Hello from Secretariat - October 2020

Hello from Secretariat UCLG ASPAC is glad to announce additional members who will strengthen the Secretariat Team. Both staffs and interns are enthusiastic to work together while still adapting the work from home policy.

MIRA Fajar Aviatri, or Mira, is now joining UCLG ASPAC as Knowledge and Engagement Manager. Mira has a background of Anthropology from Universitas Indonesia and has got the opportunity to scale up skill in learning the strategic approach communication and advocacy at John Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. She has long experiences working in the area of reproductive health, HIV AIDS, education, gender equity, youth empowerment, child labour and marginalised children, social protection, humanitarian assistance and resilient. Those experiences brought her in the journey of working experiences with local non-government organisation, research institution, government special tasks force and some international organisations such as UN agencies (UNESCO Office Jakarta, UNAIDS Indonesia & UNDP Indonesia) and ASEAN Secretariat. Before joining UCLG ASPAC, she worked in the Resilient Jakarta Secretariat that brings her experience in the cities issues and cities network related to SDGs localisation as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. Her experience in Resilient Jakarta Secretariat along with the journey of her past careers may bring an effort to UCLG ASPAC in strengthening the knowledge hub.

She will be responsible for GCoM coordination, ASEAN Mayors Forum and Communication and Knowledge Management team.

ANGGA Safik, or Angga, is joining as Knowledge Management Officer. Angga has an educational background in urban and regional planning from Institut Teknologi Bandung. He is deeply interested in sustainable development, resilient city, urban management, disaster risk reduction, and public policy issues. He also has experience working as a consultant who assists the government and the private sector in formulating public policies and strategic planning through comprehensive quantitative, qualitative, and spatial data analysis.

Angga was also able to act as a think tank and capture broad lessons learned throughout the programmes and promote potential initiatives toward better development in the cities.

Before joining UCLG ASPAC, he joined the Resilient Jakarta Secretariat as a programme officer and worked with Jakarta towards a resilient city through research, media

engagement, and policy advocacy. As a knowledge management officer, Angga will work closely with each programme and project team to deliver better service to members.

CEMARA Dinda, or Cemara, joined UCLG ASPAC as Knowledge Management Officer for the LOCALISE SDGs for Indonesia – a programme funded by the EU. Holding Master’s Degree in Cultural Studies from Universitas Indonesia, Cemara is in charge of collecting and disseminating information such as best practices by local governments in Indonesia and their associations in innovating and reviving sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, altogether towards the achievement of SDGs. Her professional experience has been in aspects of writing and content creation at The Jakarta Post where she was an intern reporter for the Features Department. She also has dipped her toes in development work where she was an intern writer and Social Media Content developer consultant for IMA World Health, and recently, some advertising work for GREY Group as a copywriter. By working at UCLG ASPAC under the LOCALISE SDGs programme, she hopes to gain more knowledge in SDGs and learn a lot from colleagues and supervisors. Cemara enjoys reading, watching way too many food-related documentaries, exchanging thoughts relating to issues of gender and gender equity in Indonesia and… drinking iced coffee!

MARINI Saripuspa Dini, or Marini, is an intern for the Disaster Risk Reduction Programme. Marini assists in various activities, such as the virtual events on DRR, COVID-19, and public spaces. She also contributes to the content for infographics, website articles, video graphics, and social media posts for DRR, COVID-19, and updates the COVID-19 Guideline for local governments. Holding a double-degree of Master of Science in Urban Planning and Design Policy from Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino, Italia, and Bachelor of Architecture from Universitas Indonesia, Marini has experienced as an architect and an editor of the architectural publication. Joining UCLG ASPAC would help Marini to leverage her skills and knowledge also to develop expertise in the application of her recent educational background to the practical issue of local government. In her spare time, she likes to hike, bike, and swim.

SAVIRA Zatil Aqmari, or Vira is a Member Services Division intern.

Currently, Vira is a final year undergraduate of International Relations Communication student at the London School of Public Relations Jakarta (LSPR). During her studies at LSPR Jakarta, Vira was a passive announcer at the London School Radio. Joining as an intern at UCLG ASPAC, she is expecting to gain in-depth knowledge of the UCLG ASPAC thematic fields for nurturing sustainable development comprising local economic development, climate change, disaster resiliency, culture, strategic planning, decentralisation, municipal finance, gender equality, women leadership and empowerment and good governance, as well as UCLG ASPAC Secretariat functional activities. In her spare time, Vira watches movies, listens to music, reads, and cooks.