Involve Millennials in Inclusive Development Planning

Inclusive Digital Economic Accelerator Space (IDEAS) Session

"This forum has become very important, especially for those of us with disabilities, we can channel our aspirations so that labor policies can be more inclusive."

The remarks came from Fira Fitria (32), a member of the Turban Disability Organization (ORBIT), which is a participant in the 2019 Indonesia Development Forum (IDF). Fira is a person with cerebral palsy. Together with around 80 other persons with disabilities, Fira who uses a wheelchair in her daily activities is actively involved in various discussion sessions that took place during the holding of IDF 2019 on 22-23 July 2019 at the Jakarta Convention Center.

At IDF 2019, persons with disabilities indeed received special invitations to participate in a whole series of events. This cannot be separated from the principle of inclusive development which becomes a core point in the implementation of IDF. The Ministry of National Development Planning / National Development Planning Agency (Ministry of PPN / Bappenas) as the initiator of the IDF considered the inclusion of communities of persons with disabilities, women and the workforce from the outer regions of Indonesia who still have difficulty accessing modern employment opportunities to be one of the important keys to economic growth.

In addition to vulnerable groups, IDF 2019 is the largest annual event that is attended by more than 2,950 participants, most of whom were millennials. The enthusiasm of the participants was not only seen in the discussion sessions, but also in the density of visitors to the art and ideas market, as well as a special networking session for start-ups, Inclusive Digital Economic Accelerator Space (IDEAS).  

"The biggest learning is that collaboration is needed by the industry in solving problems," said Utari Octavianty (26), one of the founders of Aruna.id, an application created to bring fishermen and buyers together, who is a participant of the IDEAS session. 

PPN Minister / Head of Bappenas Bambang Brodjonegoro said, unlike the general forum, IDF does not use one-way communication. The speakers who sparked the discussion and all discussion participants contributed together in providing input for the preparation of development planning.

"Since 2017, we have designed IDF as a platform for developing sustainable and inclusive development planning by involving ideas from grassroots, academics, development partners and other development actors. This year we feel happy to see the enthusiasm of young people in contributing to deal with various development challenges. We are optimistic that the ideas and collaborations that have arisen will provide new energy in realizing inclusive development programs," said Brodjonegoro.  

IDF 2019 discusses the main theme "Mission Possible: Seizing the Opportunities of Future Work to Drive Inclusive Growth". This theme was chosen because Indonesia will soon enter the peak of demographic bonus, with a projected population of productive age reaching 68 percent or equivalent to 200 million people. In order to be fully utilised to encourage economic growth, careful planning and strategy in increasing the productivity of human resources must be prepared immediately. Therefore, the involvement of millennial generation, including vulnerable groups in IDF 2019 activities series, becomes important.

Based on the discussion that results from 41 sessions which was attended by 245 national and international speakers with various professional backgrounds, IDF 2019 produced a number of recommendations. Brodjonegoro said that the four pillars of policy recommendations related to employment are encouraging the formation and growth of new businesses, modernization of household businesses and Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to be globally competitive, promote inclusive employment policies and prepare workers with future expertise.

IDF 2019 also concluded that, to be able to adapt to anticipate technological changes, Indonesian workers need to be sharpened so that they have social empathy, creativity, responsive and fast thinking skills, adaptive, and have a literacy in data and technology. Therefore, there needs to be regulations that can encourage the industrial sector to invest in research and development. Utilisation of big data to monitor while meeting the needs of the workforce with the appropriate industrial sector will also increasingly play an important role in the future.

"Formulating policies related to employment is a priority, especially the peak demographic bonus will be realized in two years. IDF 2019 is one of the important milestones in collaborative efforts between institutions and ministries, as well as relevant stakeholders to encourage a more advanced Indonesian economy," added Brodjonegoro.

Various ideas and best practices presented in IDF 2019 will be input for the government to prepare the National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) document. Thus, the process of developing a job creation strategy in the RPJMN becomes more participatory and considers the current conditions that are developing.