Community Committees

Community Committees is a forum initiated and set up by the alumni of Democracy School as a place where they can implement and practice everything that they have learned during the one-year course at Democracy School. Community Committee is not intended to become another NGO but is expected to assume the role mediating institution between and among the four pillars of democracy (political parties, government bureaucracy, business community and civil society organization) as well as between four pillars and government and state institutions. The Community Committee distinguishes itself from NGO in that Community Committee does not concentrate on some selected sectors on which it specializes but it works rather inter-sectorally to connect the works and concerns of the four pillars mentioned above. Also Community Committee does not work through direct advocacy (for or against) but rather through consensus building among various parties that are involved in certain conflict regarding certain issues. In that sense, Community Committee in different districts may have different concerns and may develop different expertise according to problems and challenges that are specific of local particularities.

Community Committees are formed with aspirations of playing an active part in solving the various problems experienced by citizens.

The experiences and hopes of the Community Committees in the eight region of Democracy School, as well as their responses to various public matters, can be summarized in the following key words :
1). Mediation,
2). Bridging Role,
3). Communications
4). Education
5). Assistance and
6). Dynaminization.

There are at least four clusters or groups of public matters that have become the main interest and focus of the Community Committees, namely :
1). State policies that are not pro-people,
2). Low levels of government transparency and accountability,
3). Public participation or control that is still weak,
4). Public services that are not on the side of the citizens’ interests.

• Community Committee in Pangkep (South Sulawesi). The experiences of the Community Committees regarding their responses to various public matters, can be summarized in the following : a). Developing and maintaining community radio as a means of communication, b). Introducing transparency in the electability of legislative candidates by having each of them speak on the radio about their biography, their political experience, their track record and their program, c). Combining political criticism and resolution of problem of political harassment against the students of democracy school through non-violent negotiations
• Community Committee in Malang (East Java). The experiences of the Community Committees regarding their responses to various public matters, can be summarized in the following : Facilitating training and workshop for 99 moslem preachers (in collaboration with Indonesia Association of Mosques) on secular and global issues, i.e Gender discrimination, climate change, global warming.
• Community Committee in Batu (East Java). The experiences of the Community Committees regarding their responses to various public matters, can be summarized in the following : Facilitating dialogues between local government, civil society and private sector on proper water management
• Community Committee in Districts of Tangerang and South Tangerang (Banten). The experiences of the Community Committees regarding their responses to various public matters, can be summarized in the following : 1). Conducted survey on health care conditions in the whole district, presented their findings to the local parliament, and was requested by the parliamentarians to submit an academic paper on that issue which now has become a draft bill, 2). Conducting research on budget allocation and advocating budget transparency in collaboration with National Commission of Information Accessibility, 3). Publishing the profiles of potential public figures in South Tangerang in democracy school’s newsletters