City of Makassar: Makassar Inclusive City Movement

The Makassar Inclusive City Movement is a transformative collaboration between Kota Kita, City of Makassar, and organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), inspired by similar efforts in Surakarta and Banjarmasin. The movement arose to address the long-standing separation of disability issues from urban development and the lack of an updated local framework on disability. To bridge this gap, the movement began in June 2025 with a participatory mapping process. This effort, which reached even the most marginalized island communities, documented 5,171 persons with disabilities (PwDs), three times higher than official figures. By recognizing OPDs as experts, not just subjects, the process brought to light significant gaps in city planning and emphasized the need for accurate, representative data.

These findings led the Local Development Planning Agency to form a new disability team and update the Local Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities (RAD PD), following the principle of "nothing about us without us." For the first time, persons with diverse disabilities played a leadership role in shaping city policies. The Mayor reinforced this shift by appointing a young woman with a disability as expert staff, ensuring PwDs' perspectives directly influenced decision-making.

The disability profile and action plan team sparked several institutional changes: Makassar's first thematic participatory planning and budgeting forum for vulnerable groups was launched, with dedicated spaces for women, older people, children, and other marginalized voices. These forums created truly inclusive platforms for dialogue, aligning policy with the community aspirations. Kota Kita's support continued through the SUARA Inklusi (Inclusive Voice) coalition where ten OPDs working together for evidence-based advocacy. The coalition conducted its first OPD-led accessibility audit of public spaces. Going beyond physical features, this audit considered invisible disabilities and included the voices of parents of children with autism and Down syndrome. The ongoing development of guidelines for accessibility audits have the potential to influence inclusive development in cities across Indonesia.

Through these collaborative efforts, Makassar has set a new benchmark for inclusive, data-driven urban policy. By centering the voices and needs of PwDs, the movement has fostered a sustainable model for urban inclusion, one that is both locally transformative and nationally replicable.

Learn more about it: 

https://kotakita.org/youth-led-participatory-data-for-disability-inclusive-city-in-makassar  

https://kotakita.org/suara-inklusi-strengthening-the-capacity-of-organizations-of-persons-with-disabilities-towards-a-disability-friendly-makassar-city- 

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1940.pdf 

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1941.pdf 

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1942.pdf