Gustaff Iskandar

Gustaff is connecting people in Indigenous communities through the Internet as a way to address growing socio-economic inequalities and enable them to build resilience, ensuring a meaningful use of technology.

Gustaff is connecting people in Indigenous communities in Indonesia through the Internet as a way to address growing socio-economic inequalities and create new opportunities, ensuring meaningful use of technology and growing their resilience. Through this frugal model that combines infrastructure, community, culture and policy, urban and remote communities can connect and contribute their respective assets. Gustaff starts by building a community-based internet infrastructure and uses a culturally relevant approach to introduce the idea so the community can understand the potential benefits and build the capacity to sustain and grow the infrastructure. Once it is in place, Common Room leverages the School of Community Network (SCN) to train the community through a range of key topics from introduction to computers, introduction to the internet, positive internet usage, internet for community administrative offices, internet and disaster response, internet for economic opportunities, etc. The community is trained to independently manage the internet infrastructure and the revenues from internet users.

Common Room aims to make internet access bring more good than harm to rural and remote communities. To do so, four principles for community networks have been developed: Legal standing, Safety and Security, Affordability, and Meaningful Connectivity. After spending four years developing a proof of concept with the leaders of the Indigenous community in Ciptagelar, the model was replicated on 12 Indigenous communities in 5 different islands through trusted local partners and based on the 5L framework: Low Tech, Low Energy, Low Maintenance, Low Learning Curve, and Local Support.

Pursuing its original idea of connecting people and places, Common Room brings more partners to the table through the Rural ICT Camps that were launched in collaboration with ICT Watch & Relawan TIK. Key stakeholders such as local NGOs, Internet Service Providers, local government, and international donors can participate to learn about the model and explore opportunities to address the digital divide. Camps are also an opportunity to engage volunteers who can then contribute to the School of Community Network as facilitators and develop learning modules. Recognizing the model of Common Room, the Center Sulawesi government plans to build 100 community-based internet centers in the region through a regional hub established recently by Common Room. International organizations such as the Association for Progressive Communication (APC), Internet Governance Forum (IGF), Asia Pacific Internet Governance Forum (APrlGF) and the Asian Social Enterprise Institute also invited Gustaff to share the model in international spaces, creating opportunities for further replications in the region.

Indonesia is home to an estimated number of 50-70 million indigenous people. Indonesia has adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Still, the government does not fully accept the concept of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples in Indonesia are increasingly experiencing criminalization and violence, often related to investments in Indigenous territories. Regarding connectivity, the Indigenous community in Indonesia faces many challenges due to several geographic, economic, and policy-related factors. Indonesia has over 17,000 islands, many remote and have difficult terrain. This geographic diversity makes establishing and maintaining reliable internet and telecommunications infrastructure challenging. Indigenous communities, often located in more isolated areas, such as parts of Papua, Kalimantan, and Sumatra, are particularly affected. Many indigenous areas lack basic infrastructure, including roads and electricity, which are prerequisites for stable internet connectivity. The cost and complexity of building infrastructure in remote locations can be prohibitive, leading to significant disparities in access. The cost of deploying technology in remote areas is high, and the potential return on investment is low for private companies. This often results in less motivation for the private sector to invest in these areas. Another barrier is digital literacy. Indigenous populations might not have the same access to education and technological training, which limits their ability to utilize digital services. There is also the issue of content relevancy. Much of the available online content is not in local languages or adapted to local cultures, which diminishes the usability of internet services for Indigenous peoples.

While Indonesia is recorded as one of the world's greatest social media republics, the rural-urban internet access gap remains a great challenge. As reported in the 2016 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Indicators, the number of households with internet access in rural areas is nearly half of those in urban areas: 26.3% and 48.5%, respectively. According to Statistics, in 2019, more than 12,000 villages or 15% of total villages in Indonesia lacked 4G internet. And 94 million Indonesian adults are unable to use the Internet, Also, more people lack fixed broadband Internet service, 60 to 70% of the population in the east of the country suffer from fluctuations in the quality of service. The most important indicator is that 80% of these live in rural areas that are not accessible by metro. Most rely on satellites with limited data processing capacity.

