JAKARTA – On the afternoon of January 13 at Jakarta’s Digital Valley, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Rudiantara, U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake, and Indonesian NGO KOPHI launched the “Social Media for Social Good” program, a series of digital literacy workshops set to take place in six cities around Indonesia throughout 2015: Jambi, Makassar, Bangka, Samarinda, Kupang, and Ternate. Tapping into Indonesia’s love of social media and digital tools, these workshops will help bridge the digital divide in regions outside of major cities and/or the island of Java. It is in these regions where environmental concerns (forests, wildlife, and water), education challenges, and the need for entrepreneurship skills are most acute.
The “Social Media for Social Good” program is designed to address digital literacy needs among people involved in the environment and education sectors, and well as among entrepreneurs. Through a series of six workshops across Indonesia, each involving 50-100 individuals, local participants from the environment, education, and business sectors will be taught how to leverage the power of digital technology and make it work for them to address local (or national) issues. Participants will be local NGO representatives, teachers, school administrators, students, entrepreneurs, and civil society representatives. This program will be organized and run by the Indonesian NGO KOPHI, is a youth organization focused on training and workshops to address environmental and other community issues.
In additional to the U.S. Embassy, the Government of Indonesia, and KOPHI, private sector experts will be invited to share experiences and organize specific training modules. This public/private collaboration to empower civil society with the tools and knowledge to engage in digital activism also has the potential for a massive multiplier effect.
To get involved in your city, be sure to check out the progress of the campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #SocMed4SocGood.
For more information, contact U.S. Embassy Public Diplomacy Officer, Ed Dunn, at 0811-1521-548 or DunnEA2@state.gov, or Aurelia Augustine at 0811-941-7874 or AugustineA@state.gov.
