‌Our

Highlights

in 2024

Since its establishment in 2023, WeSpeakUp.org have been committed to providing a safe platform for the voices of marginalised communities, especially youth and women to actively participate in social movements. In 2024, we continued this commitment through initiatives and programs that reached more youth and women at the grassroots level in various regions. This was particularly achieved through capacity building in leadership, social campaigns, advocacy, and storytelling, as well as strengthening community networks through various collaborations.

WeSpeakUp.org's Three Main Pillars

We work with underrepresented groups and communities closest to the problem at the grassroots to proactively voice their aspirations for positive change and open spaces for dialogue. We collaborate with various partners to realize a vision of a just and equitable world where everyone has the power to speak up and participate in decision-making processes.

CAPACITY BUILDING

We work with community leaders across Indonesia through comprehensive training programs to equip them with the skills, resources, and networks needed to drive systemic change.

STORYTELLING

We produce content to tell strong and engaging narratives that can reach broader audiences. These stories come from various social movements, including those historically marginalized, to promote inclusive progress.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

We mobilize communities for collective action and drive positive change. We collaborate with individuals, organizations, community figures, inclusive institutions, and decision-makers to foster dialogue and transformative policy changes.

Capacity Building

Pilar 1

Over the course of 12 months, we trained 90 young activists from 24 provinces in Indonesia in leadership and social campaigning.

Through the "We Create Change Vol.2 and Vol.3" programs, young activists aged 18 to 35 participated in a three-week online training program to develop skills in designing strategies and launching effective social campaigns, writing engaging stories, and gaining support through impactful contents The main focus of this training was the impact of campaigns related to low-carbon development, sustainable land use and environmental protection, civic participation and other relevant topics.

youth participants represented marginalized communities

Training held within a year, lasting 3 weeks each

78%

Participants have successfully launched their own social campaigns independently

170

Changemakers trained in social campaigns in 28 provinces

Profile of Youth changemaker & the Campaign

Muhammad Raafi
"Gunungkidul Is the Starting Point of the Resistance School"
The campaign successfully garnered public support and went viral on social media. Over 74,000 people supported his petition. Public pressures eventually led to the celebrity Raffi Ahmad withdrawing from the project. Due to public protests, the investment is halted.
Read Raafi's Full Story
Stevi
"There’s No Free Clean Water in Our Village, Due to the Impact of Nickel Mining"
After the nickel mine started operating, the Putemata River became polluted. Clean water became scarce. All agricultural land was repurposed for mining areas. The women in the village lost a crucial source of livelihood. Moreover, many residents suffer from skin irritation and rashes.
Read Stevi's Full Story
Sutami
"AllEyesOnPapua, A Forest the Size of Half of Jakarta Will Be Cleared."
Sutami’s concerns stem from the tragic situation faced by the Awyu tribe in Boven Digoel, South Papua, and the Moi tribe in Sorong, Southwest Papua. Both tribes are fighting to protect their customary forests, which are threatened with deforestation by the palm oil company PT IAL.
Support Sutami's Campaign

Puan Bersua(ra): Taking a Pause, Caring for Each Other to Strengthen the Movement

Puan Bersua(ra) is a learning space facilitated by WeSpeakUp.org to build stronger and more adaptive communities of female activists. Through this activity, 21 women activists from various organizations, ages, and regions across Indonesia, including alumni of the She Creates Change and We Create Change programs, were brought together to share knowledge and experiences.

STORYTELLING

Pilar 2

To equip community activists with storytelling skills, we collaborated with Sakdiyah Ma'ruf, a stand-up comedian and public figure with extensive experience in storytelling.

"The curriculum for this storytelling retreat is divided into three parts. First, Activities in the classroom focus on formulating and reflecting on each participant's movement. Second, participants interact directly with rural communities, learning to narrate the journey of their activism and movement. Third, participants take a short pause to enjoy nature as part of their reflection and self-care. I believe that joy is an act of resistance, and joy is part of resistance." joy is an act of resistance, kegembiraan adalah bagian dari perlawanan. Jadi perjuangan dan aktivisme harus digerakkan dengan gembira". (Sakdiyah Ma’ruf)

Changemakers’ Story

Wiwi, Farmer and the Challenges She is Facing
The taste of coffee harvested from her village isn’t as distinctive as it once was, the water that can no longer be used because the land and its springs are contaminated by chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Furthermore, the gender inequalities faced by many female coffee farmers also fuel Wiwi’s determination to build an eco-friendly business that empowers women farmers to fight for justice.
Read Wiwi full story
Roni Otpah: "Old Cloths for You. New Cloths for Me"
Roni’s principle is that old items for one person can be new to someone else who has never seen or used them before. Collaborating with Kupang's youth communities, Roni initiated the clothing swap movement around holidays, such as before Christmas or Idul Fitri, to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and reducing textile waste.
Read Roni full story
Chipy, Environmental and Equality Fighter from Maumere
Chipy is at the forefront of movements to combat plastic waste, particularly plastic pollution that contaminates Maumere’s beautiful beaches. Together with her community, she promotes simple behavior changes, such as reducing single-use plastic and adopting reusable bags. Chipy not only fights for the environment but also for acceptance and equality in Maumere.
Read Chipy full story
Viedela, Living with Minimal Waste Starts at Home
Ve chose to live a zero-waste lifestyle in her village. She faced various challenges, including skeptical comments from neighbors. But Ve's enthusiasm did not diminish. Through her Instagram account @viedelaak, Ve shares tips on an environmentally friendly lifestyle, such as using cloth diapers and making natural soap. She continues to spread environmental awareness starting from her own home and village.
Read Ve full story

