TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Some seven million Indonesians living overseas are a huge asset for national development if they are synergized with the Indonesian government’s programs. Supporting the Indonesian Vision of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) for his second term (2019-2024), the Fifth Congress of Indonesian Diaspora (CID-5) was organized in Jakarta, from Aug 10 to 13, 2019, by the Indonesian Diaspora Network-Global (IDN-Global).

Themed “Empowering Indonesia's Human Capital”, the congress discussed efforts to strengthen the role of the Indonesian diaspora in improving the quality of human resources in their home country.

"We chose this theme because human resources is the Indonesian diaspora’s biggest strength. We believe human resources development is the key to Indonesia's future," Gerald Eman, the president of IDN-Global Mark told the press prior to the CID-5.

Dino Patti Djalal, chairman of the Indonesian Diaspora Network-Global (IDN-Global) Board of Trustees, believed that if the Indonesian Diaspora is synergized with the government’s programs, the impact would be enormous.

"The diaspora can function as an accelerator for the development of Indonesian human resources in the future and this could be the key for Indonesia to become the giant of Asia," said Djalal, who is also a senior diplomat and former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States.

The CID-5 is a biannual event organized to connect Indonesians living abroad and create a platform for them to contribute to national development.

Some 5,000 participants comprising Indonesian diaspora from around the world, government officials, religious figures, politicians, celebrities, artists, athletes, innovators, academics and youth leaders attended the event.

Chairman of CID-5's Organizing Committee Iwan Sunito said he saw tremendous potential in Indonesia's millennials and hoped for new ways to empower them.

"This is the moment for Indonesia to dig deeper into the potential of its diaspora, which in turn will help its human resource development. Now is the time to capitalize on Indonesia's human capital," Iwan said.

The congress discussed ways to empower Indonesia's human capital, industry 4.0, city planning, access to health facilities, and migrant worker protection.

In her opening remarks during the congress, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi voiced her optimism for the Indonesian diaspora that could help the government develop the country’s human capital.

"Now, how could the Indonesian Government collaborate with the diaspora? The diaspora could become agents of Indonesian human capital development," the minister said.

The Indonesian Government has decided to prioritize human resources development (HRD) in the next five years, and the diaspora will make up a significant component of this, she noted.

"HRD will become a priority of the Indonesian Government. I quote the President as saying that human resources development is a key for the Indonesian development in the future. Besides, there is an instruction from the President to support the Indonesian diaspora," she said.

To involve the diaspora in human capital development in Indonesia, there should first be a database on them and their skills.

With the help of the database, it would be easy to locate and identify experts from among the diaspora that could help develop education and particularly vocational schools in the country.

President Jokowi is a strong believer in the fact that Indonesia will emerge as one of the world's economic powers through mobilization of all its resources.

"We prove that Indonesia is indeed worthy and able to become one of the world's economic powers. We show that the Indonesian economy can grow while providing a sense of justice. We realize the Indonesian economy that brings prosperity to all Indonesian people," Jokowi stated in his speech for the 2020 State Budget Draft at the House of Representatives plenary meeting in Jakarta, August 16, 2019.

Inviting all elements of society to take a leap forward, the President believed that the quality of human resources is one of the keys to enter the era of digital economy.

"We have prepared various programs for the development of human resources in an effort to ensure the demographic bonus becomes a leap forward," he affirmed.

Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in terms of its population. He affirmed that youngsters constituted most of Indonesia's population. The middle class is growing rapidly. Its population with a productive age constitutes 68 percent of its total population of 267 million.

The Indonesian Government has allocated Rp1,162.83 trillion for four major projects to create high-quality human resources under the National Mid-term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2020-2024.

The four projects are acceleration of efforts to reduce maternal mortality and stunting in children, development of vocational education and training for Industry 4.0, development of a science technopark by optimizing the Triple Helix interactions of four major universities, and digitalization and integration of social allowances.

ANTARA