Power Up
Development Project
Power Up
Women shaping their future with greater access to information through technology
The Situation
Despite strong laws in Indonesia allowing citizens to oversee village development budget planning and obtain information from the government, the lived reality is different for women.
Women today remain largely excluded from meaningful participation in West Nusa Tenggara, the Indonesian province where the Power Up was based.
There is good reason to ensure that women are included in budget planning. The impact is always profound when women are provided with opportunities to participate in budget development.
A greater understanding of local government procedures means women community members are increasingly speaking up in development planning meetings, demanding campaign promises from their representatives and questioning programs that do not meet their needs, such as maternal and newborn health issues.
The province of West Nusa Tenggara has the highest infant mortality rate in Southeast Asia: 57 out of 1,000 infants die before their first birthday — nearly twice the number as in neighbouring Bali.
Power Up was an important project in our work in women's transformative leadership.
DETAILS
LOCATION
Indonesia
Duration:
3 years (2017-2020)
OUR SUPPORTERS
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada, and the generous Canadian public.
USING TECHNOLOGY
When women are at the table, their health, their rights and their interests are better represented.
Power Up used technology innovations to:
- Improve the detection and resulting actions in high-risk pregnancy situations
- Improve local services by implementing accessible, measurable and actionable surveys on service satisfaction levels
- Leverage newly-created e-learning modules on the village budgeting process that emphasize the ways in which women can strengthen their voices and influences budgets towards better outcomes for themselves and their families.
As part of Power Up, women engaged with local women’s groups that operate at the village level and women’s caucuses at the provincial level. Local partners hope that this increased participation in local planning and decision-making by women will empower future generations of women and girls in West Nusa Tenggara.
LEARN MORE ABOUT POWER UP
Power Up (2017-2020) was a project in Oxfam Canada's work on women’s transformative leadership. In collaboration with three local partners, the project aimed to empower women and girls in Indonesia to take part in local democratic processes and exercise their rights. Before Power Up, women were largely excluded from any meaningful participation in West Nusa Tenggara, the Indonesian province where the Power Up project took place.
What did we do?
PARTICIPATION
Encouraged women to participate in village development and budget processes
INNOVATION
Used technology to enable women to hold their governments accountable
RESPONSIVENESS
Supported public institutions to use technology to better respond to women's needs
What did we achieve?
We helped women and girls engage in democratic processes and exercise their human rights, improved digital literacy skills, and worked with women's groups to access village planning processes in order to improve health services.
Your support will help women hold their governments accountable.