Name of Organization: Pusat Studi dan Pengembangan Kebudayaan (Puspek) AVERROES.
Form of Organization: Foundation
Date/Place of Establishment: Malang, May 20, 1999
Address: Jalan Candi Sewu 5 A, Malang, East Java.
Telephone: (0341) 492094
Facsimile: (0341) 460017
e-mail: puspek_averroes@yahoo.com
Puspek Averroes is a non governmental organization which focuses on cultural issues. The NGO is founded four years a go by young activists. They founded the NGO as they were concerned with communal conflict that frequently occurred at the grass root level in Malang, East Java.
Activists at the Averroes believe the conflict has cultural roots. They contend that paternalistic and capitalistic systems are two factors that have contributed to the spreading communal conflicts. The other factor is lack of understanding on cultural issues.
To contain the growing threats of communal conflicts, Averroes has taken several action programs. First, promoting the ideas of democracy and creating civilian society. Second, it has been implementing pluralistic approach to settle the conflicts. Third, the organization is also promoting liberal and critical thinking. Fourth, it is improving the capability of people to compete in the globalization system.
The programs are elaborated in the following actions: Creating focused groups to promote reconciliation among member of communities; holding regular dialogue with religious leaders in East Java and providing legal advocacy to minority groups such as former political prisoners of the for member of Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Other programs include publishing books about social issues.
Averrous which currently employs 14 staffs has established relation with other NGOs such as Desantara (Jakarta) and LPKP (East Java), IKOHI (East Java). Averroes receives funding from INFID, ICRP and Desantara.
Averroes has established very close cooperation with research groups in East Java such as research group on victims of the PKI-involved bloody and deadly incident in 1965 and research group on victims of the New Order. It also has sought an alliance with other NGOs in the province such as association of missing persons, inter-religious forum, center studies for religion and democracy.
As a new organization Averroes has to deal with very basic problems such as inadequate financing and lack of human resources. If there is any offer of funding Averroes will use it to improve capacity building trough the advancement of its staffs knowledge and improvement of office facilities. |
