JAKARTA — Praise be to Allah, the Most Compassionate and Merciful, thanks to His grace, the Dompet Dhuafa Institute of Independence (IKDD) won the Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2024 Best III Philanthropy Category. This award was given directly by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, KH Ma’ruf Amin, to the Chairman of the Dompet Dhuafa Republika Foundation Board, Ahmad Juwaini, at the Fairmont Hotel, Central Jakarta, Monday (07/10/2024).
In 2024, Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2024 raised the theme “Innovation Towards Golden Indonesia: Linkages of Quality Education, Employment, and Green Industry”. This theme is in line with the vision of the Dompet Dhuafa Institute of Independence which wants to become a center for vocational education with the aim of preparing quality human resources to create an empowered society.
The Institute of Independence itself was established on May 23, 2005 and is now 19 years old. The idea of establishing the Institute of Independence stems from Dompet Dhuafa’s concern about two national problems, namely poverty and unemployment. On the other hand, the school dropout rate is increasing, leaving young people without positive activities. Thus, they are vulnerable to criminal activities that can cause new social problems.
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Since then, Dompet Dhuafa has begun to move by intervening in programs in the form of teaching and vocational training. The goal is that the participants who take part in the training have capital in the form of skills (skills) and mentality that are ready to enter the world of work and industry. Thus, this program can contribute to reducing unemployment and poverty in Indonesia.
Alhamdulillah, after 19 years of struggling to help the community, especially the poor, the Institute of Independence has graduated 6,662 alumni who are absorbed into the work industry, even establishing their own businesses. With this provision, Institut Kemandirian is optimistic about participating in the Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2024 competition. Because, what Institut Kemandirian does is in line with the three points of SDGs, namely quality education, decent work and economic growth, as well as industry, innovation and infrastructure.
“Starting from the list of dreams, goals, and hopes written during the preparation of the IKDD strategic plan at the end of 2020, the SDGs Action Awards became one of the outputs of the document’s objectives. Then we developed an action plan in stages, starting from transforming governance, updating program strategies, and establishing strategic communication with various stakeholders to achieve the vision of ‘becoming the best vocational training and business incubation center’,” explained Aburrahman Usman, Director of the Institute of Independence.
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When it learned that this year there was an opportunity to take part in the Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards competition, IKDD immediately formed a special team to coordinate with the Dompet Dhuafa Corporate Secretary Team, to prepare the necessary documents and tools. IKDD also qualified to take part in a series of preliminary agendas with various targets set by the jury consisting of figures, experts, and practitioners of Education, Poverty, Economy, Human Resources, and Sustainable Development.
Finally, the Dompet Dhuafa Institute of Independence arrived at the final assessment stage. The IKDD team was asked to present their Best Practice Program and interview directly with the jury. Alhamdulillah, after a long and tense journey, finally the Dompet Dhuafa Institute of Independence was chosen as the winner of the Best III Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2024 Philanthropy Category.
“The most challenging/most memorable (competition) process for us was the presentation and interview with the jury. Because we had to explain about IKDD from the beginning to the current condition and answer questions with very limited time,” Usman said when recounting the process of the Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2024 competition.
“Waiting for the announcement (of the winner), that was a very emotional and emotional moment for me,” he added.
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Alhamdulillah, with the impact that has been given to the wider community, the Dompet Dhuafa Institute of Independence was able to win the Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2024 award. This is also a fuel of enthusiasm for Dompet Dhuafa to continue to carry out humanitarian work that has an impact on sustainable development and community empowerment, especially those in need.
For information, currently IKDD has at least 15 program majors. Among other things, Barista Training, Digital Marketing, Motorcycle Service, AC Service, and other majors that have high absorption in the industry.
In addition, IKDD also has branches in 7 regional points, such as Sukabumi, Cirebon, Malang, Lampung, and Padang. The establishment of these branches is done to spread more benefits, because the beneficiaries will be more widely reached and they have the opportunity to be empowered with Dompet Dhuafa.
Author: Ronna QA