Indonesia holds Mandaya Awards 2026 to honor community empowerment

The Coordinating Ministry for Community Empowerment held the Mandaya Awards and Innovilleague Awards 2026 in Jakarta to recognize entities contributing to poverty reduction and community empowerment. Coordinating Minister Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar emphasized a national shift from social assistance models toward sustainable community empowerment.

Key recipients included four Sekolah Rakyat (People's Schools) for excellence in education: SRT 1 Kediri, SRT 1 Takalar, SRT 1 Bogor, and SRMA 14 West Bandung. Dompet Dhuafa was also recognized for its economic independence and health programs. Additionally, the Gorontalo Provincial Government received an award for being the best province in reducing poverty, supported by BPS data showing a decrease in the local poverty rate to 12.16 percent.

Minister Muhaimin noted that national poverty rates have seen improvements, with extreme poverty dropping from 2.8 million to 1.7 million people according to 2026 BPS data. The awards focused on the tangible impact of programs rather than the size of the institutions or their budgets.