Young Indigenous people from various regions in Indonesia joined the “Good Facilitator Training for Indigenous Youth” in Yogyakarta from 15 – 17 December. Around 20 youth, whose organizations had received support from Samdhana Institute before, such as BRASTI from Bali, Barisan Pemuda Adat Nusantara (BPAN), Sanggar Seni Alegra Lembata in NTT, and Komunitas Menoken Jayapura in Papua attended this event.

Social and behavioral changes are more genuine when these are being experienced. Thus, to support and encourage the next generation to become change agents in their communities, the training focused on participatory facilitation methods. It introduced the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and taught the participants to adopt the lens for identifying the gender equity, disabilities, and social inclusion (GEDSI) needs and concerns.

They underwent sessions and corresponding learning activities on the topics: introduction to GEDSI, management of youth issues in indigenous and local communities, facilitation of change processes, and evaluation. The participatory training methods allowed all to exchange knowledge, share experiences, and interpret learning as critical reflection. In the training, participants also got the opportunity to present their work in various forms as a form of self-expression, and they practiced providing constructive criticism for each group’s presentation.

The discussions brought up many issues about how to provide effective assistance to the community in every stage of the process, starting from identifying threats, vulnerabilities, and potentials. It was very helpful for the young participants who are just in the beginning stages of their engagement.

“Why bring them in? Because they are young people who are involved in their communities as facilitators”, said Nurul Hidayah, Capacity Development Coordinator in Samdhana.

Lastly, after receiving inputs both in theory and in practice, each of the participants designed a RTL (Follow-Up Plan) according to the activities to be carried out in their respective places or communities. Gender equality, disability, social inclusion (GEDSI), the Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (PMEL) framework, and creativity were among the frameworks and tools they applied to craft their plans. 

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