Strengthening Social Empowerment through the Social Entrepreneurship Program

JAKARTA (February 19th 2020) - Located at the Grand Mercure Harmoni Hotel Jakarta, the Indonesian Minister of Social Affairs Juliari P Batubara officially opened the 2020 Social Empowerment Program Coordination Meeting (Rakor). This activity aims to unify direction and action in the implementation of social empowerment programs from the central government and local governments. This is in line with what was conveyed by Juliari in his speech.

"The coordination meeting of the social empowerment program should be a momentum for a strategic change system in the context of the main duties and functions of the Ministry of Social Affairs to alleviate poverty" said the Minister of Social Affairs.

Currently, the Ministry of Social Affairs will carry out a shift in poverty reduction strategies that initially focused on providing social assistance, which will then be changed to empowerment. This change in strategy is in the context of evaluating the duties and functions of the Ministry of Social Affairs in accelerating poverty alleviation, which must also be done in synergy with other Ministries / Agencies.

"The Ministry of Social Affairs will be more aggressive in carrying out activities and programs that are empowerment in nature. We should not maintain pre-prosperous families, but rather empower them and leave behind prosperity and economic independence. This change in strategy has received full support from the President,” said the Minister of Social Affairs to the 358 participants of the 2020 Social Empowerment Coordination Meeting.

One of the programs currently being developed is the social entrepreneurship program. Not only through social entrepreneurship programs, the Directorate General of Social Empowerment also carries out the development and sustainability of SLRT and Social Welfare Centers in their respective regions.

"With the SLRT and the Social Welfare Center, hopefully that it can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the social protection system as well as to reduce poverty, vulnerability and inequality," said Pepen Nazaruddin.

In his report, the Director General of Social Empowerment Pepen Nazaruddin said that this Coordination Meeting aimed to create a unity of direction and action in the implementation of activities between the central and regional governments, and emphasized the evaluation of the implementation of FY 2019 programs / activities and preparation for implementing FY 2020 programs / activities.

Participants came from the Central Participants of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia within the Directorate General of Social Empowerment and also Regional participants from the Provincial, Regency and City Social Services Agency, and Regency and District Civil Service Offices who received PKAT (Remote Indigenous Community Empowerment) assistance.

In this activity, an MoU was also signed between the Director General of Social Empowerment and 4 State Higher Education Leaders, namely: Padjajaran University Chancellor Rina Indiastuti, Semarang State Polytechnic Director Supriyadi, Jember University Rector Iwan Taruna, and Jambi University Rector Sutrisno.