Cyberspace and Public Deliberation

Kompas/Agus Susanto

The websites change.org and virtue.or.id are examples of initiatives that push digital democratization in Indonesia.

Recently, public initiatives are cropping up in using the online world to influence public policies. However, the road ahead is long. The dream to implement a deliberative democracy is highly dependent upon the willingness of the elite and public literacy– two issues that remain a large task for Indonesia.

The office of Change.org Indonesia in Pasar Minggu, Jakarta, is not very big. The online petition platform’s office consists of only one room with four desks. There is also a shared meeting room. The house, located in a residential suburb, was converted into an office and is used by Change.org along with a few other civil society organizations, such as the Public Virtue Institute and Pamflet.