Situbondo, 21 December 2022 – Situbondo Regency celebrated International Day of Persons with Disability on December 3 with a range of activities and strong participation from local communities and organisations.
Activities kicked off at 6.30am with a morning exercise and the ‘Pandu Inklusi Nusantara’ flash mob who were joined by 300 participants. A packed agenda included dancing, music, poetry, reading and sports for students from local special education and inclusive schools.
Attendees included a range of organisations, including the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forum Koordinasi Pimpinan Daerah/Forkopimda) of Situbondo Regency and the City of Probolinggo, ward-level disability groups (Kelompok Difabel Kelurahan) from Probolinggo, village-level disability groups (Kelompok Difabel Desa/KDD) from Situbondo, disability organistions, and other civil society organisations from East Java, along with regional organisations, academics, school and university students and the public.
The day’s activities also included the launch of the 5th Temu Inklusi Nasional, to be hosted by Situbondo Regency in May 2023. Temu Inklusi Nasional is a forum in which civil society and government come together to share good practice and ways in which greater inclusion can be foster across Indonesia.
The launch of Temu Inklusi Nasional is run by Pelopor Peduli Disabilitas Situbondo (PPDiS), Sasana Inklusi dan Gerakan Advokasi Difabel Indonesia (SIGAB Indonesia) and is supported by the INKLUSI program and other development partners, along with a number of disability movement organisations, CSOs, and the local government. It has been held every two years since 2014 to provide a space for sharing, networking, collaborating, and consolidating the disability movement in Indonesia with local and central governments. The aim is to encourage an inclusive Indonesia.
Karna Siswandi, Situbondo Regent (center), with representatives of INKLUSI Secretariat team (Nina Hendarwati – left- and Endah Agustiana – right), SIGAB (Joni Yulianto – right) and PPDis (Luluk Ariyantini – pink hijab) officially launched Temu Inklusi #5The Situbondo Regent, Karna Siswandi, officially announced the hosting of the 5th Temu Inklusi during his opening remarks for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities event. He expressed his pride in having Situbondo Regency trusted to be the host, and announced that preparations were underway to ensure the event was successful.
“As the regent, I and the people of Situbondo Regency, welcome this event with pride. Of course, the people of Situbondo Regency must carry out the 5th Temu Inklusi Nasional as best as possible,” said Karna.
Karna added that Temu Inklusi was an important means of celebrating diversity and the opportunities that diversity can bring.
“The diversity among us is a normal thing. Do not turn diversity into disparity. Diversity should become the capacity that brings progress to this regency,” Karna expressed.
Luluk Ariyanti, the Director of Pelopor Peduli Disabilitas Situbondo (PPDiS), and the event coordinator, said that Temu Inklusi should be a space for government and CSOs to share good practice, encourage inclusion and amplify the disability movement in Situbondo.
Temu Inklusi should be a support for people with disability. It is expected to be a reminder that the rights of people with disability should be fulfilled and we should uphold the policies and commitments that have been made,
said Luluk.
Temu Inklusi will result in an agreement for strategic agendas which are expected to contribute to the creation of inclusive policies according to needs as presented by those in attendance, and ongoing good practices. One of the concrete results of Temu Inklusi in the past is the Inclusive Village concept, which has been implemented in more than 157 villages across 10 regencies and five provinces in Indonesia.
The upcoming 5th Temu Inklusi is supported by the Australia-Indonesia Partnership Towards an Inclusive Society (INKLUSI) and other development partners. in the form of Technical Assistance for preparation and training for KDD (Village Disability Groups), such as coordination with the national committee, activities, and budget planning.
INKLUSI’s Senior Gender, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Adviser, Endah Agustiana, said that INKLUSI will continue to support advocacy works with government and CSOs in order to realise greater gender equality and social inclusion, both of which benefit everyone.
“INKLUSI focuses on gender equality, disability, and social inclusion. We need to involve every party so that development programs in Indonesia benefit everyone and ensure that no one is left behind,” said Endah.
SIGAB Indonesia has been one of the organisers of Temu Inklusi from the beginning. Joni Yulianto, head of the SIGAB Management Board, also heads up the 5th Temu Inklusi Steering Committee. He said that Temu Inklusi is an effort in good practice and collaboration that needs to be supported if inclusive development is to be realised.
“Let’s work together to continue to develop and support this good initiative. Hopefully, more regions will learn from Situbondo in realisng the benefits of an inclusive regency,” said Joni.
Regent Karna also added that, through the 5th Temu Inklusi, the government and people of Situbondo Regency expect to establish Situbondo as an inclusive region and become an example for other regions to provide safe and proper spaces for people with disability.
“We hope that we will continue to be a very inclusive region. So that people with disability can be confident of holding proper places and spaces in our beloved regency,” Karna said in his closing remarks.