Building Narratives Through Content Development

We chose TikTok as one of the potential and prioritized mediums for amplifying social issues, particularly to reach young people. Within less than six months, we produced dozens of content pieces, several of which gained significant attention (viral).. The viral content has dual effects. First, the positive impact is that it significantly increases the engagement and followers of the TikTok account @WeSpeakUpOrg. Second, the digital attacks include body shaming, sexual harassment, hate and violent comments, as well as labeling from fanatical supporters and buzzers.

Civic Engagement

Pilar 3

WeSpeakUp.org aims to amplify the voices of marginalized communities, with a primary focus on youth, women, and indigenous peoples, in social campaigns that have an impact on their lives.

Throughout 2024, we supported a total of 65 campaigns, including 43 campaigns initiated by young alumni of the We Create Change program. The total public support for these campaigns reached nearly 400,000 signatures through online petitions. Meanwhile, the reach of our social media (Instagram and TikTok) exceeded 28 million users.

Impactful Campaigns

#AllEyesonPapua
17,400,000
Reach on social media
1,000,000
Engagements on social media
7
Collaborating CSOs
We assisted Sutami, a researcher at the Pusaka Bentala Rakyat Foundation and an alumna of the We Create Change program, to initiate a petition and proposed campaign strategies and developed narratives to ensure this issue gained broader public support. When the Awyu and Moi tribes organized an action in Jakarta, we leveraged this moment to create coverage and social media content.

The video coverage went viral, reaching over 17 million people on social media. Petition supporters also created Instagram story templates, which were shared over 3 million times. In July 2024, the Awyu and Moi tribes submitted a petition with 260,000 signatures to the Supreme Court.
#AllYouCannotEat
700,000
Reach on social media
60,000
Engagements on social media
14
Collaborating CSOs
Raising the issue of food sovereignty, we launched the campaign titled #AllYouCannotEat. Not only addressing the issues, but we also highlighted community initiatives to enhance food sovereignty. For instance, we covered Britania Sari’s farm, a food sovereignty activist from Bogor.

We also highlighted the story of Ayu Nuzul, an alumna of the We Create Change program and a farmer from Jombang, who advocates for land ownership for farmers.
Halt the Development of Gunungkidul Beach Club
1,120,000
Reach on social media
68,000
Engagements on social media
6
Collaborating CSOs
We assisted Raafi, an alumnus of the We Create Change program, in launching and garnering support for the campaign and pushed for the cancellation of the planned beach club development in the karst area of Gunungkidul

WeSpeakUp.org helped design strategies and craft the campaign narrative to inspire people to support this initiative. One of the content pieces managed to reach over one million people. The petition by Raafi has so far been supported by more than 74,000 people.

Reach on Social Media

Media Partnership

Starting from the thematic campaign #AllYouCannotEat, WeSpeakUp.org established a partnership with KBR media. This collaboration included publishing stories about local food from changemakers who are alumni of the She Creates Change and We Create Change programs.

The stories were published on the PlanetPlate microsite and on the social media platforms of WeSpeakUp.org and KBR.

As part of this partnership, we initiated our first podcast titled POWER (Podcast with Changemaker). The first and second episodes were recorded in December 2024 and released in January 2025.

In the first episode, we invited Britania Sari to share stories about farming from home and empowering the surrounding community. Meanwhile, in the second episode, we discussed food waste in Indonesia with Wilma, an activist from the Kota Tanpa Sampah (Zero Waste City) initiative.

Listen Our Podcast with Changemakers

Learning Culture

WeSpeakUp.org consistently enhances internal capacity through continuous learning mechanisms to improve our staff competencies. We commit to creating a conducive learning environment for all staff, one of which is reflected in regularly held training sessions.

In 2024, we conducted two training sessions, they are Basic Facilitation Skills and Digital Security. The Basic Facilitation Skills training was facilitated by Digdaya Selaras using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach, aimed to sharpen the facilitation skills of our team.

Meanwhile, digital security training enabled WeSpeakUp.org team to better implement steps to run digital campaigns efficiently and effectively. This training helps every team member to understand their role in maintaining information security.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all partners who have been part of WeSpeakUp.org’s journey throughout 2024. The collaborations we’ve built and the support given—whether in the form of resources, networks, or publicity—have been significant contributions that enriched our spirit in advocating for social issues. The successes we’ve achieved together are concrete proof that a better social change can be achieved when we work together.

Download Our 2024 Full Report

‌Our

Highlights

in 2024

WeSpeakUp.org's Three Main Pillars

CAPACITY BUILDING

STORYTELLING