PEOPLE-CENTERED DEVELOPMENT: A BRIEF REVIEW ..
Indonesia places great emphasis on breaking the poverty chain. Many programs have been launched, maintained and institutionalized. The greater part of those programs are centered on the family, population, women, and youth. In the early 1990's these concerned programs resulted in the institutionalization of the 1992 Law on Population and Family Development. With that went the development of the Integrated Health and Family Planning Post, commonly known as the POSYANDU. Other programs, such as poverty alleviation, education, special programs for youth, employment creation , and the like were initiated with special reference to the needs of the grass roots.
The 1990s saw efforts launched by BKKBN (National Family Planning Coordinating Board) to strengthen family development by introducing women groups to income security and motivating them to save and to draw credits. These became known as TAKESRA (savings for family welfare) and KUKESRA (credits for family welfare).
In mid-2000s one would observe the advent of a new paradigm for empowering all members of the family, and families within their local community. In generic terms this paradigm is labeled as POSDAYA. In essence POSDAYA is a local community forum of families representing the interests of all family members, discussing and agreeing on development and fulfillment issues in the community. This paradigm has proved to be most conducive for implementing MDGs initiatives.
In summary, those are the milestones in family development and in efforts at alleviating poverty. Within each, there are specific operational interventions, some of which were success stories and others meeting failures.

SHARING LESSONS LEARNT

The principle of this intended sharing is that Indonesia and the host organization, i.e. DAMANDIRI Foundation in collaboration with other concerned agencies, foremost of which are BKKBN, Universities, local governments and civil societies, would like to share with international and national participants various activities and ventures in enhancing grassroots family welfare, and invite participants to this sharing to observe and comment.
In essence the overriding objective of POSDAYA is to enhance family and community welfare, and thus poverty alleviation. On this ground the strategy is fourfolds. First, is developing small to medium scale entrepreneurial economic activities such that these family and local community groups (POSDAYA) are able to sustain and further develop itself. Second, is promoting increased access to basic educational opportunities together with life skills training, which in essence is part of basic Human Resources Development. Third, is increasing access to health services, especially for mothers and under-fives. Fourth, is environmental preservation and development, including
utilization of home gardening for nutrition improvement of families.
Those strategies are consistently and systematically pursued by adhering to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and based upon Indonesia's principles on the Eight Functions of the Family. Furthermore, Indonesia with DAMANDIRI Foundation at the forefront, is diligently institutionalizing the API-ABADI principle for program implementation. API-ABADI is (literally translated as "eternal fire") is an acronym of ADVOCACY, EMPOWERMENT with strong PARTICIPATION, IMPLEMENTATION - based on RELIGION, to develop local BUSINESS ventures, and to enhance ACCESS, to invigorate EDUCATION, and institutionalize INSURANCE/SECURITY.
Various programs and activities in that realm have been in place and developed. Those will be demonstrated, shared and discussed. Among others those programmes include the transformation of Income Generating Activities into Cooperatives, Integrated Health and Family Development Posts (POSYANDU ++), Integrating Early Child Development Programs with Skills Training for their Mothers, Empowering the Elderly, and several other community Development and Population-based programmes.
The theme for this OST on sharing program is with Hearts-Minds-Spirit, Commitment and Participation ....

OBJECTIVES ..

The overall objective of the OST on sharing best practices is to exchange empirical experiences on providing access and opportunities to grass roots families to participate in, and enjoy the fruits, of their toils in development.
The specific objectives are as follows:
Demonstrating the POSDAYA approach as the appropriate paradigm for family and community development; Demonstrating POSDAYA-based Cooperatives to enhance economic wellbeing of local families;
Demonstrating DAMANDIRI's program on practical Human Resources
Development activities, particularly in improving the quality of higher
secondary school (SMU) graduates;
Demonstrating utilization of home gardens to enhance family
nutritional intake;
Formulating recommendations for possible improvements in family
and community and Human Resources Development in general;

METHODOLOGY

National and International participants will attend one-day of official opening and briefings. Days 2 and 3 will be for field observation and discussion with local authorities and cadres. At the end of Day 3 a session on Reflections-Discussions-Synthesis will be held where participants and local authorities will formulate recommendations for future actions. That session officially closes the sharing program.
Participants who are interested to further their observation to other sites of the country, are most welcome. Other recommended sites are Yogyakarta and Bali. For these observation visits participants are requested to bear their own cost, i.e. air fare and accomodation. DAMANDIRI Foundation as host would provide assistance and facilitation.

PARTICIPANTS
Participants will comprise senior and middle-level officials representing national and international Government and Non-Government Agencies in Family and Community Development.

DATES AND VENUE
The international and national sharing program will he held in October 2009 at Jakarta and Bogor. Optional observation at other cities or sites can be be organized at own cost. These additional and optional sites are at Yogyakarta and/or Bali.
The organizer and host organization of the OST is the DAMANDIRI Foundation, a national Non-Governmental Organization founded by the former and late President Suharto in 1996. The aim of the foundation is breaking the poverty chain and enhance family welfare in Indonesia. In pursuing this mission DAMANDIRI Foundation collaborates and partners with various organizations and institutions, both in the government and non-government circles, and with many civil society organizations. The foundation links itself most closely with the banking system and with the goal of providing economic empowerment to grassroots families. The foundation also partners with educational institutions and systems, with the express aim of providing access to the underprivileged families in educating their children. In this realm, the foundation also links with universities and other institutions of higher learning as many civic assignments are given to university students as a compulsory subject. With this latter link, the foundation also enjoys the benefits of applied science and broadening its knowledge base.
With the knowledge and experiences gained over time, DAMANDIRI foundation began sharing those lessons learnt to others, both in-country as well as in the international circles, through Observation-Study Tours (OST), in addition to contributions in seminars and in its own media. In implementing these OST's DAMANDIRI Foundation collaborates closely with the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN) who also organizes similar exchange programmes, universities and local governments.

THE COST ..
Persons or institutions who wish to participate in the OST are encouraged to secure their own funding for their return international and national travel to Jakarta. In addition participants are also encouraged to secure their own travel and health insurance during the OST. DAMANDIRI Foundation provides fellowship grants to cover their board and lodging and domestic travels related to the OST, not including the optional visits.

LANGUAGE OF THE OST
The working language throughout the OST will be in English and Indonesian.

FURTHER INFORMATION ...
For further information and enquiries, please contact

DAMANDIRI Foundation,
Granadi Building 11th floor Jl Rasuna Said Block X-l, Kav 8-9, Kuningan, Jakarta, Indonesia
Phones : (62-21)2524981,2524984,52964462
Fax : (62-21)2524980,5254521
e-mail : redaksi@damandiri.or.id, pudjor@yahoo.com
websites : www.gemari.or.id and www.damandiri.or.id
PDF….