Our Journey
Starting from a volunteer community, we grew into a dynamic and impactful non-profit organization. Led by young people, to empower fellow young people.
2017
The idea of Generasi Melek Politik (GMP) was born from the concerns of founder, Neildeva Despendya, about politics in Indonesia that felt like a circus, where sensation was valued over substance. Even worse, political conversation felt locked behind gates—gates built with jargon, elitism, and complexity. As if politics were not for the people.
2017-2018
GMP began connecting with like-minded individuals who shared the vision and mission to make politics more enjoyable. Members were formed through indorelawan.org. The journey started by holding public discussions with collaborative funding and cash contributions, as well as creating educational content on social media.
2018
Recognizing the importance of organizational legality, GMP legalized itself as Partisipasi Muda Foundation (YPM). We are currently registered with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights RI with number: 5018071931100892.
2018-2019
YPM began launching the Academia Politica program to equip young people with understanding of public policy and important democratic soft skills. YPM participated in enlivening the 2019 General Election democratic festival by participating in discussion sessions of the Volunteer Festival from Indorelawan, watched by thousands of visitors.
2020-2021
Trusted to manage the first grant funding from donor institutions to launch the Candidate Meetings program, Indonesia's first digital town hall meeting. This program aimed to provide an inclusive space to bridge young people with regional head candidates in 4 cities/regencies/provinces vulnerable to climate crisis.
2022-2024
Donor institution trust increased, so the flagship Academia Politica program returned with a focus on public policy in climate crisis issues. The program spread across 5 provinces in Indonesia.
2025-present
YPM continues the Academia Politica program focused on climate crisis issues with broader coverage, especially in eastern Indonesia. During this period, YPM also launched its first comprehensive research on young people's understanding of public civic space with respondents throughout Indonesia.
It all started with a question:
What if politics could feel more humane?
Born from frustration and hope, Partisipasi Muda Foundation began as a small dream in 2017—to open the doors of politics and policy formulation for Indonesian youth who felt marginalized from this conversation.
We started without followers, without an office, and without a roadmap—just a few people with shared passion and belief that young people deserve a seat at the negotiating table. Inspired by young leaders worldwide and driven by creativity and civic engagement spirit, we were determined to make democracy more accessible, more relevant, and inclusive.
From café meetings to classrooms, from digital campaigns to policy workshops, our mission has always been the same: empowering Indonesian youth to participate in shaping the future of their communities and their country.
We've come a long way—but our journey has just begun.