Public implementation of government programs for poverty alleviation: public sphere utilization in Brebes, Indonesia

Abstract

The utilization of the public space and sphere is considered to be crucial for poverty alleviation. As the Brebes district in Indonesia has the largest percentage of poor people in Central Java (19.14%), the district head has established a Poverty Alleviation Section to identify the underlying causes as well as some possible solutions. Research shows that, by opening channels of discussion and sharing ideas inside the public sphere as well as by opti­mizing the public space, the population of Brebes will be able to change all aspects of life, including seizing new economic opportunities. The framework of this research used the eight elements of the public sphere along with the active reception model of communication and cross-road communication. The data used was gathered through in-depth observation, focus group discussions, together with both open-ended and unstructured interviews conducted between June 2017 and April 2018. Document and literature reviews, which contributed to support the analysis of this paper, were compiled using library work, fieldwork, and Internet research.