The internet provides services including information, education, financial, public administration and entertainment. On the other, it presents the risks of negative content, misinformation and fraud. Hence, digital literacy and safety play a crucial role in supporting digital transformation. Electronic systems operators are thus responsible for creating a safe online environment, while users must be able to navigate that online environment wisely. Yet, Indonesia’s digital literacy rates remain relatively low – 61st out of 100 countries for its level of education and preparedness to use the internet, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. The Ministry of Communications and Information's Digital Literacy Index scores Indonesia at 3.49 (on a scale of 1 to 5) in 2021, with the digital safety indicator getting the lowest mark. Consumer safety and privacy, particularly concerning their data, have been a challenge in Indonesia. In 2020, there were 182 reported data breach cases, the highest rate within the last five years and an 810 percent jump from just 20 reported cases in 2016.

In addition, studies suggest a low percentage of the rural population possess the skills to effectively navigate the online world. Research by Suh, Pradini, and Abdullah in 2020 indicates that only 10% of rural households possess the digital literacy necessary to fully benefit from the internet. This highlights a crucial gap – while initiatives like Indonesia's "Palapa Ring Project" aim to expand internet access nationwide, many lack the foundational knowledge to leverage its potential. This lack of digital literacy creates a barrier to online education, government services, and economic opportunities, further marginalizing rural communities.

Since 2003, Gustaff has been committed to creating learning spaces in urban areas that can bring together diverse individuals, communities, and organizations to design, innovate, and co-create ideas to collaborate. In 2013, Gustaff realized that learning spaces had already been established in most urban areas, so he shifted to urban-rural collaboration platforms, starting with the Ciptagelar Indigenous Community in West Java. Indigenous communities are often seen as closed-minded and unwilling to collaborate with urban communities. Through his many interactions with the Ciptagelar Leaders community, Gustaff realized that working with the Indigenous community is about respecting cultural aspects that the community upholds. Gustaff listened carefully to what they wanted to learn and started doing something together. After spending four years prototyping the model at Ciptagelar, Gustaff designed the 5L framework: Low Tech, Low Energy, Low Maintenance, Low Learning Curve, and Local Support, which became the successful factor in creating a community-based Internet infrastructure including the set-up of internet equipment, training the local technician and digital literacy skill at Ciptagelar. The infrastructure has connected 37 hamlets in 11 villages at Ciptagelar, and Ciptagelar has received revenue of more than USD 370 K. This success story with Ciptagelar became a crucial part of expanding his work in different locations. The total cost of building the community-based infrastructure at Ciptagelar was around USD 50,000 in its prototyping period, but Gustaff has successfully reduced the cost to only USD 5,000 in other locations by updating the infrastructure components making it more efficient and affordable to replicate.

Gustaff and his team created four principles for his spread strategy: 1) Legal perspective. Every activity should align with applicable laws in Indonesia; 2) Safety. The destination is safe; 3) Affordability. The community can purchase the tools and equipment to build an internet system of their own. 4) Meaningful use. All programs should be beneficial for the community. These four principles have enabled Common Room to determine the next location they want to expand and allow the indigenous communities to have the same standard. Gustaff combines modernity and culture as an important aspect of working with the Indigenous communities. The cultural approach is the most important one because, somehow, people from urban areas forget that the Indigenous community has certain values that they have upheld for years. In every initial conversation with the community, Gustaff prioritizes the voices of the community and tries to adapt the model to the value of the community. Many projects with different Indigenous communities have failed because of different principles and other factors. Gustaff is not forcing the idea on the community. Instead, he strives for mutual benefit and meaningful contributions to the community. Gustaff always keeps the Common Room as agile as possible, opening many opportunities to collaborate with different partners in different locations.

Gustaff uses the internet infrastructure as a means. It is only the entry point for bringing many positive benefits to the community. That is why, besides the technical aspects, Gustaff also created the School of Community Network (SCN), unleashing the knowledge of the community with various modules developed by Common Room, Volunteers, Experts, and other organizations. Gustaff ensures every layer of the community gets the material they need. During COVID-19, the school played a crucial role in helping the children to join formal school virtually. The community can use the internet to get telemedicine and connect them to healthcare access from the government.

