LocationsA blank piece of cloth transformed into a mosaic of patterns; Indonesia’s Deep Demo Reflection.
October 18, 2022
Rows of Indonesia Ikat on a display.
Writing by Cecilia Novarina, Gender and Results Officer
Edited by Tomi Soetjipto, Communication Specialist and Juliaty Sopacua, Senior Advisor for
Program Integration and Development Analysis.
‘A day of thread leads to a year of fabric cloth’, an ancient Indonesian proverb on the wisdom of learning.
Indonesia’s culture is known for its vibrant mosaic of textiles tradition. It’s no wonder that our learning philosophy is peppered with references to ancient tradition of textiles such as Ikat (weaving) and Batik.
They may be different in techniques, but they all require painstaking years of training in persistence and patience. A handmade Ikat from Flores island takes at least six months to produce, and Madura island’s tradition of natural coloured hand-painted Batik Gentong takes two years.
Traditional ikat makers doing some weaving in Labuan Baju, Flores.
When we first embarked our Deep Demo process in December 2021, we felt that we were given a piece of blank cloth and tools that vaguely resembled the techniques we are familiar with, such as threads, needles and hot wat. Yet, there was a looming expectation to produce a brilliant piece of woven or hand-painted clothing textile. Needless to say, we were excited and we embraced the challenge, being the good curious team that we are.
Fast-forward 10 months later, the piece of clothing may not be in full piece, but the country office has undergone one of the most rewarding learning experience of designing a new solution model based on Indonesia’s most pressing needs to build an inclusive digital ecosystem.
A huge chunk of Deep Demo is to response to the need to be more digital, Nonetheless the process requires much more than that. It is about transforming the digital ecosystem to speed up the impact as opposed to aiming for limited digital solution in specific sector.
Rows of Indonesia Ikat on a display.
Listening without Prejudice
Therefore, rather than designing digital solution model based only on existing data and anecdotal evidence, we are required to take our research even deeper by going through the ‘immersion’ process. Simply said – listening and having conservation with a diverse stakeholders – with no pre-conceived thinking. From government policy makers in Jakarta to the academia circle outside the main island of Java, we wanted to find out what the challenges are. From the maker of Metaverse to women’s digital media, we wanted to hear who have been left behind. From the entrepreneur’s youth to health professionals, we wanted to get feedback of what more needs to be done.
Throughout this, UNDP in Indonesia was also challenged to reinvent the mapping process as well as identifying the existing works. This helped us establish the complete picture of the current situation, before determining our niche, given our advantage to creating value for a transformational process.
After months of internal brainstorming, and having spoken to at least 35 different stakeholders, UNDP Indonesia’s Deep Demo journey has focused on creating inclusive and sustainable digital governance in Indonesia.
The nation may be home to some of the most innovative super platform apps, but how much have they helped to addressing persisting inequality? And how can we ensure that the country's digitalization process and usage of digital technologies are in sync with global concerns to meet the SDGs and uphold our Climate Promise?
Indeed, given the ‘Leave No One Behind’ DNA within UNDP, we have always been clear with our mission – creating a portfolio that addresses the need of vulnerable groups with the enforcement of gender equality and social inclusion.
Rows of Indonesia Ikat on a display.
Going inward and outward
But going outward or engaging with external stakeholders is just one component of the Deep Demo process.
To make the process comes into a full circle – and most importantly realistic – we also have to start looking inward and re-assess our own capabilities and resources. This means we need to thoroughly reflect on our own capacity, both in the sense of appreciating the foundations that have already been laid as well as critically examining our strong and weak points.
By looking inwards and outwards simultaneously, we hope to ensure that the strategy, approach, and portfolio we are building is not only attainable, but also relevant
Back to Indonesia’s clothing tradition. We were observing an ikat textile maker recently by the shore of Labuan Bajo town, a seaside town famed for being the gateway to Komodo National Park. She delicately woven yellow thread through a piece of black fabric propped up against a makeshift wooden loom on her lap.
With her perseverance and patience, a piece of Flores Ikat fabric embroidered with zigzagging patterns could be finished in six months.
Just as we expect a solution coming into shape through our Deep Demo process.
