September 26, 2017
Philanthropy Learning Forum on SDGs in Makassar
"We all come here to learn together, so everyone has the right to ask or say their opinions." – Luna Vidya
Makassar – On Tuesday 19th of September, the Philanthropy Learning Forum on Sustainable Development Goals (PLF) was held in the city of Makassar. Makassar was the second of seven cities to be visited in the SDGs socialization roadshow. The Philanthropy Learning Forum on SDGs is supported by the Ford Foundation. For this particular event, Filantropi Indonesia worked with Yayasan BaKTI, a foundation in Makassar that focuses on development and science knowledge provision in Eastern Indonesia.
The continuing theme of the PLF is 'SDGs As Tools to Improve Capacity and Develop Partnerships'. Speakers Amri Akbar (Head of Social Culture Division Bappeda Makassar), Muh. Yusran Laitupa (Executive Director of BaKTI Foundation), Abdul Madjid Sallatu (Academics and Coordinator of JiKTI), and Hamid Abidin (Executive Director of Filantropi Indonesia) were all present at the event to discuss the event’s theme in the specific context of Makassar. The moderator was Luna Vidya, a communication specialist at the BaKTI Foundation.
As the first speaker, Hamid Abidin, explained the basic definition of philanthropy, the potential of Indonesians with regards to giving activities and charity, and the role of Filantropi Indonesia as the sole association of philanthropy organizations in Indonesia. Hamid Abidin also discussed the capacity of the SDG Philanthropy Platform to act as a global platform that encourages the achievement of SDGs through philanthropy.
The Second speaker of the event was Amri Akbar as the Head of Social Culture Division Bappeda Makassar. In his presentation, Amri Akbar delivered material on how the city has been monitoring the progress towards the MDGs and SDGs. Amri Akbar also identified four reasons why it is in Makassar’s interest to support SDGs: the improvement of sustainable economic welfare, the sustainability of social life, the positive relationship between development and justice, and the implementation of governance that is able to continue improving the quality of life from one generation to the next.
The third speaker was Muh. Yusran Laitupa, Executive Director of BaKTI Foundation. Muh. Yusran explains BaKTI’s role as a non-profit organization that facilitates the exchange of knowledge through development programs, especially in eastern Indonesia. Naturally, BaKTI involves 10 institutions from Makassar in the deliverance of their local programs. BaKTI has already documented 31 intelligent practices so far, and has identified over 500 smart initiatives related to SDGs achievement.
The last speaker was Abdul Madjid Sallatu, acting as a representative of the academic sector broadly, and as official coordinator of JiKTI (the East Indonesia Region Researchers Network). Madjid highlighted the issue of gap prevention and the scope for potential philanthropic support on this issue.
After the four speakers gave their presentations, the moderator conducted two Q&A sessions. In these one-hour question-and-answer sessions, there was extensive discussion amongst non-profit institutions, philanthropic institutions, and communities. Questions and ideas revolved predominately around social initiation and its contribution to the city of Makassar.
Overall, despite raising the same topic, participants in Makassar had a slightly different understanding than those present at the event in the previous city, Banjarmasin. As a local non-profit organization in Makassar, BaKTI Foundation was able to incorporate social institutions from various groups to participate in this forum. The atmosphere of discussion and information sharing was very strong in this forum, with participants agreeing that the ideas discussed in the forum should not end in the discussion room, but rather serve as an action plan that gives rise to new initiatives involving various actors in Makassar.
As an initiator, Filantropi Indonesia hopes this spirit will not only take place in the cities of Banjarmasin and Makassar, but also in the five following cities in the SDG Socialization program. See you in the next city!