Jakarta – As part of the Open Government Week (OGW) 2025 series, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, in collaboration with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Indonesia Secretariat, organized a webinar titled “Inclusive Technology for Strengthening Public Access and Transparency of Extractive Sector Data,” held online on Friday, May 23, 2025.
With the theme “Big Idea, Bold Reform, Collective Action,” OGW 2025, held from May 19-23, 2025, invited the global community to think big, act decisively, and work together to realize a more open, inclusive, and responsive government to public needs, especially in facing current global challenges. OGW is an annual global agenda of over 70 member countries of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), consisting of a week of simultaneous activities to increase public awareness about government openness.
The webinar was opened by Maharani Wibowo, Director of Foreign Policy and International Development Cooperation at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), who is the Point of Contact (PIC) for OGP Indonesia. In her opening remarks, she emphasized that data openness is not the end goal, but rather an initial step towards meaningful participation.
“We must ensure that data is not only available but also understandable and usable by the public, especially those in mining areas and directly affected by extractive industry activities,” she stated.
The discussion was moderated by R. Mouna Wasef, Head of the Advocacy and Research Division at PWYP Indonesia, who opened the forum by emphasizing the importance of inclusivity in the management of public data in the natural resources sector.
“With data accessible online, can the communities genuinely located around mining sites access it? Is the information provided detailed enough, targeted, or relevant to the needs of the communities truly feeling the impact of mining operations?” Mouna questioned.
Catur Kurniadi, a representative from the EITI Indonesia Secretariat, announced the Extractive Industries Data Portal, a collaboration between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), the Ministry of Finance, and the EITI Indonesia Secretariat. This portal contains data on legality, licensing, production, exports, state revenues, and the distribution of revenue-sharing funds.
Catur, who is also a representative from the Data and Information Center (Pusdatin) of the Ministry of ESDM, explained the benefits of digitizing EITI data reporting through the portal. “Reporting that previously took seven to nine months can now be completed in just five months. The data is also available in an open data format that can be accessed and used more easily by the public,” said Catur.
To ensure data truly reaches the wider community, Irendra Radjawali, a PWYP Indonesia Board member and scholar-activist, introduced a simple data visualization approach that can be disseminated via WhatsApp. “We want data not only to be accessible but also understood and used by citizens. Therefore, we train local communities to convey data through simple infographics. The pinnacle of sophistication is simplicity,” he remarked.
From an international perspective, Sandra Milena Rojas, Senior Policy Officer at EITI International, emphasized that the energy transition must be accompanied by community engagement and equitable data access. “We see that communities face similar challenges in various countries, such as data that is difficult to access and not always available in a usable format. Indonesia is an important example in addressing these challenges through its inclusive data portal,” she explained.
This webinar served as a collaborative space for the government, civil society, and the international community to strengthen information openness in the extractive sector. OGP and EITI continue to play a role as strategic platforms for advocating for natural resource governance that is fair, transparent, and community-oriented. (AS/AN)