TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian chapter of UNDP’s Accelerator Lab – the world’s biggest solution network to address complex development challenges – was launched on Wednesday, March 24. The Indonesian Accelerator Lab will be among 91 Labs in 115 countries that seek, test, and scale up solutions to speed up the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) achievement.

With funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and the Qatar Fund for Development, the Indonesian Accelerator Lab has pursued an urban study on water-related issues, such as flooding, as part of its initial efforts. The Lab also conducted an ethnography on five disaster-affected communities and surveyed 520 people across 125 cities in the country.

Speaking at the virtual launching event on Wednesday, March 24, dubbed ‘Towards a More Innovative and Inclusive Future for Indonesia’, Research and Technology Minister, Mr. Bambang Brodjonegoro said disruptive technology and social innovation hold the key to address some of the world’s top challenges.

"The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize again how crucial swift actions and creativity are to address today’s development challenges. We need to be armed with new ideas and creativity to usher in new technology that can disrupt the old paradigm which may have hindered solutions to tackle challenges such as climate change and inequalities,” said Mr. Brodjonegoro.

Mr. Peter Schoof, Ambassador of Germany to Indonesia, said that the German Government is proud to support the establishment of the Accelerator Lab in Indonesia, and hopes it would serve as a catalyst for SDG solution learning.

"Having a convergent network of learning communities in Indonesia would help ideas and creativity flow more easily, creating rapid solutions and encouraging more practitioners to speed up the process in meeting the SDG agenda," he said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Fawziya Edrees Salman Al-Sulaiti, Qatar Ambassador to Indonesia said that innovation is at the core of Qatar’s rapid development in recent decades. Their communnities have experienced transformative changes for the better as the country keeps pushing the boundaries for innovation and technology. "A massive change on a national scale can start from a small, dedicated community and we look forward to seeing the Accelerator Lab Indonesia to become a thriving learning network,” she remarked.

The Indonesian Accelerator Lab, established in November 2020, will work in partnership with the Government of Indonesia, academia, CSOs, the local population, the national and international community of innovators, and start-ups. Part of its initial action by the Accelerator Lab Indonesia is the citizen survey on urban issues on five disaster-affected communities.

Meanwhile, UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative, Mr. Norimasa Shimomura called on all stakeholders to speed up action and adopt innovation.

"Creativity and speed should be our new mantra. Today’s increasingly complex development challenges call for new opportunities to unleash more creativity. And as the clock ticks towards 2030, we have no choice but to speed up with new ideas and actions."

Read: Indonesia to Receive COVID-19 Aid from International Communities

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