And so it begins … on our way to 100,000 Indonesian U-reporters!

By Valerie Crab, UNICEF Indonesia, Programme Specialist (Innovations)



Taking selfies after the UReport sessions
© UNICEF Indonesia/Rodrigo Ordonez/2016

A sea of Scouts

14 August, 7h30 am, the sun is warming the sprawling campsite where President Widodo, several ministers and 2000 VIP guests, all dressed in their brown and beige uniforms, are patiently waiting. I had heard about the magnitude of the reach of the Scouts movement, a.k.a. Gerakan Pramuka, in Indonesia, but seeing 25000 scouts get ready to kick off their 10^th National Jamboree really hit it home. Four full days and 48 sessions on U-report and Child’s Rights lie ahead of us.

It did not take long to get evidence of the impact U-report already has in Indonesia. Right off the bat, President Joko Widodo, as the Head of Pramuka, asked his 25,000 fellow scouts to use social media responsibly and to stop bullying on and off the net. Those of you who have been following U-report activities globally know that bullying has been part of a recent global poll.

This Jamboree also marks the beginning of the UNICEF–Pramuka adventure. The partnership will capitalise on the common goals the two organisations have and strengthen the capacities of Pramuka on child rights, WASH, nutrition and child protection. It marks the beginning of the scale up of U-report in Indonesia. The goal is to reach 100,000 scouts by mid-2017.

Selfies selfie selfie!

Clap clap clap … clap clap clap … clap clap clap clap! Jambore Jambore Jambore! 60 girls open the training session on U-report clapping their hands and shouting. They pay close attention to the message they are getting. They start understanding the U-report is a tool “to make adults listen”. They take out their smartphones and sign up through Facebook, Twitter and SMS. Those who do not have phones with them take notes diligently and pledge that they will sign up as soon as their phone has battery again.

But there is a twinkle in their eyes when they see the foreigners in the UNICEF tent. A tall Spanish photographer, a beautiful Mongolian lady and a blonde Belgian… what an attraction. So we used this opportunity to become local social media stars and exchanged selfies and signatures for U-report sign ups. Those who took part in the trainings not only got U-report goodies and stamps in their booklets for completing the activities, they got exclusive selfie access to the U-report foreigners. One selfie at a time the U-report community is growing.

Same same, but different

Scouts sign up to U-Report
(c) UNICEF Indonesia/Kate Rose/2016

Working with the Scouts at this particular event showed how this partnership will reach youth all over the country. It is evident in the way they dress as all the uniforms have a local design element. It is apparent in the entrance gates to their camp sites, which all promote aspects of local architecture and landscapes. Despite the differences, these kids all share clear common values and a drive for a future that is respecting of them. I found it thrilling to see that at one such event not only do we reach thousands of girls and boys, but we reach them nationwide and across all social divides. U-report will give them a platform to unite and make their voices heard as one.  

Keep up to date with U-Report!

https://www.facebook.com/UReportindonesia/
 https://twitter.com/UReport_id
 https://indonesia.ureport.in/

 

 

Transforming the lives of Indonesian children with Early Childhood Education

Students at KM 0 Early Childhood Care and Education Centre (ECCE) are facilitated by specially-trained teachers. (©UNICEF Indonesia/2016/Kinanti Pinta Karana)

A rare sound of children’s laughter can be heard at Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture where normally Government staff and their partners focus on developing and implementing education policies. A little girl carrying a doctor’s kit declares that she wants to be a pilot. “I also want to be a doctor, and a teacher,” she proudly tells the high-level delegation of officials from the Governments of Indonesia and New Zealand.

Around 30 children had gathered for the launch of a new Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) on the morning of July 18, 2016, jointly run by the Government of Indonesia and UNICEF, with support from the New Zealand Government through a US$2.8 million contribution over a period of four years.

Designed to develop models for quality assurance of community-based ECCE, the programme will reach 7,400 children aged 3-6 years in 100 community-based early childhood centres in Kupang District, in East Nusa Tenggara during the pilot phase. The children will benefit from literacy programmes, play activities and a supportive learning environment. Their parents will be able to access parenting programmes about child care, nutrition and how to help their children get ahead in their learning at home. All in all, it will help the children to be better prepared for primary school - with the help of 200 specially trained facilitators. Once replicated at national level, the quality assurance mechanism will benefit 16 million 3-6 year olds every single year.

