Making sense of cultural commoning in the streets; Popular trust within the Info Cegatan Jogja (ICJ) community

The need for inclusive shared spaces that offer tangible solutions rather than just information has become increasingly urgent, given the limits of state resources. Facebook-based Info Cegatan Jogja (ICJ), with over a million members, uniquely showcases civil society’s productive use of social media. The ICJ project began by documenting police checkpoints (cegatan) and bureaucratic hurdles in Yogyakarta. It has since evolved into a combined online and offline community that regularly reports accidents, thefts, lost items, and other public concerns, effectively functioning as a public awareness, complaint, and information-sharing platform for the entire Yogyakarta Special Region Province. Given the emerging mutual interest in the ICJ, the following question arises: How do the shared practices of cegatan reporting turn Facebook into a space for cultural exchange? To address this research question, the methodology employed consisted of a qualitative approach centred on ethnographic and documentary analysis. Primary data collection comprised observations and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders, including ICJ representatives, public officials, and community members. The findings of this research show that ICJ’s family-like atmosphere, where personal problems are consistently and successfully resolved through the combined efforts of its ICJ volunteers and the reach of its network, acts as a catalyst for cultural commoning

Sense of community · Sense of place · Asian Studies and History · Cultural Identity and Representation · HIV, TB, and STIs Epidemiology