Completed Projects

Aceh Youth Radio Peacebuilding (2008-2009)

From 2008 to 2009 the Aceh Youth Radio Program for Peacebuilding facilitated the participation of Acehnese youth in the process of reintegration and peace building. The radio shows consisted of a 30-minute pre-produced program, whose content is designed, recorded and edited by youth reporters from across the province. The show, Guendeurang Damee ("The Drums of Peace") was broadcasted on 12 commercial radio stations and more than 15 community radio stations in Aceh. By promoting a new public forum for the discussion of issues of importance to Acehnese youth, the project provided youth from throughout the province a means to identify, analyze, and communicate their needs in a constructive and solutions-oriented way.

Access to Justice Public Awareness Media Campaign - Mencari Keadilan (2007-2008)

From 2007-2008 the Access to Justice Public Awareness Media Campaign raised public awareness of the right of the marginalized communities through media campaigns, television dramas, radio public service announcement (PSAS), interactive talk shows, contests, and more. This campaign provided the public with information considered essential to using the judicial system - which was rarely done due to the lack of confidence and knowledge by many Indonesians. The radio drama, entitled Mencari Keadilan was broadcast three times on commercial radio stations in six major urban centers across Indonesia (Jakarta, Makassar, Padang, Surabaya, Denpasar and Jayapura). Thirty comics strip panels were published in major newspapers in each of the six cities, to highlight key messages, and to promote the radio drama and interactive talk shows and quizzes. The radio program and corresponding comics covered a wide range of legal issues, including domestic violence issues, land law, labor law, family law, inheritance law and human rights issues.

Papua Community-Based Conflict Transformation (2004)

Papua has a long history of political, communal, and land and resource conflicts. In collaboration with local communities in Papua, SFCG utilized both innovative methods of conflict transformation and more conventional face-to-face dialogue techniques to engage a range of stakeholders in constructive problem-solving.  The program also encouraged communities to understand their roles and differences, and to handle conflicts in a constructive manner, thus preventing violent conflict. Three specific ways this happened was through: video dialogue, where Papuans were encouraged to express their problems through short films; second track and multi-track dialogue, where key leaders gathered to share their hopes and dreams for Papua; and the Peace Culture Festival, where song and dance transcended words in expressing the need for unity and peace.

Elections 2004: Participate in Peace (2004)

During the 2004 national elections cycle, SFCG, together with 18 partners in six provinces. implemented a program aimed at reducing violence, particularly communal and politically-motivated violence. The program provided capacity-building support for civil society organizations in selected vulnerable locations. These community education activities focused on increasing informed participation in the election process while, at the same time, preventing violent conflict. As a result, citizens in these locations were equipped to participate fully and peacefully.

Film Festivals (2003 and 2004)

Through highly entertaining and educational films, the Film Festivals in 2003 and 2004 aimed to increase awareness of reconciliation methods and alternatives to confrontation when solving conflicts. In 2003 the festival took place in Jakarta and Surabaya; in 2004 the festival targeted nine locations vulnerable to conflict, including Poso, Makassar, Pontianak, Medan, Madura, Palangkaraya, Kupang, Manokwari, and Ambon. The festivals consisted of film screenings and discussion sessions, and were organized in collaboration with local student organizations, universities, and local media. The discussion sessions opened up a space for constructive discussion between students of different backgrounds about the complexity and richness of relationships between religions, cultures and civilizations.

Comics for Conflict Transformation (2002-2006)

SFCG has used comics as an innovative media tool since 2002, combining entertainment and education to engage youth in conflict-transformation activities. Widespread support from local stakeholders, and partners in government, civil society and the donor community, collaborated to reduce youth’s tendency to join negative identity-based groups that depict the “other” as enemies or obstacles. These programs have had the ancillary benefit of improving literacy in Indonesia, by creating a tangible output to be distributed and read by hundreds. SFCG’s conflict transformation comics initiatives includes:

