Lian Gogali

Merlian "Lian" Gogali (born 28 April 1978) is an Indonesian human rights activist. She is known for her peacebuilding efforts and interfaith work in Poso Regency.

Biography Gogali was born on 28 April 1978 in Taliwan, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. She studied theology at Duta Wacana Christian University in Yogyakarta.

Between 1998 and 2001, the Poso riots occurred in Poso Regency between its Christian and Muslim communities, resulting in the deaths of at least 1000 people before the signing of the Malino I Declaration which formally ended the conflict. At the time, Gogali was studying for a master's degree in cultural studies at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta. When she returned to Poso, she noted the "bitterness" that the conflict had left in the area, and decided to complete her dissertation on its causes. Between 2003 and 2004, Gogali completed interviews with hundreds of women, including refugees, and came to believe that the cause of the conflict was not religion, as reported in the media, but rather political and economic interests in the area causing division. In 2009, Gogali published a book based on her research entitled The Poso Conflict: Voices of Women and Children Towards Reconciliation and Remembrance.

While Gogali initially considering remaining in Yogyakarta following the completion of her studies, after a refugee in Silanca asked her "how is [your research] going to change our lives?", she decided to return to Poso. Mosintuwu initially operated from the porch of Gogali's home; the word mosintuwu being the Pamona term for "to work together". Gogali initially found it difficulty to operate the organisation due to Poso's feudal and patriarchal culture, in addition to her status as an unmarried mother. In 2015, Gogali was nominated by the United States embassy in Jakarta to be among five women given the Indonesian Women of Change Award in recognition of their efforts to improve gender equality in Indonesia.

Gogali received the 2022 Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Worship.