By: Rebecca Marian)*
West Papua will have the opportunity to host the Women of Twenty (W20). This is certainly a matter of pride for the people of West Papua because this activity is a side event of the Group of Twenty Summit (G20 Summit).
Chairwoman W20 Hadriani Silalahi said, the location of the event in West Papua also aims to promote the charm of natural beauty and show that the land of Papua is a safe and peaceful area.
Hadriani said that if W20 guests knew that Papua was safe and had natural beauty, they would not hesitate to travel to Papua with their families. The W20 event has become a free tourism promotion, once rowing 2 islands is exceeded.
Hadriani said that in W20 there would be 5 first ladies who were speakers from Mexico, Germany, India and Japan. A number of topics for this year’s W20 will be discussed, among others, regarding Woman Disability and rural areas inclusion. In addition to these speakers, a number of guests will also be present, namely representatives from W20 and pacific countries. The theme of woman disability is very suitable because in Indonesia, especially Papua, there is still the powerlessness of women. Woman Disability is not defined as a disabled woman or disabled, but a woman’s inability to live forward and on an equal footing with men.
By discussing woman disability, it can be shown that women can come forward and become leaders, not just sidekicks or friends behind. Indonesian women and other countries should be more advanced and appreciated because they have good potential. Indonesia should be proud because it once had a female president and its ministers were also forward-thinking women.
To overcome this so that women can maximize their potential, W20 can follow the example of Indonesia, when some of the Papua special autonomy funds were channeled as capital loans for mothers in Papua. They can trade in the market and have high power, because they struggle to help their husbands in earning a living.
Business is one way for women to get ahead, that’s why the W20 meeting also talked about international trade. It is hoped that the first lady will be interested in Papuan produce such as coffee and sago and admire the beauty of noken. They can be a golden bridge to the export market.
The presence of women in the W20 forum is certainly not mere companions, but they are also keynote speakers and talk about important issues such as women’s disability. Women can be more advanced if given the opportunity and men should not feel inferior because emancipation has existed since time immemorial.
Meanwhile, the Quarantine Coordinator of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Imran Pambudi said that a number of regions in Indonesia besides Bali are known to be the locations for the implementation of the G20 Presidency series, one of which is in West Papua, Sorong City. The G20 Side Events are expected to be able to move the regional economy, especially in introducing the advantages of Indonesian local products. Based on the G20 Side Events agenda that has been inventoried, 121 side events will be held from December 2021 to November 2022.
On this occasion, of course, West Papua must be able to show its best potential because it will be ogled by delegates from various countries. Previously, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno said, originally the Presidency of Indonesia for the G20 Summit was in 2023. While the Presidency of the G20 Summit in 2022 was held by India.
But considering that in 2023 Indonesia will also hold the chairmanship of ASEAN, then Indonesia will conduct discussions regarding the chairmanship of the G20 with India. Thus, Indonesia will hold the G20 Presidency in 2022, while India will hold the Presidency in 2023. Foreign Minister Retno conveyed that with Indonesia’s Presidency at the G20 in 2022, starting in 2021 Indonesia will be part of the G20 Troika.
With the election of West Papua as one of the places that will hold the G20 Summit Side Event, of course it is an opportunity for West Papua to show its potential to be better known to the world.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
