SMERU organized the Forum Pembangunan Daerah (FPD), or Regional Development Forum, in collaboration with the Provincial Government of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on 27 September 2023. 

The Forum brought together multiple stakeholders, including local government officials, academics, and other relevant actors, to address poverty and inequality. During this forum, SMERU underscored the significance of focusing on the children and youth in NTT’s development efforts, considering that child poverty rates in NTT consistently exceed the overall poverty rate. Three main topics were discussed: inclusive economic development, human resource quality improvement, and inclusive and sustainable tourism development. 

Stakeholders from diverse backgrounds in NTT should come together to enable the pooling of resources, build networks, coordinate efforts, and establish a solid role mapping to realize development that can reduce poverty and inequality.