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Ministry supports 2024 elections with sign language interpretation for inclusivity
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Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates
The Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) is facilitating sign language interpretation during the debates of presidential (capres) and vice-presidential (cawapres) candidates for the 2024 General Elections. This step is one of the efforts to make the elections more inclusive.
"The most important aspect of this effort is that information related to the vision and mission of the presidential candidates can be accessible to all groups, making it more inclusive. This ensures that individuals with disabilities gain a comprehensive understanding and political education from the debates before making their choices during the actual voting," said Usman Kansong, Director General of Information and Public Communication (IKP) at the Ministry of Communication and Information, on Saturday (3/2/2024).
The government ensures that every citizen has an equal opportunity to participate in the 2024 political elections. This includes recognizing and protecting the political rights of all citizens, regardless of gender, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic background, as long as they meet the requirements.
"Thus, the 2024 elections are conducted inclusively and friendly to individuals with disabilities," added Usman.
The sign language interpretation activities for the presidential and vice-presidential debates, held at the Ministry of Communication and Information, are conducted in collaboration with the Central Management of the Movement for the Welfare of Deaf Indonesians (Gerkatin). This initiative specifically aims to fulfill the rights of hearing-impaired individuals to access information about the presidential and vice-presidential debate events.
In this regard, the Ministry of Communication and Information, through the IKP Directorate General, and GPR TV provide a space, live streaming equipment, and other supporting facilities. This sign language interpretation activity has already been implemented during the fourth presidential and vice-presidential debate on January 21, 2024. It is planned to be repeated during the fifth debate scheduled for Sunday, February 4, 2024.
Laura Lesmana Wijaya, Chairperson of the Indonesian Sign Language Center (Pusbisindo), appreciates the Ministry of Communication and Information for facilitating their activities. She sees it as a concrete step by the government to encourage the involvement of all sectors in nation-building.
"My hope is that this collaboration is not just temporary but can be made a permanent national duty. It can serve as a model for information access in other regions, always involving and engaging our community," she said when contacted on Saturday (3/2/2024).
Laura describes the sign language interpretation activities for the presidential and vice-presidential debates as being organized by the Ministry of Communication and Information and Gerkatin, which is a partner of Pusbisindo.
"Our partnership is strong because we share the same goal of providing full, fair, and inclusive access for our deaf friends. Therefore, we feel the need to collaborate with Kominfo for communication and information access with high quality," Laura stated. (TR/Elvira Inda Sari)
This article was published in collaboration with Ministry of Communications and Informatics
