Programme Activities in Papua

Our Conflict Transformation Programme in Papua is very challenging since Papua has long-term experience of conflict, and currently has greater potential for further conflict with the tensions caused by the division of the province, the uncertainty of the special autonomy, and the tensions between ethnic groups.

The activities were designed to introduce peaceful approaches in handling conflict and to empower local people in using traditional values to solve their own problems.

Common Ground Indonesia utilizes an innovative method of Conflict Transformation in the form of Video Dialogues, which empowers local people to create short films about their problems and use these as the basis for dialogue in their communities. We also utilize more conventional face-to-face dialogue techniques to engage a range of stakeholders in constructive problem-solving.

• Second Track Dialogue or Multi Track Dialogue - gathered most of all key persons as well as key organizations in Papua to discuss their thought and hopes for Papua's future. We have facilitated the first meeting in Manado attended by fifty representatives from various groups: intellectuals, local government, youth, women, religious and adat leader. This programme aims to build common understanding within Papuan to deal with the current political uncertainty.



• As part of Multi Track Dialogue, we are running also informal meetings (Papuan elite in Jakarta and the National Government) in Jakarta. The aim of this project is to track problems at an elite level and search for possibilities to bring the Papuan and the Indonesian elite into a dialogue process.



• Local Initiative Dialogue - as a follow-up of the Papuan Dialogue (Papuan Informal Meeting) in Manado, there were initiatives to prepare local dialogue in order to promote the spirit of Dialogue in dealing with the current conflict in Papua.



• Road Show Video Dialog - This project aims to empower local activists in visualizing (or conceiving) local issues and producinge a video on ose issues. To date, there are 2 videos produced , titled "Papuanization" and "Land Conflict". both videos were already screened 18 times in 6 cities in Papua. According to our local partners and beneficiaries this method is appropriate and is welcomed by Papuan communities since as the illiteracy rate among them is currently quite high. In addition, this programme increases their pride and self-confidence since all stages of the video production were managed by the Papuans themselves, who had experienced the conflicts explored in the films.



• Cultural Festival for Peace - this project aims to empower local partners in using local culture and wisdom and perform it in cultural festival to support the peace process, and also utilize it to communicate and dialogue with other Indonesians.

Eliakim Sitorus
Programme Manager
E-mail: esitorus@indocg.org

Audy WMR Wuisang
Programme Officer
E-mail: audy@indocg.org

Muhhamad Kholifan
Programme Assisstant

Alex Mansay
Field Officer - Papua Based