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Supporting New Colombo Plan Through Disability and Inclusion Learning in Indonesia

Sydney University students, AIPJ2 team and DPOs partners with Bappenas after discussion on inclusive development at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, 11 Desember 2017.

The Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice 2 (AIPJ2) supports the Southeast Asian Studies Centre at the University of Sydney to host “Disability and Inclusion in Indonesia,” an interdisciplinary field school to provide opportunities for Australian students to study disability and social inclusion.

Through its Knowledge Hub activities, AIPJ2 provided an introduction to disability and inclusive development in Indonesia with representatives from the Government of Australia and Government of Indonesia (Bappenas) to participating students in Jakarta on 11 December 2017. The AIPJ2 team and partnering disabled persons’ organisations (DPOs) showcased their collaborative work and shared the challenges and opportunities of mainstreaming disability in reform of the justice and security sector. 

AIPJ2 played a key role in facilitating DPOs and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the drafting of the Disability Law which was passed by the Government of Indonesia in April 2016. It will continue to support the Government and DPOs to implement the law and monitor its implementation. 

“We greatly appreciate the collaboration with the University of Sydney as part of the New Colombo Plan that promotes people-to-people links and engagements for Australian students to better understand how Australia is promoting programs that highlight equal access and rights for people with disabilities," said Dr Angie Bexley, AIPJ2 Deputy Team Leader.

During the discussion session, the participants also learned about the grave reality of stigma and discrimination that hinders access to justice by persons with disabilities. Collaborative work with law enforcement bodies (police, court, and local government) is important to ensure the Disability Law and its subsequent regulations are fully implemented. 

The field school participants then travelled to Yogyakarta, and met with AIPJ2 partners, Sasana Integrasi dan Advokasi Difabel (SIGAB) and Sentra Advokasi Perempuan Difabel dan Anak (SAPDA) to better understand their work at the subnational level on engaging governments in building Inclusive Cities and Inclusive Villages. 

Based on the August 2017 report from the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Economic Governance (Disability in Indonesia, What We Can Learn From the Data) there are at least 10 million Indonesians affected by some form of disability resulting in limitation of their own and their families’ active participation in society. The report encourages all stakeholders to make an effort to develop a social protection program that supports families with persons with disabilities as member(s), and improves their access to education, infrastructure and public services, and economic opportunities.