Held in Pa’Dior arts and culture museum in Minahasa in December, 27 students from 19 schools joined the camp. We aimed to get one student from each of the 41 schools we visited, though unfortunately some students could not join for various personal reasons (no permission from the parents due to the current pandemic, other obligations or poor responsiveness due to lack of signal/phone).

The three days and two nights at the camp were packed with exciting and inspiring activities! On the first day, the participants had introduction sessions through various ice-breaker/bonding games, as well as becoming more deeply acquainted with the work of the Selamatkan Yaki Programme. The second day started with an early Zumba session to get the kids lively and ready for the day. Next is the presentation from our partner the Macaca Nigra Project about the ecology, behaviour and social life of Yaki in the wild leaving the kids amazed and very intrigued. Right after, to trigger their empathy and increase their awareness, Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center shared a talk about the wildlife trade and zoonosis.

The next half of the day was more about maximizing their role as a Yaki ambassador. We invited a local social media influencer to talk about how to use social media for conservation; how to influence people and the importance of ethics. They also learned about simple phone photography and videography techniques to be able to maximize their role in spreading conservation messages through social media. To get even more inspired in their new role, we invited the previous ambassadors to come and talk about their experience in the role of Yaki ambassador.