Mr Gustaff H. Iskandar4
4Common Room Networks Foundation, Bandung, Indonesia
This presentation focuses on the collaboration since 2013 between Common Room Networks Foundation (Common Room) and the Kasepuhan Ciptagelar indigenous community, who inhabit the area surrounding the Mount Halimun Salak National Park (TNGHS) in West Java. This initiative developed into an Urban-Rural Collaboration Platform that focuses on the use of communication and information technology for forest protection and conservation, cultural preservation and development, indigenous land rights recognition, as well as economic empowerment and livelihoods improvement for the younger generation and women in this region. Through artistic and cultural approaches, this collaboration has been able to encourage the recognition and production of local knowledge. It covers the participatory mapping of customary land and cultural space, indigenous land rights advocacy, forest and water management, food sovereignty, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as the utilization of internet technology and digital media for rural development. In addition to a participatory approach that directly involves the indigenous community of Kasepuhan Ciptagelar, this program utilizes a multi-stakeholder approach involving artists, academics, non-profit organizations, government representatives and the business sector.
Biography
Mr Gustaff H. Iskandar is a Fine Arts graduate of the Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). With R.E. Hartanto, T. Ismail Reza and Reina Wulansari, he founded the Bandung Center for New Media Arts (2001), the predecessor of the Common Room Networks Foundation (2004).