Trenggalek workshop on led

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LED Workshop in Trenggalek: Enhancing Local Competitiveness, Empowering Cooperatives

WITH the establishment of borderless economic zone in South East-Asia or ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), local government is eager to improve their capacity particularly to enhance its competitiveness. Seizing the opportunities of AEC, Regent Mayor of Trenggalek, Vice-Chairman of APKASI (Association of Indonesian Regencies) and a newly elected Co-President of UCLG ASPAC, Emil Dardak, in his speech during the workshop on Local Economic Development on 12 November 2016, inspired other Indonesian regencies surrounding Trenggalek to develop their cooperatives and explore partnership. He emphasized the compulsory promotion of Local Economic Development (LED) in building uniqueness and filtering externalities in order to compete with other ASEAN municipalities.

Supporting the initiative from the Co-President, Secretary General, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi encouraged local governments to extend collaboration towards sustainable local development. Local governments could connect with several platforms of networking at the regional and worldwide level such as UCLG ASPAC to capacitate themselves through peer learning. Tapping the extensive network of UCLG ASPAC, the Executive Secretary of APKASI, Mr. Rifqinizami Karsayuda had discussion with UCLG ASPAC to establish e-commerce in Southeast Asia. The notion of ecommerce is seen to be promising and efficient to expose the local products into a wider commercial market. Similar program is planned to be launched next year in Indonesia by the association, aiming to enhance local products through standardization and online trading.

Attended by numerous local leaders from East Java Province including Regency of Blitar, Tulungagung, and Jember, this workshop was a good model of knowledge sharing which should be sustained in the future. The participants showed enthusiasm to learn from Catbalogan City in the Philippines, especially on how to reinforce the governance and cooperatives.

At the workshop, Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan, shared her policy on good governance and creating friendly environment for doing business. Despite limited numbers of officers in the agency, she managed to optimize capacity and built a computerized system, which was efficient to stimulate the capital investment. This has been resulting in the enhancement of the city’s competitiveness rating in the country from 106 (in 2014) to 46 (in 2016).

Both Catbalogan City and Trenggalek Regency had common interest to commence tangible partnership and have the workshop, the Mayors assented to have exchanged products to be displayed and traded in the municipalities.

In separate meeting with UCLG ASPAC, Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan specifically mentioned her interest in the clay roof and bricks to become part of traded goods between them. While both materials have become common in Trenggalek, it is not the case in Catbalogan City: only rich people can afford to buy and use them for their house. This interest was welcomed by Mayor Emil Dardak. “I hope this can be a pilot project for other cities within AsiaPacific region with UCLG ASPAC as the hub of the cooperation,” said the CoPresident. Looking at the potential cooperation, other municipalities in East Java (particularly those surrounding Trenggalek Regency) also showed commitment to work together to boost their local products and competitiveness.

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They also agreed to organize similar LED Forum, which will be hosted by Blitar Regency for the 2nd Workshop. UCLG ASPAC and APKASI are keen to support the proposal to have regular dialogue on LED as well as to establish e-commerce in ASEAN.