculty of Da'wah and Communication have the ability to translate complex issues into messages the public can understand. They can serve as public communicators, journalists, da'i (Islamic preachers), content creators, communication researchers, and community facilitators,” Ikrom explained.

He encouraged students to begin taking action within their immediate surroundings, reducing waste and single-use plastics, managing food waste, conducting environmental education, and using digital media to spread messages about climate. Knowledge, he said, needs to be translated into measurable, sustained action.

Within the FDK context, students' communication skills serve as an important asset for bridging scientific knowledge, Islamic values, and community experience. Students can take on a role in building public awareness while also encouraging community involvement in addressing environmental issues.

This event also strengthens the Climate Warrior movement already developed within FDK. Institutional support from the faculty, along with LPPM through UIN Sunan Kalijaga's SDGs Team, forms part of the effort to give students space to develop ideas and practices related to the environment and sustainable development.

Through the Youth Climate Action seminar, FDK UIN Sunan Kalijaga affirms its commitment to continuing to open space for student learning and participation in responding to the challenges of the climate crisis. Students are expected not only to understand the issue of climate change, but also to take on active roles through literacy, action, communication, and collaboration with the community.

Siti Aminah affirmed that change does not always need to begin with grand gestures. “Don't wait until you can make a big move. Solutions to the climate crisis can start in the kitchen, with the waste around us, and with small acts of care carried out together. Caring for the earth is an act of worship,” she concluded.

This seminar stands as a concrete example of FDK's contribution to strengthening the role of higher education as a space where ideas and movements are born that benefit society and support environmental sustainability. (humassk)