Moreover, SCN opened the eyes of the community to the fact that there is so much they can learn in the world. Common Room can see positive changes in the community, such as they can utilize the internet for creative ideas. Some people use it to access E-Commerce and sell local products, others want to develop disaster early warning systems, and some use the internet to create virtual cultural performances. Each of the 12 Indigenous communities has its own creative idea for maximizing internet access. It is also in line with what Common Room has been doing for years: creating a learning space so people can express themselves with creative ideas. Gustaff also intentionally expanded the model to 12 locations in 10 provinces that represent five big islands of Indonesia, which are Sumatera, Kalimantan Island, Java, Sulawesi and Papua and show how the model could work with different backgrounds and geography in Indonesia.

In addition, Gustaff engages the key actors outside the Indigenous community ecosystem, such as CSOs, the Ministry of Information, Universities and the International Organization on Rural ICT issues. Together with ICT Watch & Relawan TIK, Common Room created a Rural ICT Camp to strengthen the rural community's digital literacy. ICT Rural Camp was held at one of the locations where Common Room builds Community-Based Internet so the Common Room can reach more people from the area to learn digital literacy and connect them to the expert and potential funder in person. The camp used to showcase the work of Common Room and invite more people to be part of the program. It becomes an effective engagement strategy to find a strategic partner for the program.

Common Room started to get recognition from the local government. For example, the Central Sulawesi Government wants to replicate the model in 100 villages in the area, which inspired Gustaff to create a hub at the provincial level. This hub would be possible if the local government supported the idea and became a partner of Common Room. Gustaff also involves the university and vocational schools in the province to support the program and activate the network at the provincial level. Gustaff aims to activate the ecosystem at the provincial level so that the limitation of resources can be significantly avoided and become more systematic in the future. In addition, the SCN is currently being adopted as a knowledge repository that can be useful for other countries in Asia-Pacific countries by the Association for Progressive Communication (APC). It creates a new channel for Gustaff to expand his work to international spaces. Through international conferences such as the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and ISIF Asia and Asia Pacific Internet Governance Forum (APrlGF), Gustaff actively shares his work and enables him to expand his network with other countries in Southeast Asia & Asia. Gustaff found out that countries such as Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand are having similar issues of connectivity in their remote area and Indigenous communities. Gustaff sees this as an opportunity to expand his work in Southeast Asia and Asia in the future.

Gustaff was born in Sukabumi, a small town in West Java, Indonesia. He spent his childhood moving from one place to another, following his father, who worked for a mining company. Gustaff was able to learn about the rich culture of Indonesia and lived side by side in different communities. This was challenging at times as a kid who had to learn different local languages and cultures to fit in with his school friends. Being exposed to art was a turning moment for him and he was thrilled to study at the Faculty of Arts and Design in the Institut Teknologi Bandung (FSRD-ITB) and study fine art formally. During college, he was actively involved in student art organizations and became a student activist who responded to the socio-political crisis in Indonesia's pre-reform era.

Following his graduation from FSRD-ITB in 1999, a pivotal phase commenced as he embarked on a career as an artist. He co-founded Trolley magazine in Bandung which was a big hit at that period for urban-pop culture, being an independent medium dedicated to the evolution of contemporary arts, design, independent music, fashion, and urban culture. In 2000, he founded the Bandung Center for New Media Arts, an organization dedicated to fostering multidisciplinary arts bringing together the realms of art, science, and technology, particularly the emerging internet and digital technologies. After spending a few years with the organization, Gustaff co-founded Common Room in 2006 with three other founders, including his wife, as an open platform dedicated to nurturing arts, culture, ICT, and digital media.

As an artist, Gustaff has the privilege of building good relationships with various layers of society, including the Ciptagelar Indigenous Community which led to many collaborations between Common Room and Ciptagelar. In 2015, Gustaff and Abah Ugi, the leader of the Ciptagelar Community, agreed to co-create a Community-Based Internet Infrastructure as a collaborative effort to bring technology for the betterment of the Ciptagelar Indigenous community and now inspired other Indigenous communities in Indonesia to have the same model in their communities.