Ekawati Liu

Ekawati Liu.jpg

Ekawati Liu Indonesia 2009 Grantee US-Canada Program Master’s International Development from American University Ph.D. in progress in Deakin University

Ekawati has dedicated her life to supporting people with disabilities and ensure the provision of rights that numerous national disability laws stipulate. She has researched the data enabling the Indonesian government to make concrete efforts to address economic and social inequality and employment challenges among population with disability. She has pursued a clear understanding on the social and economic cost of disability including establishing social safety nets, educating, and employing the disabled as well as supporting disabled women who are primary income earners and caregivers for their families. An important focus for her is developing leadership in the disabled community.

Work history:

Peduli Program, Livelihoods Research

Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Collaborative Developmental Leadership Program (DLP) DLP administered by La Trobe University and the University of Birmingham  https://www.latrobe.edu.au/socialchange/projects/developmental-leadership-program-dlp Principal Investigator, Indonesia affiliated with the Bandung Independent Living Center (BiLIC), a grassroots disability organization

Research will look into the leadership journey of individuals with disability across three islands to understand factors enabling and constraining their leadership development and how they can be supported to exercise effective leadership in their communities. The fieldwork will start early 2021 with four local disability leaders as co-investigators. 

The Asia Foundation Indonesia Disability Specialist Ekawati helped create an acting workshop and produced a play with members of a disabled community she had come to know in writing her thesis. The YouTube link to this production is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WunxVBxxHbk

The World Bank Inclusion and Disability Specialist

Publications

Findings on Livelihoods' Experiences and Situations of Villagers with Disability in Indonesia by Ekawati Liu, Listia Khairunnisa, Santi Setyaningsih, and Lyla J Brown https://www.academia.edu/37122367/Findings_on_Livelihoods_Experiences_and_Situations_of_Villagers_with_Disability_in_Indonesia.

Disability data and the development agenda in Indonesia  by Liu, Ekawati; Brown, Lyla; Indonesian Resources and Information Program (IRIP) http://www.insideindonesia.org/disability-data-and-the-development-agenda-in-indonesiaExterner Link

Findings on Livelihoods' Experiences and Situations of Villagers with Disability in Indonesia by Ekawati Liu, Listia Khairunnisa, Santi Setyaningsih, and Lyla J Brown https://independent.academia.edu/EkawatiLiu

Awards and Achievements:

  • Australia Awards Indonesia Scholarship

  • Founder of Teipan, a collective NGO helping farmers, youth with disabilities and street children in Jakarta

Ekawati generously donated a sumptuous antique ikat Indonesian textile to assist MMEG with its fundraising efforts shortly after she received her grant.