YEU Partners Promote Resilience of Persons with Disabilities at Indonesia’s Inclusion Gathering
Written by Lorenzo Fellycyano. Originally posted by YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) on 11th August 2023.
Persons with disabilities in Indonesia have been more involved in society. Increased support by the government can also be seen from the enactment of a law on persons with disabilities in 2016 and a number of related regulations. A biennial event named the Inclusion Gathering (Temu Inklusi) uses this momentum to continuously increase the participation of persons with disabilities up to the village level.
This year’s Inclusion Gathering is the fifth since its inception in 2014. Previously, the Gathering took place in Sleman, Gunungkidul, and Kulon Progo (all of which are within the Special Region of Yogyakarta), as well as online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As an opportunity to consolidate movements related to persons with disabilities, this year’s Gathering was held in an Islamic education institution (pesantren), at Salafiyah Syafi’iyah Sukorejo in Situbondo District, East Java, from 31 July to 2 August 2023. While the previous events were all hosted by villages, this fifth event was organized in a huge 115-year-old faith-based education compound with more than 20,000 santri (Islamic institution’s students). “For the first time ever, this national inclusion gathering takes place at a pesantren,” said the District Head of Situbondo, Mr. Karna Suswandi, in his welcome speech.
Over 600 participants swarmed the area, exceeding the initial 420 attendees planned by the organizer. This year’s Inclusion Gathering can be regarded as the largest of its kind.
Collaboration Across Institutions
Ever since the Inclusion Gathering began, various advocacy groups and civil society organizations, including SIGAB (Center for Inclusion and Diffability Advocacy Movement) and YAKKUM (The Christian Foundation for Public Health) have consistently strengthened cross-agency cooperation.
YAKKUM fully participated in this biennial agenda which is now entering its fifth time, namely Temu Inklusi #5. Consistent in pushing for an inclusive Indonesia to be achieved in 2030, this time’s theme carries the message that persons with disabilities are “Empowered in Diversity Towards Inclusive Indonesia 2030.”
YAKKUM fully supports the aforementioned message with significant contributions from various YAKKUM units, including the YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU), YAKKUM Rehabilitation Center (PRY), a number of YAKKUM hospitals and clinics, along with their partners in the community.
Bringing more than 175 participants to this national event, YAKKUM, including YEU, shows its commitment to bringing inclusion in all aspects of community life. Whether in humanitarian responses, disaster mitigation, health, or livelihoods and welfare, YAKKUM units prove through the Gathering that all units continue to work to create a society where no one is left behind.
Inclusion in Disaster Management and Climate Change Adaptation
At the Fifth Inclusion Gathering, YEU specifically presented its inclusive innovation initiatives, known as IDEAKSI (Idea, Innovation, Action, Inclusion). Through this program, community groups in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) initiate and develop their own creative ideas to prepare themselves for disasters.
These innovations were presented by the partners present in the YEU group, namely the People with Disabilities Task Force for Disaster Response (DIFAGANA DIY), the Gunungkidul Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB GK), and the CIQAL Foundation. The presence of the IDEAKSI innovator representatives inspired visitors that disaster management (DM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) can also be inclusive.
At the exhibition booth, various learning materials, innovation mock-ups, and an introduction to inclusive DM-CCA were presented. Apart from that, the innovator partners also offered a variety of local crafts and snacks made by persons with disabilities in Yogyakarta. This exhibition was an opportunity for innovators to network and disseminate good practices.
Hundreds of visitors to the exhibition area at the Gathering had the opportunity to visit the YEU booth, ranging from elderly people, government officials to elementary school children. Many of them were interested in listening to the innovations presented, and learning sign language with DIFAGANA DIY. One of the visitors, Mrs. Fatimah Asri from the National Commission on Disabilities (KND), conveyed her impression during her visit, “[We] are grateful and appreciate the ideas and innovations of our YEU friends.”
Together with CBM Global and the Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities (HWDI) in Cianjur, YEU held a discussion session about the meaningful participation of the most at-risk groups in DM and CCA. Representing the IDEAKSI innovators, Mrs. Tutik Purwaningsih from the CIQAL Foundation shared lessons learned from involving persons with disabilities and other groups at risk in IDEAKSI innovations.
“Persons with disabilities are more at high risk of the impact of disasters, [thus] they are prioritized in disaster risk reduction [for] building a resilient and inclusive society, through innovation and community-led efforts,” said Ms. Tutik to around 40 audience members who attended.
In the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) session, YEU specifically shared a video through IDEAKSI’s best practices. YEU also reiterated that no one should be left behind, even in a disaster situation.
In response to the YEU presentation, one of the more than 80 AI participants from Bapelitbang Rote Ndao in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Sherwin Ufi, expressed his desire to learn, “… from the host family model and website [proposed in IDEAKSI] which is certainly very much needed in the context of NTT, especially in Rote, from the experience of major cyclones every 10 years, the most recent one from the [2021] Seroja Cyclone disaster.”
Recommendations for the President Regarding Inclusion in DM and CCA
The Inclusion Gathering series was opened by the Governor of East Java, Mrs. Khofifah Indar Parawansa, on Tuesday (01/08) and was attended by hundreds of participants from 17 provinces and 54 districts/cities throughout Indonesia.
Also present at the opening were representatives from the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Ministry of Villages, the National Development Planning Agency, KND, National Human Rights Commission, National Commission on Violence Against Women, as well as East Java provincial agency heads, the Situbondo District Head, and the Situbondo Regional Leadership Coordination Forum.
To the stakeholders who were present, recommendations were submitted to the president’s representatives so that they would become concrete actions, as the message of the Salafiyah Syafi’iyah Head, Mr. Ahmad Azaim Ibrahimy, “Please make real follow-ups.”
In her remarks, Governor Khofifah said that, “Of course, the recommendations that have been given, regarding technical matters must be followed up.” She symbolically handed over 31 wheelchairs from the Provincial Government of East Java, accompanied by the Situbondo District Head.
From the previous Gatherings, concrete steps have been taken to promote the inclusive village model, as a representation of the smallest government system, that has been replicated by more than 250 villages in Indonesia. The government has also shown its commitment to the inclusion of persons with disabilities by passing 7 out of 8 government regulations mandated by the Law on Persons with Disabilities, as well as the formation of the KND. As a result, public facilities have become more accessible. More than 5,000 persons with disabilities have also been recruited into the civil service from 2017 until now.
However, the expansion of implementation, including in the aspects of DM and CCA, still needs to be improved. For this reason, in the Fifth Inclusion Gathering, the Sukorejo Recommendation was formulated, which will be submitted to the President of the Republic of Indonesia. This recommendation was also read in sign language by one of the IDEAKSI innovators, Mrs. Dwi Rahayu from DIFAGANA DIY.
Particularly with regard to DM and CCA, the Inclusion Gathering recommended that the President instruct the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and related parties to make measurable efforts to ensure the protection of persons with disabilities in disaster situations, humanitarian emergencies, conditions due to the impacts of climate change, disaster risk reduction, as well as recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. These include adjusting existing policies, as well as cross-sector pentahelix coordination and collaboration.
The Community-Led Innovation Partnership is a joint initiative between Elrha, Start Network, Asia Disaster Reduction and Response Network, Asociación de Servicios Comunitarios de Salud in Guatemala, Center for Disaster Preparedness in the Philippines, and Yakkum Emergency Unit in Indonesia, which supports the emergence and development of locally-driven solutions to humanitarian problems. It is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
