The Voice-funded project is a collaborative work between Pamflet, Gerkatin Kepemudaan (Gerakan untuk Kesejahteraan Tunarungu Indonesia Kepemudaan or Indonesian Deaf Youth’s Welfare Movement), and Sedap Films that aims to strengthen the storytelling capacity of deaf youth to articulate their stories as youth with heterogenous identities and diverse problems, as well as to raise issues of inclusivity from deaf youth’s perspectives and daily narratives. The storytelling capacity is chosen as an entry point for this collaboration due to communication difficulties and lack of capability to create media contents as major barriers perceived by deaf youth activists to be visible in public, and to meaningfully engage in campaign and advocacy activities. By collaborative learning processes through video blogging (vlog) workshop, website development and film production, and road show, Pamflet wishes to strengthen deaf youth capacities to plan, organise and conduct their activities as youth groups adeptly, as well as to increase their ability to campaign and advocate their needs to the local government and stakeholders.

Pamflet is a youth-led organization that was established to encourage and strengthen capacity of youth to participate in the process of social movement, by providing them with information and knowledge about activism and human rights. With three core divisions: youth studies, youth movement, youth activism, it works to strengthen youth’s access to information, resources, and networks related to human rights, and to encourage local youth initiatives (individual/collective) in different areas in Indonesia through activities such as research, capacity building, training, creative campaigning, and publication.  

Pamflet implemented the project Ini Cerita Kita (This is Our Story), working closely with Gerkatin Kepemudaan (GK), an independent youth organization working for the deaf, and Sedap Films, who are experienced in video and film production about youth and disabilities. The aim of this project was to strengthen the storytelling capacity of deaf youth to articulate their stories as youth with heterogeneous identities and diverse problems, as well as to raise issues of inclusivity from deaf youth’s perspectives and daily narratives. It aimed to develop deaf youth activists’ capacity to campaign about youth and disabilities, using a narrative and personal approach, and the ability to manage the content in audiovisual forms (video and films). The project hoped that these capacities would enable deaf youth activists to represent and campaign about the diversity of deaf youth to the public more adeptly and provide more room for deaf youth expressions. It would also create discourse and conversation about youth with disabilities on social media and the internet.  

The objectives of the project were partially achieved through series of activities. Deaf youths are now capable of producing creative content such as video blog (vlog) to narrate the issues related to disability (especially deaf) as part of their campaign in Gerkatin Kepemudaan. Unfortunately, their capability to manage the activation of the campaign through their own social media and website (which has been developed by Ini Cerita Kita project) still needs to be strengthened. This was mostly in relation to having more clear structures in terms of digital platform activation, as well as improving capacities to plan and write content for the campaign. The project managed to provide room for deaf youth to express themselves not only to create discourse and conversation about deaf youth through vlogs on social media, but also let deaf youth lead discussions about deaf issues in public (through school and community visitation and a festival at the end of the project). As part of the campaign, deaf youth led the discussion among the wider public about creating inclusive environment by bringing the deaf perspective to non-deaf people to realize deaf rights in public space. 

Other activities that the project carried out included website development and social media activation of Gerkatin Kepemudaan, short film production titled “Toko Musik” (Music Store), film screening and website promotion at four schools and two communities in Jakarta, and This is Our Story festival. It engaged deaf and non-deaf young people, government agencies, donors, private sector, and civil organizations. Deaf youths from Gerkatin Kepemudaan were very interested to engage and actively get involved in activities such as website development and short film screenings as well as getting involved in the review process of “Toko Musik” film by providing constructive criticism and suggestions, and also participating in discussions during the film screenings. These activities reached a total of 293 participants.  

While the project managed to achieve some significant milestones, there was still a need to involve more deaf youth in the project processes, as well as reach a wider audience. By seeking to empower the deaf youth to tell their own stories in their own voices, the project has laid down important building blocks towards the empowerment of deaf youth in Indonesia.