A New Start for BRIDGE in Indonesia

Following a needs assessment and two showcases funded and conducted by UNDP’s Indonesia office in November 2009, a TtF was successfully conducted in Bali, Indonesia for 25 KPU officials from 16 Provinces as well as KPU National Headquarters and UNDP Indonesia staff.

BRIDGE was first conducted in Indonesia in 2003, and although it got off to a promising start, a combination of changes to the KPU leadership and lack of funding has meant that BRIDGE has not yet been used to great effect in Indonesia. Now however, KPU leadership is very interested in developing the capacity of KPU and Secretariat staff and is in the process of developing a comprehensive Capacity Building program to run between last year’s election and the next in 2014.

As part of this process, the first of two TtFs was conducted at the Sanur Beach Hotel in Bali 18-29 April 2010. The facilitation team was:

• Ross Attrill – lead Facilitator
• Fernanda Lopes – Facilitator
• Belinda Bennett – Trainee Facilitator
• Mareska Mantik – Interpreter
• Partono – Interpreter

The standard of the participants for the TtF was extremely high indeed. Their energy, intelligence and hard work ensured that everyone involved learned a great deal and had a very enjoyable time. The KPU and UNDP Indonesia are to be congratulated on their selection processes. This has resulted in the selection of an excellent core team of potential Indonesian BRIDGE Facilitators from the Bali TtF.

I look forward to a further TtF and several modules being conducted in Indonesia through the course of 2010. This should set the scene for the long term use of BRIDGE by the KPU.