JAKARTA – Today, the United States Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) along with our international partners opened the Indonesia Civil Society Forum 2018 (ICSF 2018). As a learning platform designed to strengthen Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs) skills and sustainability, ICSF 2018 will reinforce Indonesian civil society’s ability to help Indonesia achieve its development goals.
“Skilled, strategic, and sustainable networks of CSOs are an integral aspect to advance Indonesia’s development and are the backbone of a vibrant democracy. Through USAID, the United States Government is proud to contribute to ICSF 2018 and, more broadly, a strong Indonesian democracy. We affirm and support the important role of civil society in this process, particularly at the local level, where so many key interactions between government and the citizenry take place,” said USAID/Indonesia Mission Director Erin E. McKee.
ICSF 2018 is designed to increase the effectiveness of Indonesian CSOs, particularly at the sub-national level, in contributing to Indonesia’s development. Participants will reflect on key issues facing CSOs in the 20 years following the dramatic events of the 1998 “Reformasi.” The forum will focus on two key issues impacting the strength of Indonesia’s civil society: capacity and sustainability. Specific discussion topics include: CSO donor dependency and capacity/skills gaps, sustainable financing and strategic partnership. Approximately 250 participants from local and national CSOs, the Government of Indonesia and international development partners will attend.
Haru Tamtomo, Senior Advisor for Bureaucracy Reform of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights said that: “CSOs play a role in realizing democratic development in Indonesia that will help improve national prosperity, build synergies between CSOs and the government to boost Indonesia’s development.”
Rahimah Abdulrahim, Executive Director of the Habibie Institute stated that “This CSO Forum is a rare opportunity for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and provides an opportunity to build close cooperation between the developing CSOs and the more established ones.”
ICSF 2018 is just one of the U.S. Embassy’s initiatives designed to advance democratic governance in Indonesia, reflecting the breadth of engagement under the U.S.-Indonesia Strategic Partnership. It is a collaborative effort from five international development partners: USAID, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Global Affairs Canada, German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ), the Ford Foundation and the Asia Foundation. For additional details about the forum, visit https://medium.com/@csoforumevent.
For more information, visit http://indonesia.usaid.gov/ or contact USAID Communications Officer Swiny Andina at +62 (21) 3435-9000 or sandina@usaid.gov.
