The Research and Development and Training Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion Successfully Implemented Priority and Legacy Programs in 2023

PERSISMA, Jakarta – The Research and Development and Training Agency of the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia has completed implementing ten priority programs in 2023. In line with this, the Research and Development and Training Agency has also completed three legacy programs which are the duties and functions of the ministry. From evaluation data on the implementation of the programs in question, many parties assess that the ministry in charge of the religious sector in Indonesia has been successful in completing programs involving various groups, both ASN within the Ministry of Religion and external parties.

What are the ten priority programs and three legacy programs of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion’s program implemented from January to December 2023? Let’s look at the following summary which is adapted from various activity reports and visual data sent to the editorial staff of this media as one of the year-end notes of the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia in 2023.

Ten Priority Programs

The ten priority programs for Research and Development and Training of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion for 2023 are briefly described below.

1. Training to Promote Religious Moderation Based on Houses of Worship

The first priority program implemented was Training to Promote Religious Moderation Based on Houses of Worship in 105 Regencies and Cities throughout Indonesia. This training aims to increase the competency of administrators of places of worship from all religions in Indonesia so that they are able to become drivers of religious moderation and can carry out their duties and functions professionally, with the main target of increasing the competency of human resources who are professional, pious, moderate, intelligent and smart.

No less than 2,640 educational technical personnel within the Ministry of Religion have participated in this training program. The participants who are State Civil Apparatus (ASN) of the Ministry of Religion from all existing religious denominations become graduates and alumni with moderate religious insight who are competent in driving moderate religious life in society.

2. Mosque Management Training

The second priority program is Mosque Management Training which aims to increase the competency of Islamic religious technical personnel so that they are able to carry out their duties and functions in the mosque sector professionally and with quality. The main target of this program is to increase the competency of human resources who are professional, pious, moderate, intelligent and superior in managing mosques, including prayer rooms and/or prayer rooms.

A total of 3,150 people from the Ministry of Religion’s State Civil Apparatus (ASN) who are religious technical personnel have participated in the mosque management training program. These participants are expected to have the standard competencies required as mosque managers with a moderate Islamic religious outlook.

3. Sakinah Family Training

The Ministry of Religion has also implemented Sakinah Family Training activities as a third priority program which aims to increase the competency of religious technical personnel so that they are able to carry out their duties and functions in the field of sakinah family development professionally and with quality. This training involved no less than 1,350 State Civil Apparatus (ASN) within the Ministry of Religion.

The main target of the sakinah family training is to increase the competency of human resources who are professional, pious, moderate, intelligent and superior in moving the community to build their own sakinah, mawadah, warrohmah families. An indicator of the success of implementing this program is the birth of a number of graduates or alumni of the Sakinah family’s technical staff training who have standard competencies in carrying out their duties as promoters and coaches of the Sakinah family.

4. Religious Moderation Master Training

The next (fourth) priority program is the Religious Moderation Master Training, which is one of the Ministry of Religion’s efforts to strengthen religious moderation throughout Indonesia, which is carried out on a massive and structured basis. One form of activity is holding Master Training on Strengthening Religious Moderation for Echelon II Officials, which is divided into several Forces.

The training program in question was attended by officials at echelon II level and above within the Ministry of Religion, such as the Head of the Bureau of State Islamic Religious Universities, the Head of Provincial Offices of the Ministry of Religion, as well as the Head of the Public Relations, Data and Information Bureau of the Secretariat General of the Ministry of Religion. These top officials were included in Master Training, one of the aims of which was to provide a complete understanding of the concept of strengthening religious moderation promoted by the Ministry of Religion.

5. National Religious Moderation Instructor Training

To prepare the instructors or trainers needed to carry out religious moderation education and training activities in a sustainable and massive manner, the Ministry of Religion is implementing the fifth priority program, namely National Religious Moderation Instructor Training. This training for instructors was successfully held in two batches.

The participants who take part in this fifth priority program are drawn from elements of the State Civil Apparatus and civil society consisting of community leaders, traditional leaders, religious leaders, cultural figures, faith-based organizations, managers of places of worship, civil society organizations, families, women and young people. . The main target of the instructor training is to increase program participants’ understanding regarding religious perspectives, attitudes and practices in life together by embodying the essence of religious teachings that protect human dignity and build public benefit – based on the principles of fairness, balance and compliance with the constitution as national agreement.

6. Religious Moderation Training for Counsellors, Teachers and ASN

Government employees with employment agreements (PPPK) as part of the State civil apparatus really need to be provided with an introduction to their duties and functions as ASN and also the values and ethics that apply to government agencies. Through the sixth priority program, the Ministry of Religion has carried out religious moderation training activities for counsellors, teachers and ASN (in this case PPPKs) within the Ministry of Religion, totalling 16 batches.

As has become the Ministry of Religion’s commitment to developing moderate religious-based social life, this institution carries out a religious moderation program in the lives of every employee and staff who work as government employees in Ministry of Religion institutions, whether as religious instructors, teachers or PPPK. To ensure that all members of the Ministry of Religion have the same understanding and vision and mission in carrying out the Ministry of Religion’s programs, it is very important to carry out religious moderation training for counselors, teachers and ASN.

7. Asia-Africa Conference on Religious Moderation, Study Indexation and Evaluation

The Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia successfully held the Conference on Religious Moderation in Asia-Africa and Latin America (KMBAAA). KMBAAA was held to discuss global peace. In carrying out activities at the international level, the Indonesian Ministry of Religion’s Balitbang and Education and Training Department collaborated with the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board in an event which took place at Gedung Merdeka (the building that held the 1965 Asia-Africa Conference) and the Savoy Homann Hotel, Bandung, 20-22 December 2023.

