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.
