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This study aims to describe the issues and problems of community participation related to the empowerment program entitled PKPT (Development of Strong Coastal Area) in the coastal areas. This study also discusses the importance of creating a participatory development model. This study is essential because PKPT implementation is specific, combining the top-down participation mechanism from the central government with the bottom-up mechanism, namely the northern coastal communities in South Java. The combination of the two mechanisms illustrates the complexity of issues and problems that are not simple because they involve the interests of the central government and the interests of ordinary citizens in coastal areas. Moreover, the focus of this study has yet to be widely studied by previous studies. This study uses a qualitative method applying an action research approach. The informants of the research are organizers of the coastal community, heads of village and village officials, and personnel of the Marine and Fisheries Service of Kebumen Regency in South Java. The result shows that implementing the PKPT program in coastal areas of Java, especially in Kebumen, uses both top-down and bottom-up mechanisms resulting in low participation of the community in the implementation of PKPT substantively. Thus, implicating the lack of sustainability in the empowerment program. This study presents a participatory development model that is expected to be a reference in organizing a sustainable empowerment program for the coastal areas in the future.

The role of women in development up to now has not been maximally played although reformation era has opened thespace for women to actively participate.Related to pilkada (local election), women empowerment should be considered as an interesting andimportant issue for campaign. However, based on the cases elaborated in this research, most candidates did not take into account womenempowerment programs as political communication strategy in campaign. There are two reasons which can logically explain thisphenomenon; first, women empowerment issue was not considered as important as other issues which can directly answer the crucial socialproblems such as poverty alleviation, providing job opportunities for unemployment or dealing with expensive fee for education so that noteffective to attract the voters. Second, there was an assumption that sex does not have significant relation with political choice of voters. Itmeans female voters do not always vote for female candidates or candidates focusing on women empowerment programs. Finally, issuesrelated to women role improvement were not much included in campaign materials of either male or female candidates to catch theattention of voters.

The role of women in development up to now has not been maximally played although reformation era has opened thespace for women to actively participate.Related to pilkada (local election), women empowerment should be considered as an interesting andimportant issue for campaign. However, based on the cases elaborated in this research, most candidates did not take into account womenempowerment programs as political communication strategy in campaign. There are two reasons which can logically explain thisphenomenon; first, women empowerment issue was not considered as important as other issues which can directly answer the crucial socialproblems such as poverty alleviation, providing job opportunities for unemployment or dealing with expensive fee for education so that noteffective to attract the voters. Second, there was an assumption that sex does not have significant relation with political choice of voters. Itmeans female voters do not always vote for female candidates or candidates focusing on women empowerment programs. Finally, issuesrelated to women role improvement were not much included in campaign materials of either male or female candidates to catch theattention of voters.

Previous research has focused on the implementation of Development Planning Deliberation (DPD) as a tool to improve development communication among stakeholders, but few have explored this issue in the context of democratization in rural economies. Success in DPD is often determined by the capacity and competence of human resources in the government sector, public service, administration, and socioeconomic empowerment. This study examines the use of Development Planning Deliberation as a participatory communication tool in four agritourism villages of Central Java Province, Indonesia. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, including a questionnaire survey and a qualitative case study. The research findings show that Development Planning Deliberation fosters democratic decision-making, allowing stakeholders to express their aspirations and make decisions based on community needs and issues. Development Planning Deliberation creates a non-discriminatory culture and promotes decision-making based on mutual agreement. This study provides valuable insights into communication studies, highlighting the strategic characteristics required in the development planning process, particularly in the context of democratisation in rural economies.