On July 14 and 15, 2022, Huma conducted a training at the Retreat House of Panti Nasaret, Jatingaleh, Semarang, together with LBH Semarang. The training was attended by 8 men and 4 women and facilitated by Tandiono Bawor Purbaya, along with 3 speakers: Erwin Dwi Kristianto, Bibik Nurududja, and Masnuah.

This training aimed to teach the participants about participatory action research and the importance of this method as a human rights-based advocacy. Additionally, the training served as a platform for sharing knowledge among participants, facilitators, and speakers.

What is Participatory Action Research?

Participatory action research is a research method that not only observes the community as subjects of predetermined issues by researchers but also involves the community in identifying and solving existing problems. The results of this research can be directly beneficial to the community.

What Was Covered?

In this training, participants were taught about the definition, rationale, documentation of results, and moments to conduct participatory action research. Participants were also encouraged to share experiences with speakers who have conducted participatory action research, namely Bibik Nurududja and Masnuah.

How Was the Learning Method?

Apart from sharing experiences with speakers, participants were also engaged in reconstructing experiences and group discussions. The outcomes of these discussions were presented uniquely, such as through drawings or songs. Additionally, participants played games related to participatory action research.

Testimonials from Participants

Testimonial 1:

“Hello, I’m Cornel Gea. Initially, I thought it would be difficult because it seemed complicated, vast, and required meticulous work. I was worried that what we learned today might be challenging to implement, especially considering our recent workload. However, in just two days, PAR became easy to operationalize, especially through reconstructing experiences we had worked on. Understanding PAR, its importance, and the obstacles we face was fascinating. Hearing firsthand stories from residents or friends who had worked on this for a long time was also interesting. Our hope is that we have already drafted the RTL together, which is very interesting and aligns with our plans at the LBH Semarang meeting, so we believe it will greatly assist our work at LBH Semarang.”

Testimonial 2:

“Hello! I’m Tuti from LBH Semarang, working as an assistant legal aid worker in the labor, women workers, and politics division. Prior to this training, I had never received PAR training, so when I heard about this training, even though it was only for two days, I expected it to be great since I had never received PAR training before, despite needing it for my work. I was very enthusiastic to participate. After completing the first and second days with exceptional facilitators, speakers, and presenters, my hope is to gain insights from PAR to enhance my capabilities. The provided materials were relevant to my fieldwork, as I had previously engaged with communities, albeit with limited exposure to PAR concepts. However, after the two-day training, I gained deeper insights. Moving forward, I hope to implement what I have learned in this training. The training was excellent as the facilitators understood how to engage us with various games related to the content we were learning, which was quite engaging for me.”

Speakers

Speaker 1: Bibik Nurududja

“I am Bibik Nurududja, a former member of LBH Semarang. I came to this event to share with the young individuals interested in advocacy. We met young activists at the event and shared experiences about the advocacy process in society. Since 20 years ago, I have encountered many experiences that I can share. Participants gained an understanding of advocacy principles and the various options available in the advocacy process. Each community possesses unique knowledge and experiences that may not align with what experts and journalists have previously written. Therefore, this training organized by Huma aims to encourage participants to understand the living knowledge and experiences within society. Here, young individuals are encouraged to think about unconventional ideas that may not have been considered or implemented before, as divine knowledge is omnipresent. Thus, advocacy processes can be enriched with such diverse processes.”

Speaker 2: Masnuah

“Hello, Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi wabarokatu. My name is Masnuah from the Puspita Bahari women fishermen community in Demak regency. My hope is that today’s sharing can motivate training participants to become sensitive, critical, and wholeheartedly dedicated young cadres, prioritizing non-financial incentives. A movement must be built not only to support those directly involved but to strengthen grassroots organizations across various networks, including LBH Semarang, Huma, and others. Strengthening grassroots movements is crucial, as external support may not always be available. These grassroots organizations may lack knowledge