The event aimed to encourage efforts by religious groups to promote peace in Papua and dialogue among all religions, said Elga Sarapung, Coordinator of  the Indonesian Interfaith Network (JAII) . The conference was organised in collaboration with Forum Konsultasi Para Pemimpin Agama in Papua (Consultation Forum of Leaders of Religions) and the Institute for Interfaith Dialog in Indonesia.

Major topics discussed included the building, nurturing, and strengthening of civilizations through transformative dialogue, and the challenges faced while striving for justice, truth, equality, peace for all of ethnic groups and peoples of Indonesia.

The Papuan Voices videos screened during the event were Papua Calling, Mama Kasmira, and Harapan Anak Cenderawasih. The screening was meant to introduce Papuan issues to the participants of this conference who came from all over Indonesia. The participants were amazed by what they saw in the films, and especially by Papua Calling, a film about Muslims in West Papua.

By Frangky.

Indramayu was the third city visited by the Traveling Projector. Here, we were helped by an ex-migrant worker who lent us his house for the screening, where young people came and watched videos that were created by Indonesian migrant workers themselves.

It was a relaxing atmosphere and they seemed to love the videos, especially since some of them were made people from the audience themselves some years ago.

They were used to only watching TV programs or videos being presented by outsiders, but at this event they were amused at seeing their own faces on-screen. It was an exciting moment for the migrants who were often neglected by the state and society.

The next day, we left Indramayu and went to Cirebon, where we were hosted by Sanggar Rakyat. The screening was conducted in the Village Center with audiences from all the nearby neighborhoods and villages. More than 60 people attended this event.

Along with videos from EngageMedia, we screened some of Sanggar Rakyat's video collections as its activities focus on education and youth recreational activities. The night was closed with a discussion and emphasizing on how useful the videos can be as tools for disseminating information and educating members of society.

Indramayu adalah tempat ketiga yang dikunjungi Travelling Proyektor.  Bertempat di rumah seorang mantan buruh migran, pemutaran film ini dihadiri sekitar 20 orang. Hampir sebagian besar yang datang adalah para buruh migran yang terlibat dalam pembuatan video tersebut.

Suasana sangat cair karena mereka begitu senang melihat karyanya ditonton bersama. Jika sebelumnya mereka menonton film, maka kini mereka ditonton. Tentunya ini sebuah pengalaman berharga bagi para buruh migran yang seringkali diabaikan oleh negara dan tidak dipedulikan oleh masyarakat.

Lepas dari Indramayu, tujuan selanjutnya adalah Cirebon. Di kota ini, Sanggar Rakyat menjadi “host” dalam pemutaran film ini. Bertempat di Balai Pertemuan Desa, maka pemutaran film ini banyak dihadiri oleh warga kampung. Sekitar 60 warga memadati balai pertemuan yang relatif sempit ini. Bapak RW membuka pemutaran film yang sebelumnya telah diseleksi oleh pihak Sanggar Rakyat.

Dalam pemutaran kali ini, Sanggar Rakyat juga memutarkan beberapa film yang dibuat oleh para remaja di kawasan dampingannya. Oleh karena warga tidak bisa duduk hingga larut, akhirnya diskusi ditiadakan. Namun beberapa remaja yang masih tertinggal berdiskusi dalam lingkaran kecil dengan EngageMedia.

Diskusinya lebih banyak pada proses pembuatan film, menentukan cerita, dan lain-lain. Antusiasme masyarakat yang begitu besar pada pemutaran film menunjukkan bahwa media audio visual sangat efektif untuk menyampaikan pesan-pesan tertentu. Dan keterlibatan warga dalam pembuatan film sangat penting untuk membentuk kepercayaan diri serta membangun arena refleksi bagi sebuah kampung.