News | December 3, 2013

Following our Open for Business events held in Africa, on November 27, 2013 we hosted Get To Know Making All Voices Count in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The aim was to allow interested parties to become acquainted with our programme and objectives, and inspire discussion on how governments can become more accountable and citizens voices heard.

Participants and presenters at the Get To Know Making All Voices Count event in Indonesia

Participants and presenters at the Get To Know Making All Voices Count event in Indonesia

The event featured an inspiring keynote address from Heru Prasetyo, Deputy of the President’s Delivery Unit for International Planning and Relationship, who stressed the need for collaborative and innovative thinking.

We can’t solve this grand challenge from inside the box, we have to step outside of it!

This was followed by an address from Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Chairman of Indonesia Internet Service Provider Association (APJII), who emphasized that multi-stakeholder cooperation is key. He pointed to the success of the Internet Governance Forum 2013, previously an intergovernmental event, which last October invited CSO’s, government, tech specialists as well as citizens, to attend and contribute their voice in the context of internet governance.

A case study of Solo Kota Kita was then examined, an initiative which began in 2009 to develop tools for neighborhood advocacy and citizen planning in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, Indonesia. Solo Kota Kita combines a decentralized survey approach with simple technology to illustrate the assets and issues in each of Solo’s neighborhoods. The process has four steps – 1) data collection, 2) mapping, 3) analysis, and 4) distribution.

An open floor discussion then followed, with questions raised from various parties such as Freedom of Information Indonesia. A participant asked:

 Without strong and responsive leadership, initiatives won’t be implemented. How can we actually encourage, and motivate, accountable governance?

A representative from the Jakarta Provincial Government expressed desire to incorporate all voices, but stated obstacles. She said:

We have 9 channels to listen to citizen voices and respond, but we’re receiving over 2000 complaints every day. We work 24 hrs. What more can we do?

The event proved to be a lively exchange of ideas and experiences from various parties in Indonesia.

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