by Siska Dewi Noya, Programme Manager, Voice in Indonesia

This is part of a series of reflection blogs coming from Voice folks attending one another’s close out events, sharing each other’s celebrations of their Voice journeys.

For me, the journey to Vientiane, Laos, marks my first visit to another Southeast Asian country. I had the opportunity to witness the event and interact closely with Voice Laos’ grantee partners. The event also provided me with inspiration on how to conduct an engaging public event. STELLA, the Linking and Learning Facilitator for Voice Laos, and the Voice Laos country team planned a two-day pre-public event activity to encourage grantee partners to be as creative as possible in presenting their successful journeys.  There were two creative ways on how grantee partners expressed their beautiful stories: 1) Through theatre, combining mime and drama on stage to depict their struggles for inclusion, and 2) through beautiful narrative storytelling. I also joined their rehearsal and provided feedback on the stories!

Apart from that, I was also really excited to join in an accessories making activity led by the indigenous peoples with disabilities grantee partner, which they will sell for fundraising. There were also exhibitions that captivated me, presented by the Voice Laos team and STELLA. The exhibition featured an interactive multi-media screen to depict the journey of the Voice programme in Laos. It’s such a vibrant, innovative and novel concept! We were carried away to the stories of each changemaker through beautiful images and powerful quotes.

On the day of the public event, I learned that many organisations attended and enjoyed the performance. I was also able to connect with representatives from donor organisations and international non-governmental organisations, such as the Dutch International NGO, which has a program in Indonesia. Overall, I had an impressive experience participating in the Voice Laos closing event.