• GEBORA (2004) (Geng Bola Gembira: The Happy Football Gang)
  Gebora was the first SFCG book series and consisted of 12 episodes printed and distributed mainly in Kalimantan, Madura, and Jakarta as a direct response to the Madurese-Dayak conflict and challenges related to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kalimantan. Produced and distributed in 2004, the main theme of the comic book series was inter-ethnic relations and tolerance, recognizing stereotypes and their impact, and practical ways to deal with conflicts non-violently. Gebora is a fun action story set in Pagar Bukit, a fictional village in Kalimantan. Five teenagers – Nurli (Chinese), Dara (Dayak), Ical (Dayak-Malay), Beben (Javanese – Sundanese), and Matra’i (Madurese) – meet through a village soccer competition, where they discover that despite their differences they make a good team. Gradually they form their own gang, have exciting adventures, and discover that there is strength in diversity.

• Perjalanan Mencari Sahabat (2005-2006) (A Journey to Find Friends)
  After the success of GEBORA, SFCG created a similar comic for Poso, to promote religious tolerance among Christians and Muslims, and to provide aid to uprooted people across Central Sulawesi. At the height of the conflict there were an estimated 140,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of violence. The comic series was developed in 2005 as a peace education tool, and adapted to the local context to address seven main issues relevant to the conflict dynamics in Poso: pluralism, child rights, gender, conflict transformation, social justice, non-violence, and ecology. In the six-episode series, young adventurers from different ethnic groups, cultures and religious backgrounds learned to overcome their differences and work together to problem solve and get through the challenges they faced as a group.

Women Transforming Conflict (2002-2006)

Women play many roles in all stages of conflict - as direct or indirect targets and victims of violence, as community-based communicators, as mediators, and as those who drive post-conflict agendas. In this program SFCG worked in divided neighborhoods in East Jakarta, in Central Kalimantan and Madura, and in Papua to strengthen, support and sustain the role of women in conflict transformation. Communities were strengthened through activities such as micro-credit and income generation, participatory theatre, peace forums and dialogues. These programs moved away from stereotyping women as just victims of conflict, and moved towards actively engaging women as local and national leaders in conflict prevention.

Community-Based Conflict Resolution (2002-2004)

SFCG Indonesia has a long tradition of working with communities and civil-society organizations in conflict-vulnerable areas of Indonesia, such as Aceh, Bali, Java, Kalimantan, Madura, Papua, and Sulawesi. SFCG implemented numerous cross-sectoral and multi-level dialogue community-based conflict transformation programs, including: conflict resolution and journalism training, peace education programs in Islamic boarding schools, peace bulletins for children, video dialogues, peace festivals, and grassroots-level mediation programs.

• Community-Based Conflict Transformation in Central Kalimantan and Madura  (2002-2004)
  West and Central Kalimantan were deeply affected by the ethnic conflicts that rattled its communities 1999 and 2001. The conflicts resulted in hundreds of deaths and more than 200,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). SFCG established this program to assist in building reconciliation between the native Dayaks of Kalimantan and the Madurese IDPs through dialogue workshops and peace initiatives. Since 2002 there have been more than 300 people directly involved in facilitating dialogues between these two groups. Those involved included representatives from the grassroots, local intellectual elites, indigenous and religious leaders, women, youth and government. In addition, SFCG worked with Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Madura, providing capacity building for broader Muslim educators and organizations through compiling a peace education curriculum which drew heavily on Madurese and pesantren traditions.

• Menteng Pangkalan (2002-2005)
  Menteng Pangkalan was Indonesia’s first ever radio drama about conflict and conflict transformation. In January 2002 it aired three times a week for half-an-hour on 140 radio stations across the archipelago. “Meski berbeda, betah bersama” (we may be different but we like to be together) was the motto of Menteng Pangkalan. The radio drama tells the of a community’s struggle to deal with ongoing challenges and conflicts caused by their different cultural and religious backgrounds, while living in a poor kampung (village) in Jakarta. Furthermore, the community faces eviction threats as there are plans to replace their homes with a business center. Menteng Pankalan is a story full of suspense, humor and of course love intrigues, with a colorful cast of characters.