Short Films Serve as Educational Tool for Village Funds, Aditya Yusma's Initiative Involves Thousands of Villages
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Jaga Desa Award short film competition programme is being utilised as a tool for supervision and transparency at the village level. This initiative has successfully attracted participation from more than 3,300 villages across Indonesia.
Aditya Yusma, Secretary General of the National Village Consultative Body Association (Abpednas) and the initiator, stated that short films were chosen because they are close to the community and effective in conveying development messages. This medium is considered capable of reaching the public widely while encouraging participation.
“The Jaga Desa Award short film competition is a form of appreciation from the Republic of Indonesia Attorney General’s Office together with Abpednas, on how these villages are not only promoted in terms of tourism or culture, but also able to understand the Jaga Desa programme so that in the future there are no more or fewer village heads caught in criminal cases,” said Aditya on Wednesday (22/4/2026).
According to Aditya, the programme does not only focus on creativity, but also serves as a means of education and social control. Village communities are encouraged to participate in monitoring the implementation of government programmes.
“Through short films, village communities can convey the reality on the ground while also participating in supervision. This is part of our efforts to build transparent and integrity-filled villages,” said Aditya.
The enthusiasm of participants is considered high with the involvement of thousands of villages from various regions. This participation reflects the increasing awareness of villages towards transparency and governance.
“Alhamdulillah, it was followed by more than 3,300 villages across Indonesia. This shows the spirit of villages to develop while actively participating in the Jaga Desa programme,” said Aditya.
In the 2026 Jaga Desa Award event, Desa Karangmangu, Kroya Subdistrict, Cilacap Regency, Central Java, won the overall champion in the short film category. Several other awards were also given to regions and villages with the best contributions.
The programme is hoped not only to produce creative works, but also to have an impact on improving village governance. Transparency and accountability are the main goals of the initiative.
“Hopefully, it not only gives birth to inspirational works, but also able to suppress potential deviations, so that our villages become more advanced, transparent, and independent,” said Aditya.