DEPOK,
Department of Communication Science, Postgraduate Program FISIP University of Indonesia held a Doctoral Promotion session on Monday, December 15, 2025 at 10:00-12:00 WIB at Juwono Sudarsono Auditorium (AJS). The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Ricardi S. Adnan as the Session Chair. The promoter team consisted of Prof. Dr. Donna Asteria, M.Hum. as promoter and Dr. Irwansyah, M.A. as co-promoter. The examination team consisted of Titik Puji Rahayu, Ph.D., Dini Widinarsih, Ph.D., Dr. Nina Mutmainnah, M.Si., Dr. Endah Triastuti, M.Si., and Dr. Ummi Salamah, M.Si.
In the session, Ikrima Nurfikria defended her dissertation entitled “Digital Alternative Media Participation with Disabilities: Negotiating Power to Strengthen Media Democratization in Indonesia.” This dissertation raised the participation of alternative media with disabilities as a form of struggle for power redistribution in the mainstream media space that tends to marginalize disability issues.
With a multi-case study approach and ethnography of media production, this research emphasizes that the participation of disabled people in media production is not just a representation, but a political practice of knowledge that challenges the charitable and ableistic bias in mainstream media. This dissertation also asserts that media democratization is not simply understood as normative jargon, but as political work that demands real alignment.
In her dissertation, Ikrima explained that digital alternative media with disabilities play an important role in redistributing the power of message production, as well as being a space for identity articulation, rights advocacy, and resistance to stigma. However, the practice of participation is still faced with various structural barriers, ranging from limited access to technology that is not disability-friendly, limited resources and funding, to the lack of strong support for inclusive media policies.
In her academic speech, Ikrima asserted “Disabled participation will never reach its fullest form without a collective commitment to minimize the barriers that limit them.” This dissertation also introduces the Disabled Media Participation Tree Model, a conceptual framework that places aspects of accessibility, equality, policy affirmation, and meaningful participation as the roots of an inclusive media democratization process. At the end of the session Ikrima Nurfikria was declared to have passed with a very satisfactory predicate. She was listed as the 159th Doctor of Communication Science as well as the 82nd female Doctor from the Department of Communication Science FISIP UI. (MAP)
