Change does not always begin with a big idea. Sometimes it grows from an unease close to everyday life, then develops into real action that benefits others. That spirit is reflected in the ideas of the three Kalijaga Changemaker 2026 winners, who bring innovation in family education, youth leadership, and community empowerment.

For Hanania Rahima, a student of the Faculty of Da'wah and Communication at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta and the first-place winner, unease about the issue of "fatherlessness" was the starting point for the Harmonest community. The experience and concern she shared with her friends pushed them not to stop at the problem but to try to offer a solution.

One innovation they developed is Family Card, a card game designed to bring children and parents closer through communication. By answering the questions on the cards, the two are invited to talk, listen, and build a better relationship.

"Family Card brings children and parents together. Children and parents communicate through Family Card and ask each other the questions on the cards," Hanania explained.

As it has grown, Harmonest has not focused only on family issues. The community has also expanded its activities to other problems, including bullying and disaster preparedness. So far, Harmonest has trained more than 85 facilitators and reached more than 1,000 participants across Indonesia and in Selangor, Malaysia.

These achievements show how personal unease can grow into a movement that reaches more people. For Hanania, students have room to keep innovating and creating in answering the problems around them.

The spirit of turning unease into action is also found in Peace Young Leaders, initiated by Siti Zahwa Qurratul Ainiah, the second-place winner of Kalijaga Changemaker 2026. The program grew out of concern about violence, with youth leadership as one of the movement's main focuses.

For Zahwa, young people are not just a group that needs protection from social problems but can also take a role in building a safer and more peaceful environment. For that reason, Peace Young Leaders was developed as a program that encourages young people to speak up for change.

The impact, according to Zahwa, can already be seen in the various activities run by facilitators in several provinces. The ideas and results of the movement have also been brought to policymakers, including the national House of Representatives (DPR RI), the Regional Representative Council (DPD), and the National Awakening Party (PKB) in Yogyakarta, as well as other relevant parties.

Taking part in Kalijaga Changemaker 2026 is part of the program's journey but does not determine whether the movement continues. Zahwa stressed that Peace Young Leaders will keep going whether or not there is a competition.

"This program will keep running with or without Kalijaga Changemaker, because it is a program we will keep speaking up for on behalf of young people in the future," she said.

Zahwa's message to UIN Sunan Kalijaga students is in line with the spirit of her program. She urged students to take a role in keeping the peace, both in their surroundings and in the digital world. The call affirms that creating safe and peaceful spaces takes shared involvement, including in online interactions.

While Harmonest works through family communication innovation and Peace Young Leaders promotes youth leadership for peace, the Community Life Laboratory (*Laboratorium Kehidupan Masyarakat*) starts from the belief that communities have the knowledge and potential to drive change from within their own surroundings.

The idea, brought by Nur Cahyanti, a student of the Islamic Accounting Study Program in the Faculty of Islamic Economics and Business at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, earned her third place and the Favorite Winner award at Kalijaga Changemaker 2026.

Nur, who goes by Nurche, explained that the Community Life Laboratory is designed as a learning space that treats life as a source of knowledge and communities as agents of change. In this idea, collaboration connects one community with others, and communities with outside parties.

This approach treats communities not only as beneficiaries of a program but as an essential part of the change process. The potential within a community is expected to be developed to improve the quality of human resources, strengthen the economy, and encourage village self-reliance until it becomes a model village.

For Nurche, the result at Kalijaga Changemaker 2026 is a stepping stone for expanding networks and collaboration. She hopes more outside parties will be willing to join Community Life Laboratory activities so that the program can reach a wider network.

Although they work in different fields, the three winners carry overlapping messages: ideas and knowledge must be translated into action that benefits others.

Hanania shows that unease about family problems can give rise to innovation that promotes communication and learning. Zahwa invites young people to take a role in building peace in both physical and digital spaces. Nurche, meanwhile, stresses the importance of treating communities as agents of change through learning and collaboration.

Nurche's message to UIN Sunan Kalijaga students sums up this spirit. In her view, education and knowledge must come with a willingness to share and to bring benefit to those around you.

"You may pursue the highest education and gain as much knowledge as you can, but don't forget to pass that knowledge on to the people around you," she said.

She then reminded students that Indonesia's progress is determined not only by growth centers in big cities but also by the contributions of communities in villages.

"Remember! Indonesia is great not because of the torch in Jakarta, but also because of the candles in the villages," she said.

The stories of the three Kalijaga Changemaker 2026 winners show that change can begin through many doors: the family, youth leadership, and community life. Through ideas that start from real problems, students are challenged not only to think creatively but also to make sure the knowledge and innovation they develop reach communities and have a lasting impact. (humassk)