Cendekia Updates
IKLIM: Music Declares Emergency Indonesia – Turning Up the Volume on Climate Action
June 23–27, 2025
From June 23–27, 2025, the Indonesian Climate Communications, Arts & Music Lab (IKLIM) gathered in Ubud, Bali- not just as a workshop, but as a meeting point between music and climate resilience. For five days, musicians and bands from across Indonesia stepped away from their stages and studios to stand together in a different kind of ensemble: one dedicated to deepening climate understanding and re-imagining music as a force to drive changes.
Music Declares Emergency Indonesia (Musik Mendeklarasikan Darurat Indonesia) is the first chapter in Asia of a global movement uniting artists, music industry professionals and organizations in shared belief that protecting life on earth is non-negotiable. At its heart is a simple truth: music moved people- and people move change .
Music Declares Emergency Indonesia (Musik Mendeklarasikan Darurat Indonesia) is the first chapter in Asia of a global movement uniting artists, music industry professionals and organizations in shared belief that protecting life on earth is non-negotiable. At its heart is a simple truth: music moved people- and people move change .
The 2025 IKLIM program invited participating musicians into conversation that reached far beyond the industry. Coal dependency, deforestation, and the urgent need for a just transition toward renewable energy were not abstract talking points- they were lived realities, shaping landscapes, livelihoods, and the future of their own communities. Between formal learning sessions and spontaneous exchanges, participants explored how climate and creativity intersect, and how their art could channel both urgency and hope.
On the first day, Cendekia Iklim Indonesia opened with a foundational session, Climate Crisis 101, led by CEO and Founder Agam Subarkah.
In clear and grounded language, he unpacked the root causes of the climate crisis, introduced key terms for understanding its complexity, and traced its far-reaching impacts on the environment, society, and economy. The session quickly moved beyond theory—sparking an animated exchange as participating musicians drew connections between these global challenges and their own daily lives, sharing stories and observations that grounded the discussion in lived experience.
In clear and grounded language, he unpacked the root causes of the climate crisis, introduced key terms for understanding its complexity, and traced its far-reaching impacts on the environment, society, and economy. The session quickly moved beyond theory—sparking an animated exchange as participating musicians drew connections between these global challenges and their own daily lives, sharing stories and observations that grounded the discussion in lived experience.
Later that day, Cendekia Iklim Indonesia also facilitated a reflection circle, allowing participants to process and express the key takeaways, through words, sketches, and fragments of melody. These reflections will serve as the creative springboard for an original campaign, shaped directly by the ideas and insights sparked during the workshop.
The work will not stay in the room. New musical pieces will be performed in November 2025, closing the year’s program with an act of declaration: music not just as expressions, but as an advocacy tool. Each song will carry the call for a carbon-neutral, sustainable future, delivered through both cultural imagination and operational change.
For Cendekia Iklim Indonesia, standing alongside Music Declares Emergency reaffirmed a deep conviction: music is not just art–it is memory, resistance, and movement. In the face of climate collapse, cultural work is climate work. Rhythm, voice, and collective emotion can evoke awareness in ways that data cannot. Declaring a climate emergency is not just a statement, it is also a commitment to collaborate, create and stand together with communities on the frontlines of change.
For Cendekia Iklim Indonesia, standing alongside Music Declares Emergency reaffirmed a deep conviction: music is not just art–it is memory, resistance, and movement. In the face of climate collapse, cultural work is climate work. Rhythm, voice, and collective emotion can evoke awareness in ways that data cannot. Declaring a climate emergency is not just a statement, it is also a commitment to collaborate, create and stand together with communities on the frontlines of change.
