Yogyakarta, May 30, 2026 – Civil society organization groups from various regions in Indonesia held a national forum entitled Republic Conference: Strengthening Civil Society, the Pillar of the Republic at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta on Saturday (May 30). The forum, attended by more than 500 participants, brought together activists, academics, national figures, and civil society organizations to discuss various challenges to state governance and strengthen the role of civil society in national life.
The PRAKARSA became one of the civil society organizations and think tanks that supported the organization of the conference. Together with other civil society groups, The PRAKARSA share the same concerns regarding a number of issues that are considered to have emerged in the current state governance, ranging from the narrowing of civil space, recentralization of power, militarization, increasingly open corruption, violations of state regulations, undisciplined fiscal management, to increasing inequality and declining public welfare.
At the conference, the Executive Director of The PRAKARSA, Victoria Fanggidae, was one of the speakers on Panel C with the theme Collective Economic Model and Economic DemocracyHe delivered a presentation entitled Philosophical Foundations of Economic Justice with UGM economist Revrisond Baswir, Ahmad Heri Firdaus (Indef), P. Mulkillah Ahmad (Collective), and Nadia Restu Utami (Lab 45).
Victoria explained that the current disparity is a form of economic injustice or distributive injustice, as outlined in John Rawls' concept of economic justice. She cited Indonesia's tax system, which still tends to be regressive, as well as the need to expand social security and implement a wealth tax for the super-rich as an effort to achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth, as previously researched and advocated by The PRAKARSA.
"Wealth taxes and expanded social protection are instruments to ensure that the benefits of development are felt more equally by all citizens," Victoria said in her presentation.
In addition to discussing the issue of economic justice, the conference, which featured seven discussion panels and dozens of speakers, also formulated three main demands: restoring the sovereignty of civil society, building a new republican formation to restore public trust, and uniting all civil forces in Indonesia.
As a follow-up, the forum mandated the General Chair of the Committee, Sudirman Said, and Secretary General, Yanuar Nugroho, to hold a national working meeting to develop concrete post-conference steps. One of the agenda items to be promoted is the development of a White Paper which contains ideas regarding the direction of economic development that is in favor of the people and environmental sustainability.
The one-day Republic Conference concluded with a joint statement and an artistic performance. The forum also emphasized the importance of active civil society involvement in safeguarding democracy, economic justice, and accountable governance.
