This meet-up is the third virtual meet-up about Indonesia’s accessibility. This time hosted by myself – Tangerang Local Guides and Jeany @travelbyjp (Bali Local guides) and technical support by Miftah @360bymiftah our lovely admin of Tangerang Local Guides. This mee-up is part of the celebration One accessibility WAW 2021: International Day of Person with Disabilities by Emeka.
This Meet-up was divided into 2 sessions:
The first session: I was sharing information about accessibility features in several places in Jakarta, also shared my experience attending the Inclusive Walk Tour last November which explored the accessibility of several public places in Jakarta.
I started my presentation by sharing 2 unique public facilities that have accessibility features: Difabis & Istiqlal Mosque. Difabis is (Difabel Baznas Bazis) is a kiosk that developed by Baznaz Bazis DKI. This kiosk is located at Kendal Tunnel at the MRT station Sudirman area, all staff is people with disabilities 
. While Istiqlal mosque is one of the biggest mosques in South East Asia, now Istiqlal is newly renovated and has disabilities features.
Some other public facilities like Lapangan Banteng Park, Cikini area, GBK - Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, and some malls which also accessibility friendly. I continued with sharing my great experience in participating Inclusive Walking Tour conducted by Institute for Transportation and Development (ITDP)
In this tour, participants are mixed: people with disabilities (included people with hearing impairment, visual impairment, wheelchair users) and people with no disabilities. I am so grateful learned many things during this walking tour. I was able to interact directly with everyone including people with disabilities and understand their different needs. For example, people with hearing impairment need visual guidance when they are using public facilities like the route of the bus, MRT, etc. Different from people with visual impairment, they need audio guidance, guided blocks, and braille signs when using public facilities. While wheelchair users need is a dedicated lane for them like a flat surface and ramp to get access when moving from one place to another, also the right space and height for their wheelchair. We found some places had accessibility features that accommodated the need of people with disabilities, however, only several facilities were effective for some reasons, for example, limited operation time, or the functions were not working well as expected.
Note:
All participants have given written consent to the committee regarding taking their photos during the event.
What I like about participating in this Inclusive Walking Tour by ITDP is that they provided a comprehensive program that not only facilitates the tour but also partners with relevant stakeholders that making this program more than a regular walking tour. At the end of this tour, the committee sent photos to all participants and also asked for feedback through an electronic survey about the event. This survey also as a follow up whether participants are willing to participate in relevant future discussions or forums regarding inclusive public transport and accessibility 
.
Key learning from this tour: because every disability has different needs, I encourage we as a local guide whenever possible, can add more detailed information about accessibility features when doing our review on google maps, for example: to include the availability of braille buttons, guided blocks, and audio guides in public facilities for blind persons; clear visual guidance for the hearing impaired and don’t forget to include more general accessibility features such as walks or toilets for wheelchair users. As per my discussion, accessibility information on google maps is useful for them.
The second session, presented by Jean which shared about accessibility in her city – Bali, Burger King Resto that employed Deaf Burger King Kuta Bali, which she believed the only resto in Bali that has this feature. Jean continued to share her experience while learning sign language in Bisindo (Bahasa Isyarat Indonesia) or Indonesia Sign Languange in Bali. The main reason why she is interested in learning sign language is that she read an article about security who helps people with disability at the atm during the pandemic. As part of learning, Bisindo students need to have interaction with the deaf community, therefore she was got the opportunity to meet with the Bali Deaf Community which we invited the head of the Community – Yunda Wardani, and a sign language translator - Setyawati.
After that, Jean read some messages from Teman Tuli (Deaf Communities) which encouraged everyone to respect people with disabilities and not to do ableism (the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior) as they have the same right as others. Because disability doesn’t mean inability!
And before closing, two of us shared our face-to-face meet-up at one of the disability-friendly cafes Sunyi Savory & Brewery - Alam Sutera who employed deaf peoples in Tangerang in early November. Jean met with one of the baristas (who wear stripes T-shirt) who knew some friends from Bisindo Bali. In frame 3 local guides: doc_dells, Jean, Miftah, and Ratri (behind me)
Here is the documentation of this meet-up:
Finally, we would like to thank you for the local guides who attended this meet-up from google meet also from Instagram Live, really appreciate your time: Annisa, Osama, Arati, Rahmat, Daffa, Yunda (Bali Deaf Community), Setyawati Prasodjo (Sign Languange) @AniaKiser @KashifMisidia @JaneBurunina @ErmesT @Zuhralc @Erna_LaBeau @Ddimitra @Ewaade_3A
doc_dells, Jean and Miftah
, sayangnya Google Meet belum memiliki pinned dua frame semoga kedepannya fitur terseda.
