RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Veronica Tan, encouraged grassroots women’s communities to contribute policy recommendations. She delivered the statement during the SHEnergy Fest 2026 discussion in Jakarta on Saturday, May 24, 2026.

She welcomed findings, aspirations, and community-based initiatives developed by women’s groups across Indonesia. She encouraged participants to transform discussion outcomes into policy briefs for national development planning.

She said the Indonesian government now prioritizes bottom-up approaches instead of relying solely on top-down policymaking. According to her, local aspirations should become part of Indonesia’s Medium-Term National Development Plan.

The Vice Minister conveyed that the government programs must reach villages and directly address women’s and vulnerable groups’ real needs. She added that ministries should strengthen coordination to ensure inclusive and gender-responsive development policies.

She highlighted a women-led local food garden program in East Nusa Tenggara as a successful empowerment example. The initiative supports sustainable development, food security, and women’s economic participation through social forestry programs.

Veronica also stressed the importance of integrating gender perspectives across ministries and government institutions. She said current challenges involve implementing gender-responsive policies instead of simply creating programs.

“We really need policy briefs from every community so we can follow them up at the ministerial level and develop solutions. We can no longer rely only on top-down approaches, but must combine government facilitation with conditions in each region,” she said.

She also encouraged stronger collaboration between the government, communities, academics, and civil society organizations. The ministry hopes discussions from SHEnergy Fest 2026 can generate policies with broader social impact.