Cenderawasih Mosaic: Unifying the ‘Pieces’ of Development Towards Advanced Papua

Cenderawasih Mosaic

JAKARTA – Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia held an online discussion regarding the launch and discussion of a new book entitled “Mosaics of Cenderawasih, Development and Welfare in the Land of Papua”, on February 10, 2021.

The book was co-authored by Dr. Rosita Dewi, Aisah Putri Budiatri, MA, Dr. Harry Seldadyo, Septi Satriani, M.Si, Prof. (Ris) Cahyo Pamungkas, and Dr. Adriana Elisabeth. This Cenderawasih mosaic is part of the Papua Road Map book written by the LIPI team in 2009 and 2017, which specifically focuses on development issues in Papua and West Papua, where policies and implementation have not resulted in equality and equity. .

The complexity of resolving the Papuan conflict is influenced by dichotomous, paradoxical perspectives, and assumes that the reality in Papua is ‘black and white’. Meanwhile, the conflict resolution approach has not been seriously pursued, let alone the transformation of conflict to overcome the sources of violence and turn the potential for violence into non-violence, such as building a dialogical approach to reduce communication gaps, revitalizing the value of tolerance and local Papuan wisdom as part of the social resilience of society. This is a positive social capital for democracy and the diversity of Indonesian society.

Since the Papua Road Map book was published in 2009, the portrait of problems in the field of education and health in Tanah Papua has barely changed significantly, even during the implementation of the Papua Special Autonomy Law since 2001. Papua’s topographical problem is still often cited as an obstacle in providing access to public services to reach people in the interior of Papua, the level of population distribution is relatively uneven.

The question is, how can the elites (in Central Government and Papua) not understand the real conditions throughout Papua, what do the people really need?

The Central Government has continued to actualize infrastructure development in the Land of Papua since 2015 until now. The Trans Papua project has succeeded in connecting transportation between districts / cities and provinces. Not only are roads to support equitable distribution of public services (education and health) for Papuans, but roads, bridges and ports also open Papua’s isolation from various activities. Modernization has brought about changes that are not fully acceptable to the people of Papua, some of which even threaten the preservation of the environment and nature, even though forests are the main source of life, where the people get their daily needs.

Millennial Generation and the Future of Papua

The young generation of Papua is changing the demographic map, especially in the field of economic development, where the cohort of young people aged 15-39 years plays an important role in the formation of the aggregate economy in Papua and West Papua. In addition, millennial groups will play an increasingly important role if they are able to interact with information technology (digital). This shows a positive correlation between the Papuan millennial generation, advances in information technology, and an increase in human resources or the human development index / HDI.

“The Cendrawasih mosaic is a collection of scattered pieces related to development and welfare policies in the Land of Papua. Although this book does not provide a complete and complete picture of all development issues in Papua, at least it can broaden readers’ insights about development models that are more necessary and in accordance with Papua, “said Adriana Elisabet, editor and author of the book Mosaics Cenderawasih

Regional progress is also determined by the people, so the new paradigm must be based on a shared understanding that Papua is the subject of national development in Papua which has the authority and role in designing political economy policies, government administration and bureaucracy, as well as technical development covering aspects of human development (human development). and human security (human security). All formulated based on the real conditions of society, both in Papua and West Papua.

This Cenderawasih Mosaic is translated from OKEZONE