This international conference activity, which is the seventh priority program of the Ministry of Religion, has strategic value in building a commitment to peaceful life at the global level, in line with the Ministry of Religion’s priority program, namely strengthening religious moderation. As we realize, it is almost impossible to develop a moderate religious life if it is not accompanied by the promotion of religious moderation in other countries.

KMBAAA is an important effort by the Ministry of Religion to strengthen religious moderation at the global level as well as contribute to world peace, in the midst of conflicts that continue to occur in a number of countries. KMBAAA is a strategic forum for the internationalization of religious moderation in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

8. Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Training Content Development

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is a free online course or training program that is available to anyone without exception and domiciled anywhere. The current rapid development of information technology makes MOOCs an alternative for everyone to learn new skills, develop insight and advance careers, as well as provide quality educational experiences on a large scale that is not hampered by time and space. Millions of people around the world use MOOCs to learn for various reasons, interests and motivations.

The Ministry of Religion considers that providing course content or training through MOOCs is very important and immediate. For this reason, one of the priority programs to be implemented in 2023 is the development of massive open online course training content for religious training centers and religious training centers in Indonesia. This activity includes developing content in the form of more standardized video broadcast material which will be uploaded to MOOC training via the Pintar application.

This training content development activity using the MOOC pattern was carried out in collaboration with the Religious Education and Training Center and the Religious Training Center. The results – in video form – will be used by the Education and Religious Technical Personnel Education and Training Center, Religious Training Centers, and Religious Training Centers throughout Indonesia as the main reference in organizing training. After the implementing team was tasked with developing MOOC training content at 14 (fourteen) Religious Training Centers and 2 (two) Religious Training Centers, they were finally able to produce 16 (sixteen) MOOC training content that would be used by Religious Training Centers and Religious Training Centers.

9. Development of Training Content for Early Detection of Social Religious Conflict

The Ministry of Religion’s ninth priority program targets graduate students, training organizers, as well as Echelon I, II, III and IV officials in training units at the Research and Development and Education and Training Agency. Apart from that, program participants also come from ASN from the Ministry of Religion, Echelon I, II, III and IV officials in work units other than the Research and Development and Training Agency of the Ministry of Religion; as well as the community served by ASN of the Ministry of Religion.

The scope of the program is divided into two main activities. First, production of training content on early detection of socio-religious conflict in the form of preparing 3 training module packages, namely production of content on conflict stages and early warning, production of content on early detection methodology and conflict potential, and production of conflict factor analysis content. Second, preparation and discussion of the preparation of training content for early detection of socio-religious conflict in the form of FGDs and full board activities.

The training content development program for early detection of socio-religious conflict for educational and religious technical personnel, which will be implemented in October-December 2023, aims to develop training modules in the form of producing material content according to current needs that is of high quality and ready to be guided by the training implementation unit, both the Education and Training Center for Technical Education Personnel and Religious Affairs and Religious Training Center/Loca. Through this activity, ideas, suggestions and input were collected from resource persons and participants regarding the format and content for developing training on early detection of social religious conflict, the resulting product of which was in the form of three quality packages of modules/content for Early Detection of Social Religious Conflict Training.

10. Survey and Monitoring and Evaluation of Priority Program Implementation

As the tenth priority program, the Ministry of Religion is conducting a survey and monitoring-evaluation regarding the implementation of the Ministry of Religion’s priority programs for 2023. The facts show that Indonesia is a diverse nation from various fields of life, including religion and belief. Therefore, it is not surprising that this country experiences so many religious events that show how dynamic life is in this nation, including in terms of group development, both internal and religious.

Political forces are often involved in strengthening or weakening religious groups and influencing religious life between religious communities. As an umbrella for all state subsidiary entities, the state must be at the right balance point, both in terms of proportionality and when to take sides.

From the survey and monitoring and evaluation, five recommendations were produced which were then submitted to the Minister of Religion to become a reference in subsequent policy making.

First, the Minister of Religion needs to promote a religious moderation program in connection with the decline in the diversity relations index, especially because indicators of appreciation for customs and culture are low among religious adherents.

Second, the Minister of Religion must re-strengthen indicators of social piety as IKU which must be supported by measurable, tiered programs for all work units in the Ministry of Religion.

Third, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Religion needs to ensure that the Religious Piety (Social) Index is accommodated into routine planning and becomes a priority scale for Indonesia’s human development in the future.

Fourth, the manuscript for measuring the Piety Index in each directorate in detail needs to be aligned with the dimensions of social concern (caring, giving), human relations (diversity), ethics and character, preserving the environment, and obedience to the state and government.

Fifth, every religious instructor within the Ministry of Religion is encouraged to be able to prioritize social piety material, especially the five existing dimensions, especially in terms of focusing on activities related to the natural environment and social vulnerability in the surrounding area.

Three Legacy Programs

In the 2023 fiscal year, the Indonesian Ministry of Religion’s Research and Development and Training Center has succeeded in implementing a legacy program in the form of a masterpiece by the Ministry of Religion which is very useful for the development of Indonesian civilization into the future, especially in terms of developing religious life (Islam) and religious moderation. There are at least three legacy programs that have been successfully carried out by the Ministry of Religion Team, namely the completion of the writing and printing of the Braile Al-Quran Mushaf, the completion of the writing and printing of the Signed Al-Quran Mushaf, and the preparation and printing of Religious Moderation Comics.

After going through a process that took quite a long time, involving experts, and a lot of brainstorming, finally the three tasks were successfully completed, which can be seen in the form of printouts of 1000 Braile Al-Quran Mushaf books, 1000 Signed Al-Quran Mushaf books, and 1000 comic books on the topic of religious moderation. The hope is that the publication of these three products resulting from the work of Balitbang and Training of the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia will become a useful legacy for members of society, not only Muslims, but also other religious communities as a whole. (TEAM/Ed)