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While the government is busy investigating celebrity sex videos, debating pork-barrel funds and dealing with graft scandals, young people are taking matters into their own hands.

Thirty-three students, aged 15 to 21, who attended the first Indonesian Youth Conference over the weekend in Jakarta, have come up with their own proposals on how to address problems ranging from environmental degradation to disaster prevention.

“Often the adults are far too occupied with dealing with the major issues, so that they don’t have time to address small but nevertheless important things. Youth can take care of those things that are out of the books of government officials,” said Fatimah Sulistyowati, 18, who is proposing a project to address poor sanitation in the neighborhoods of Depok.

“We see things that need changing every day, so why not change it ourselves?” she said.

Rivandra Royono, a speaker from the education unit of the World Bank’s Jakarta office, said Indonesia could not afford not to involve youth. “The biggest strength of Indonesian youth is their positive view of the world, and their passion and ideas to make a change. That strength will diminish with age.”