This report serves as the Annual Progress Report for the Fiscal Year 2011 (October 2010-September 2011) as well as the Quarterly Progress Report for SERASI activities for July – September 2011.

“The flexible nature of the SERASI contract with USAID has allowed us to develop a program that addresses many of the critical needs of Papuan communities,” said James Grall, SERASI Chief of Party during his opening remarks.

In September, SERASI continued to address health, education, governance, and related community needs through crosscutting grants to local organizations in the Jayapura area (consisting of Jayapura City and the Districts of Jayapura and Keerom) and the Pegunungan Tengah (Central Highlands) region.

Communication is integral to productive and peaceful communities. In remote areas, finding ways to facilitate exchanges between government and citizenry can be challenging. Community radio journalism plays a key role in this exchange and provides active, safe spaces for communication between citizens and government.

Garin and other media experts were speaking at the Television Journalism Awards for Peace and Multiculturalism in Jakarta on September 30, 2010. The awards were organized by the SET Foundation under a grant from the USAID SERASI project.