UIN Jakarta Journalism Student Earns Mercedes Benz Fellowship as Frontline Climate Communities
CIPUTAT, UIN Online News – Demonstrating exceptional leadership in environmental advocacy, Tiara De Silvanita, a Journalism undergraduate at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, has been selected for the highly competitive beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship 2026. Emerging from an international pool of over 20,000 global applicants, Tiara secured a coveted spot among approximately 250 fellows worldwide, representing an elite $1.25\%$ acceptance rate for the 2026 Cohort.
Funded by Mercedes-Benz and executed by The DO School Fellowships gGmbH, the international program equips young innovators with global mentorship, seed funding access, and specialized project development frameworks to execute scalable environmental solutions.
Addressing the human dimension of ecological degradation, Tiara selected the Biodiversity & Restoration track, focusing on ecosystem recovery and habitat protection. Driven by her background in journalism, she aims to bridge the communication gap for vulnerable communities living on the frontlines of climate disruption such as coastal dwellers and river basin residents who often lack platforms to voice their needs.
"Many marginalized communities live right adjacent to damaged ecosystems and feel the immediate impact of climate disruption first, yet they rarely possess the platforms to amplify their voices," Tiara explained. "This international fellowship provides a direct channel to strengthen community-led narratives and build actionable climate solutions alongside those most affected."
Rejecting superficial environmental campaigns, Tiara’s project framework moves beyond simple tree-planting exercises. Instead, she is developing a participatory restoration model that positions local residents as the primary decision-makers and custodians of their surrounding biodiversity.
Through the year-long fellowship, Tiara plans to leverage both international networks and local grassroots organizations to scale her community-driven restoration project. Her achievement highlights the critical role of environmental journalism in converting media literacy into active ecological interventions.
By securing a place in this elite global cohort, UIN Jakarta demonstrates that its humanities and journalism students possess the global competitiveness, ethical grounding, and innovative capacity required to lead international climate action initiatives.
(Nosa/Zaenal/Arifin)