By Laili Khairnur (Year 2021)
Laili Khairnur (DIWA Cohort 2021) and her organization, GEMAWAN, collaborated with Eco-Bhinneka and Permabhudi initiated a series of community gatherings for young people, community organizations, NGOs, media, and artists to promote Pontianak city as climate-resilience area.
It is designed to not be just a one-time activity but will become a regular meeting place for changemakers in Pontianak to discuss and take collective action against the climate crisis (both mitigation and adaptation), particularly at the local level in Pontianak. Pontianak City itself has already felt the impacts of the climate crisis, such as reduced environmental capacity and support due to human activities and industry. This has led to seasonal disasters like haze, caused by land fires in peatland areas within the city and from neighboring regions. Haze not only results in economic losses but also has a significant impact on the general public's activities, such as schools and health, with an increase in cases of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI). Another frequent disaster is flooding, which leads to infrastructure damage, skin diseases, diarrhea, and threats to crop failure and food production for the community, ultimately affecting food security in Pontianak. To build awareness and mobilize collective strength and potential for change, there is a need to accelerate initiatives and create meeting spaces to make Pontianak as Kota Tangguh Iklim (Climate-Resilient City) where all parties and the government are capable of addressing key issues, especially in the areas of floods, clean water, waste management, and the city's growth that is friendly and appropriate for its residents.
This meeting space serves as a platform for discussions, collective actions, a hub and facilitates communication with policymakers while building a narrative through media. Organizationally, GEMAWAN served as an umbrella and strives to fulfill our mission as a hub and a home for a collective movement for all those who share the same dream of change as we do. On the other hand, GEMAWAN also works together to build a team with communities actively engaged in this space.
This activity involved 17 representatives from various communities, which, when totaled, exceeded 200 members and it will continue to expand. Furthermore, through media coverage, these activities have reached the public audiences in Pontianak. Laili is confident that more than 10,000 people have been aware of this activity. This project aligns with the project that GEMAWAN has undertaken concerning Disaster and Climate issues in Pontianak, which began in August 2023. This alignment created more synergy with advocacy efforts as one of the desired outcomes of this program.
This program serves as the activation capital for the Pontianak Area program, supported by Ashoka as part of the Everyone is A Change Maker (EACH) movement.
This collaboration should be continued to reach more impactful networks. The next step is to promote initial initiatives in the form of policy advocacy that supports climate change resilience and adaptability to local government. They have been using media as a tool but also follow up with GEMAWAN’s another program to share this initiative to Pontianak Government. The diverse communities involved is a shared asset for future work
For Laili, this collaboration is just like a film about music, where there will be no music left if the Earth, we inhabit is damaged and lost. For most of humanity, music is their life; without music, life feels empty. However, music can only thrive on a "living" Earth, so it is the duty of every music lover and life enthusiast to preserve the Earth and keep it alive!
Read media coverage of the initiative:
"Gemawan motivasi generasi muda dengan Film 'Fight Girl'"
"Gemawan dan Ashoka Gelar Nobar Film 'Fight Girl'"
"Gemawan Buka Ruang Diskusi Kritis Melalui Film 'Fight Girl'”
