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Dedi Arifka is a public administration professional and programme leader working at the intersection of public policy, community development, climate resilience, youth engagement, and social inclusion. As Program Director of DEEP EnGender, he leads the planning and implementation of programmes and research initiatives, coordinates teams and partnerships, supports grant management, and oversees programme reporting.

Based in Aceh, Indonesia, his work is informed by experience in policy analysis, higher education, research administration, and community-based initiatives. He has worked with government institutions, universities, civil society organisations, international partners, and communities affected by disaster risk, inequality, and limited access to public services.

At DEEP EnGender, Dedi helps translate the organisation’s strategic priorities into practical programmes. His responsibilities include programme development, operational coordination, partnership management, budgeting and financial reporting, team supervision, documentation, and communication with institutional partners. His work contributes to DEEP EnGender’s initiatives across ecological justice, peace, gender justice, youth leadership, Indigenous knowledge, and inclusive community development.

His policy experience includes contributing to the Regional Disaster Management Plan of the Aceh Disaster Management Agency. In this role, he supported policy analysis for climate-responsive disaster planning and the integration of gender equality, social inclusion, and community resilience into policy recommendations. He previously taught in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry in Banda Aceh, where he supported undergraduate teaching, student supervision, research, and community engagement.

Dedi has also contributed to collaborative programmes involving climate-ready primary health care, child and adolescent wellbeing, youth climate education, and regional capacity development. His experience includes research administration, data analysis, programme implementation, stakeholder coordination, and the preparation of technical and financial reports.

He holds a Master of Public Administration from Universitas Gadjah Mada and a Bachelor of Public Administration from Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry. His academic research has examined poverty policy evaluation, maladministration, economic inequality, and the governance of public services in Aceh.

Through his combination of policy analysis, programme management, research, and community engagement, Dedi strengthens DEEP EnGender’s capacity to deliver accountable, well-coordinated, and locally relevant initiatives. He works in Indonesian, English, and Acehnese, supporting communication with communities and partners across different institutional and cultural settings.

Education

• 2022 — Master of Public Administration (MPA), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
• 2020 — Bachelor of Public Administration, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Indonesia

Selected Programmes and Grant-Supported Initiatives

• Project Lead, Reusam Srimusim: Aceh Goes to School, Aceh, Indonesia, 2025
  Led a World YMCA-supported initiative strengthening young people’s climate awareness and action through education grounded in local knowledge.
• Program Officer, Youth-Inclusive Learning Academy, Southeast Asia, 2025–present
  Supports a regional informal education and capacity-development programme funded through the Youth Empowerment Fund, with support from the European Union.
• Data Analyst, CORE-STEP: Advancing Innovative Knowledge-Based Solutions for Inclusive and Climate-Ready Primary Health Care Systems, Indonesia, 2023–2024
  Contributed to data analysis for an initiative supported by the Australian Government through KONEKSI, the Australia–Indonesia Knowledge Partnership Platform.
• Project Administrator, Safe Communities Safe Schools: Addressing Wellbeing and Security Needs among Urban Children and Adolescents in the Digital Era, Indonesia, 2019–2025
  Supported the administration of a research and implementation collaboration involving DIGNITY, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Copenhagen, Universitas Indonesia, and Universitas Syiah Kuala.

International and Professional Engagements

• DEEP EnGender Representative and Participant, 8th United Nations Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, 14–17 September 2026
  Engaged in regional discussions on corporate accountability, human rights due diligence, access to remedy, sustainability, and emerging responsible-business challenges in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Organising Committee Member, International Conference on Democracy and Political Futures, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 2024
• Organising Committee Member, 17th International Indonesia Forum, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 27–28 August 2024

Selected Publication

Marzaniar, P., Arifka, D., Syahputra, D. I., and Rahmah, U. (2024). “Kemiskinan dan Ketimpangan Ekonomi: Studi Kasus Pra dan Pasca Otonomi Khusus Aceh” [Poverty and Economic Inequality: Aceh Before and After Special Autonomy]. Al-Ijtima’i: International Journal of Government and Social Science, 9(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.22373/jai.v9i2.4229

Selected Graduate Research

Arifka, D. (2023). Evaluasi Kebijakan Kemiskinan Menggunakan Metode Outcome Harvesting: Studi Kasus Peraturan Bupati Nomor 58 Tahun 2017 tentang Program Pengentasan Kemiskinan di Kabupaten Aceh Besar [Evaluating Poverty Policy Using Outcome Harvesting: A Case Study of the Aceh Besar Poverty Alleviation Programme]. Master’s thesis, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.

Arifka, D. (2020). Responsivitas Lembaga Ombudsman Republik Indonesia Perwakilan Provinsi Aceh dalam Menangani Laporan Maladministrasi [The Responsiveness of the Indonesian Ombudsman’s Aceh Representative Office in Handling Maladministration Reports]. Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Indonesia.

Selected Research and Creative Contributions

• Contributed to data analysis and the development of the CORE-STEP: Climate-Ready and Inclusive Primary Health Care Dashboard, 2024.
• Contributed to SEULANGA: Social-Emotional Learning for Adult–Children Wellbeing, 2024.
• Illustrator and graphic designer for Nurturing Nature: Indigenous Stewardship in Indonesia’s Structural Ecological Crisis, a DEEP EnGender collaborative book manuscript currently under review, 2026.