Building the Economy and Culture of Papua through Strengthening the Role of Marga as a Development Actor

JAKARTA - The seminar "Building the Economy and Culture of Papua through Strengthening the Role of Kla/Marga as Development Actors" which was held at the Bahtiar Effendy Auditorium of the FISIP UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta became a forum for dialogue between the government, academics, students, and the Papuan people in formulating various strategic steps towards a more inclusive and sustainable development of Papua.

In addition to being attended in person by the Jakarta Papua Student Association (IMAPA) and UIN Jakarta academicians, this activity was also carried out in a hybrid manner with the participation of the Central Papua DPR Member Jhon Gobai and more than 150 participants from various productive community groups in Papua, including the Papua Productive BPP Papua, KONEPA Fishermen Group, Ramaidori Seagrass Group, and BP3OKP network in four districts.

Various sources conveyed the importance of cross-sectoral synergy in supporting the acceleration of Papua's development. The government emphasized that the implementation of Special Autonomy, strengthening of government governance, empowerment of the indigenous people's economy, human resource development, and cultural approach are the main pillars in realizing equitable and sustainable development.

The discussion took place interactively with various inputs from participants, especially the Papuan people who conveyed the real needs in the field. Aspirations that emerged include the need to accelerate the development of the downstream ecosystem of agricultural and fishery commodities, revitalization of market infrastructure, increased access to trade information, strengthening logistics connectivity, to the provision of special ports to support the distribution of local products.

Participants also hope that the government will continue to strengthen responsive, fair, and proportional facilitation so that distribution costs can be suppressed, market access is increasingly open, and Papua's flagship products have higher competitiveness at the national and global levels.

Through this seminar, various inputs from the community are expected to be part of the process of improving the Papua development policy so that the implementation of government programs is more in line with the needs of indigenous people and is able to produce tangible benefits for improving the welfare of the indigenous people of Papua.