The Jakarta Archdiocese brought together parish-based humanitarian initiatives in its first Sociopreneur Night Festival, held at the Wisma Samadi Pastoral Centre in East Jakarta.
The event aimed to inspire innovation and compassion-driven projects across the archdiocese’s 68 parishes, which span West Java and Banten provinces.
The festival featured 30 sociopreneur initiatives, presenting their work to a panel of juries that included business leaders, sociopreneurs, priests, and professionals.
It also served as a platform for sharing best practices to promote collaboration and inspire others to replicate successful programs.
“It is a forum where all parties are expected to share their best practices so that a role model for humanitarian initiatives could be publicly exposed to parishioners to replicate this good initiative for the sake of our common good,” said Father Suyadi, director of the Jakarta Archdiocese’s Charity Humanitarian Agency (LDD).
Spotlight on parish initiatives
The event celebrated standout initiatives, including Megantara Edupark, a project led by St. Barnabas Parish Church in Pamulang.
The Edupark, revitalized in 2023 under Father Petrus Cipto Nugroho, transforms a formerly underutilized space into an environmental education and recreation center.
“The premise is not only a public facility where people can go fishing but also has been becoming a water catchment area,” said a Pamulang Parish representative during the event.
Renamed from “Kebun Darling,” the modernized Edupark has become a popular destination for both Catholics and non-Catholics in the Pamulang subdistrict, earning recognition as a best-practice model.
Supporting education for marginalized
Another highlight was the Yayasan Karsa Cipta Asa (YKCA) Foundation, which provides financial aid to Catholic youth from remote areas.
Its Program Pintu Depan (Front Door Program), launched in 2023, has supported numerous students in pursuing higher education.
Father Yustinus Ardianto, Chief of the Wisma Samadi Pastoral Centre, lauded the foundation’s efforts and encouraged its team to sustain their mission.
“Father Yustinus Ardianto strongly boosted morale of YKCA’s activists to execute its best practices to replenish opportunity for Catholic young people to go to college despite their family’s financial challenges,” noted the foundation.
While the Jakarta Archdiocese also runs the ASAK (Ayo Sekolah, Ayo Kuliah – Let’s Go to School, Let’s Go to College) program, ASAK primarily serves local parishioners from disadvantaged families, unlike YKCA’s nationwide reach.
Professor Paulus Wirutomo, a sociologist and professor emeritus from the University of Indonesia, also showcased his work at the festival.
Along with his wife, Yayik Moerdopo, he founded the Yayasan Rangkul Peduli Sesama (Shoulder and Care for Others Foundation) to support families of garbage collectors and scavengers.
“Our main objective to establish this humanitarian initiative is taking care of the unluckiest people in our surrounding – mostly the family’s members of the garbage collectors and scavengers,” Prof. Wirutomo said.
Archbishop’s support for grassroots movements
Jakarta Archbishop Ignatius Cardinal Suharyo, who was expected to attend, could not make it due to exhaustion following a visit to remote areas of the Timika Diocese in Papua.
Speaking on behalf of the archdiocese’s socio-economic commission, Father Adrianus Suyadi praised the Sociopreneur Night as a groundbreaking event.
“This first ‘festival’ move strongly expected more and more humanitarian initiatives come to rise in the near future,” he said.
The Sociopreneur Night Festival reflects the Jakarta Archdiocese’s commitment to empowering parishioners to address social challenges, blending entrepreneurial innovation with faith-based compassion.