Documentary screening and report launching -
Social Media Innovations and Civic Engagement in Indonesia

6April 2011, 2.30-4.30pm

Adelphi House, Room AH012, University of Salford, UK

Welcome, opening remark and introduction by:

Professor Erik Knudsen, Head of School of Media, Music and Performance, University of Salford, UK

Ms. Shita Laksmi, Interim Director, HIVOS the Netherlands, Southeast Asia Regional Office, Jakarta, Indonesia

Today, the Internet and social media like Facebook and Twitter have become new convivial tools for civil society groups and communities to effectively manage and expand their activism, addressing new societal challenges. Indeed, civil society is now facing new array of challenges, from the ‘traditional’ issues of promotion of democracy and development, to human rights and freedom of information. This has forced them to innovate through different endeavours – one of which is by adopting the Internet and social media. This is no exception for the Indonesian civil society. Nevertheless, systematic research into the use of Internet and social media innovations in civil society is fairly limited, let alone in the developing contexts like Indonesia. As a result, not only do we know little about patterns of use and adoption of the technologies; we do not know the extent to which the processes involved in such use and how this impacts upon civil society organisational functions. It seems natural that such research would be not only academically important in itself, but also beneficial both for policy and practical purposes, especially when taking into account the roles that Indonesia plays in the societal development in Southeast Asia region, which is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, and its technological uptake.

This motivated this research into the use of social media in the Indonesian civil society groups and communities. The research was led by Dr. Yanuar Nugroho and has now concluded. The report, titled “Citizens in @ction” will be launched in this event, along with the screening of a documentary movie on the same topic, tiled “linimas(s)a” or “timeliner(s)”. The movie, which was also co-funded by HIVOS the Netherlands and has just been completed in early March 2011, is the first documentary on social media and social movement in Indonesia. Trailer with English subtitle is available http://kalamkata.org/2011/02/20/linimassa-program-film-dokumenter/

We cordially invite you to attend to this event. Participation is free but places are limited, so please register your interest on our Eventbrite page.

The event will be held from 2.30-4.30pm on 6 April 2011 in Adelphi House AH012 (building no.28 on campus map (page 3): http://www.salford.ac.uk/travel/campusmap-2010.pdf.