Transmigration Ministry to Involve Youth in Developing Transmigration Areas

The Ministry of Transmigration is preparing thousands of new economic growth centres through the Transmigrasi Patriot programme. The programme invites young talent to play a role in developing transmigration areas across various regions. The Transmigrasi Patriot programme is a government effort to strengthen regional development while reducing inequality of opportunity in different areas. Minister of Transmigration M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara stated that Indonesia’s future development cannot rely solely on established centres of government or economy. ‘The future of Indonesia will not be built only from Jakarta. The future of Indonesia will be built from thousands of new growth centres spread across the archipelago,’ Iftitah said in an official statement on Sunday. According to Iftitah, the transmigration programme has so far produced 1,567 definitive villages, 466 sub-district capitals, 116 district capitals, and three provincial capitals. However, he assessed that the biggest challenge today is no longer income disparity, but inequality of opportunity in developing regional potential and human resources. ‘The greatest inequality we face today is not income inequality. The greatest inequality for our nation is inequality of opportunity,’ Iftitah said. Through the Transmigrasi Patriot programme, the Ministry of Transmigration aims to broaden the distribution of talent, knowledge, technology, and innovation to transmigration areas. The programme involves researchers, lecturers, innovators, and agents of change to support regional development. Iftitah said the transmigration paradigm is no longer solely focused on population movement, but also on the transfer of knowledge, technology, and talent. He also invited universities to participate through the Patriot Expedition Team so that research results and innovations can be directly applied in the community. ‘We want to bring science closer. We want to bring campuses closer to the community. We want to make transmigration areas living laboratories for Indonesia’s development,’ Iftitah said. According to him, collaboration between universities and the government is expected to accelerate the creation of new economic growth centres while improving the welfare of communities in transmigration areas.