Sanitation as a matter of religious importance

By Aidan Cronin, Chief WASH, UNICEF Indonesia

It was a rare sight: members of the Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars (in Indonesian known as Majelis Ulama Indonesia) in their distinctive peci hats sat alongside Government health officials from 13 provinces of Indonesia to discuss an unconventional topic: toilets.

Organised by the Minister of Health, the meeting unveiled an innovative approach to improve sanitation in Indonesia – a Fatwa, or Islamic decree by the Council which stresses the importance of good sanitation facilities and hygiene practices. The decree also allows the use of the Council’s charity funds (Zakat) to provide financial support to the poorest and most vulnerable families for better latrines.

Indonesia has a huge problem with open defecation, where people do not defecate in a toilet but in the open, on the beach, into river and so on. A WHO/UNICEF Report (2015) estimates that over 51 million people do not use latrines in the country – the second highest number in the world. However, open defecation is practised mostly by the poorest populations and they bear the heaviest burden. In particular, children - already vulnerable and marginalized - pay the highest price in terms of their survival and development.

New report highlights young peoples’ perspectives on Female Genital Mutilation

Nearly half of young people between the ages of 13 and 24 in Indonesia believe female genital mutilation (FGM) should be prohibited, according to an online poll conducted by UNICEF through its social media platform U-Report.

The report found that 44 per cent of respondents believe the practice should be stopped and 22 per cent believe it is a human rights violation or has negative health consequences. More than half of the respondents (54 per cent) believe that FGM is either a religious or cultural practice.

“We take these findings as an important indication that children and young people are interested in discussing this topic further and a significant number would like to see actors like all of us helping to put an end to this practice,” says Lauren Rumble, Deputy Representative for UNICEF Indonesia. “We may take this as a call to action from young people themselves, collaboration with religious and cultural leaders as well as other actors.”

Over 3,000 responses were received from people who mostly live in urban cities took part in the research. The respondents answered questions through UNICEF Indonesia’s Twitter-based polling platform @Ureport_ID.

The report recommends increasing the amount of information to young people and parents about FGM; conducting a public information campaign about the practice; and involving religious and community leaders as well as young people to raise awareness about the issue.

The social media report follows the first-ever release of data examining FGM in Indonesia, which shows around half of girls aged 11 and younger have undergone the practice. The government of Indonesia collected the data through a household survey and UNICEF Indonesia, in collaboration with UNICEF Headquarters in New York, released the data in February 2016 on International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM/C.

To read the full report, click here.

Protecting children online is everyone’s business

By Kinanti Pinta Karana, Communication Specialist 

Lauren Rumble, UNICEF Deputy Representative, highlights the risk behind open access to online information.

The meeting room is abuzz with voices of people debating while some are writing pointers on flip charts. The scene is from the National Public Consultation on Child Online Protection organised by UNICEF Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo). The event, divided into three stages, is attended by 150 invitees from CSOs, children and youth organisations, school counsellors, government officials, industry representatives as well as other UN agencies. It aims to create a set of recommendations to be handed over to the Kemenkominfo as the authority in online protection.

“Access to the internet, particularly through mobile phones, enables children and adolescents to be part of a global community, with unprecedented access to information. From the populated cities of Java, to the rural island communities in remote Papua, children in some of the world's most disadvantaged and inaccessible communities now have billions of gigabytes of information at their fingertips,” Lauren Rumble, UNICEF Deputy Representative says in her opening remark. “Access to social networks and the World Wide Web provide young people with incredible opportunities for education, entertainment, entrepreneurship and innovation. The possibilities are infinite. But alongside these opportunities are risks.”

“UNICEF recognises the very powerful role that children and young people can play in keeping each other safe from harm. Children and young people can support one another by sharing information about how to protect each other and speaking out against online violence, as they explore the many positive opportunities in the online world. With more than a third of Indonesia's youth population online, the opportunities for creativity and innovative solutions are endless,” says Rumble.