DTP alumna Ni Putu Candra Dewi (known to colleagues and friends as Candra) is a change maker, feminist human rights lawyer, social justice activist and human rights defender, including disability rights.
Candra was selected for an intensive course – Human Rights Leadership to Influence Policy, a DFAT Australian Awards course. Originally designed for three weeks in Australia, COVID restrictions meant the course had to be delivered online and in Indonesia. Candra said the course was a kind of eye opener:
“I would say that course provided an effective guideline to the human rights activists in Indonesia to influence policy from human rights perspective.”
Candra is co-founder and senior partner of Namu Law Firm in Bali and is involved in public interest litigation. Additionally, Candra also co-founded Bumi Satara, a social justice initiative that advocates for the rights of people with disabilities in Indonesia, including through scholarship programs.
“I approach my work through feminist lens. I t focus on using evidence-based policy advocacy, multi-stakeholder engagement, and geopolitical analysis to inform the campaigns and lobbying efforts I am involved in. I also build social movements and use arts in my campaign.”
Candra’s interest in human rights in the region, led her to join DTP’s 2023. special training program focused on Myanmar and ASEAN.
“In that training we learned about the struggle for human rights and against genocide in Myanmar. We had the opportunity to directly hear from Myanmar activists living in exile in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and many other places. It was heart wrenching to hear how they fled their country, but it was also very uplifting to learn about their resilience.”
Candra said that the superpower of DTP is in the connection.
“Through DTP I connected with so many activists from Indonesia and other places. Through whatsapp I am connected with many Indonesian Alumni. When I moved to Bangkok, another fellow DTP alumni from Indonesia who participated in a DTP training in the early 2000s, helped me to find a place. This connection is very, very meaningful to me.”
Candra said she also likes DTP’s active learning approach.
“Every DTP training I attended encouraged active participation of the trainees. There were lot of groupworks and that is how a sense of belonging to a community of human rights starts to grow.”
For future, Candra said that DTP should actively engage the Gen Z in Indonesia. For her, in future, Candra sees herself more engaged in campaigns and policy ensuring indigenous Balinese people could afford to live there, as tourist developments are displacing locals and leading to destruction of their environment. “Bali’s not for sale. Bali has become an expensive island for the indigenous people. It should end.”
Candra attended Human Rights Leadership to Influence Policy (2021) in Indonesia/hybrid, and Advocacy and Human Rights in ASEAN for Democracy in Myanmar (2023) in Thailand.
