Prof. Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Chairperson of The Habibie Center, opened the forum and set a clear signal for the goal of further promoting democracy and civic participation in Indonesia. Nadia Habibie, granddaughter of the late Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, then welcomed the audience on behalf of the Habibie family.
Exactly 25 years ago, during the Reformasi era, B.J. Habibie founded The Habibie Center. This period marked the end of President Soeharto's 32-year authoritarian rule and the transition to a democratic form of government. Similar to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation 70 years ago, the aim of The Habibie Center was to promote and strengthen democracy in the country after many years of dictatorship.
The keynote speech was delivered by Prof. Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin, former Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security of the Republic of Indonesia (2019-2024) and former Chairman of the Constitutional Court (2009-2013).
The panel discussion was then dedicated to the topics of “Decentralization, Inclusive Governance and Citizen Participation”. The invited experts presented different perspectives and approaches. The panelists included:
- Dr. Bivitri Susanti, S.H., LL.M. (legal expert and member of the government-mandated legislative reform task force TPRH),
- Dr. Julian Aldrin Pasha, M.A., Ph.D. (Chairman of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, The Habibie Center),
- Fiona Wiputri (journalist and media expert) and
- Sandrayati Moniaga, S.H. (Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission 2012-2022),
- The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Firman Noor, Senior Researcher at the National Research Agency (BRIN)
Dr. Denis Suarsana, Head of the KAS Office for Indonesia and Timor-Leste summarized the key messages of the event in his concluding statement. He emphasized that the open and critical discussion at the Habibie Democracy Forum between government representatives, civil society and political activists clearly showed that democracy in Indonesia is vibrant and robust. The event served as a valuable platform for the exchange of ideas and strategies to promote democratic values.
