Bincang ASEAN on Disaster Risk Management: Measure the Readiness of Member Countries in Dealing with Disasters

On Friday, July 15th, 2022, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah held a virtual Bincang ASEAN Discussion on the issue of disaster risk management. Rising the theme of “Measure the Readiness of Member Countries in Dealing with Disasters”, the Bincang ASEAN this time attempted to reveal how each of the ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN itself in aiding a disaster-prone area.

This time, we invited Dr. Daniel Petz as a keynote speaker, he is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Graz and has an interdisciplinary research interest in intergenerational climate justice and basic needs. In his presentation, Dr. Daniel Petz briefly explained the current trends, capacities, and challenges that are faced by Southeast Asian countries in disaster risk management. Dr. Daniel argued that ASEAN is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world due to natural hazards, and 7.68% of the global disaster mortalities occurred in the ASEAN region during the period of 2015 – 2020, ironically Southeast Asia contributed to 6.135 of the 79.834 deaths to the disasters that occurred worldwide in the period.

According to this matter, Dr. Daniel explained the cycle of disaster management when a disaster strikes an area. The step-by-step that should be included in the disaster management recycle include preparedness, individual disaster response, response/relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and last but not least mitigation/risk assessment prevention. This cycle of disaster management steps should have a correlation each to make sure that the humanitarian assistance is implemented on the right track. To be well-implemented, this cycle should be supported by the aspect of capacity, which is determined as a combination of all strengths, attributes, and resources available within a community, society, or organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals. This capacity may include infrastructure and physical means, institutions, societal coping abilities, as well as human knowledge, skills, and collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership, and management.

The trends in disaster risk management in Southeast Asia are divided into several sectors including national capacity building (laws and policies, institutional structures, national regional, and local capacity), regional capacity building, climate change adaptation and resilience building, international frameworks, and the challenges itself. To support this, ASEAN has established the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) to provide assistance in dealing with the disasters that occurred in the region. The Centre has also implemented numerous systems and tools to facilitate the ASEAN Member States’ coordinated and collective response to disasters. Since its establishment, the Centre has enacted emergency mechanisms for a total of 36 disasters in seven countries across the region as of March 2021, which includes preparedness and assessment missions on seven occasions. Speaking of the challenges, the regional approach to disaster risk management is limited in the funding and capacities that could be resourced. Also, the challenges that came from the DRM itself on its preparedness, coordination, international standards, localization, integration of DRR, and CCA, and the current situation on the Covid-19 Pandemic.

To conclude his presentation, Tunggul Wicaksono, our research manager moderated and bridged Dr. Daniel Petz’s presentation to be responded to by Septyanto Galan Prakosa as the discussant for this Bincang ASEAN. Tunggul Wicaksono highlighted and has marked some notes that the DRM has evolved with its reduction measures along with the people and communities’ system that was already established. However, the challenges remain at the local, national, and regional levels also in adaptation and resilience building on climate change. In the ASEAN context, the member states agreed to handle the disaster in collective cooperation, and AHS Center has successfully developed training for capacity building, that includes the preparedness and assessment mission.

To enrich the discussion, Septyanto Galan Prakosa, a Ph.D student at Sun Yat-Sen University also joined to give his particular point of view regarding this matter.

“If we compare to other regions or any other regimes of regional organizations, not all of part of the words have a set of actions regarding DRR and DRM respectively. For example, if we compare it with South Asia, they already have this kind of mechanism such as SAARC, however, it is not yet complete or comprehensive as what ASEAN has. Of course, if we compare it with the EU, we still have room to learn. The general idea is, that we have no role model to develop in the first place. Since this area is special, in terms of political relations, economic development, and socio-cultural situation, particularly in terms of disaster management, reduction, and prevention in the area that is prone to disaster. Even though only two countries are most likely struck by disasters, the Philippines and Indonesia, basically how the Philippines protected us from typhoons and how Indonesia saved the rest of the region from the big earthquake that happened alongside the ring of fire. Still, some form of cooperation is a big achievement for us. So, if we want to critique, just remember that ASEAN has the mechanism and alternatives that can be used in response to disasters. If we try to evaluate certain points of disaster management that should be taken into mind about mitigation, prevention, response, and recovery, I want to emphasize the terms of preparedness. Because what we have lacked in ASEAN, blatantly speaking, needs to rethink about is how to harmonize or synchronize the existence of disaster risk with the basic elements of the region, which is the people who live there.”

The discussion also became more interesting with the Questions and Answers session with participants that came from many different backgrounds. The talk was lively as participants were eager to raise questions on the development and regional approach toward disaster risk management in ASEAN.

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM#DRM #DisasterRiskManagement #Webinar #BincangASEAN#BringingASEANCloserToYou

 

Report by:

  • Syukron Subkhi (Media and Publication Officer)
  • Vanya Gerina A. (Programme Intern)

NACT Seminar “ASEAN Centrality and ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”

On the same day of the NACT Country Coordinators’ Meeting, Thursday 7 April 2022, the Network of ASEAN China Think-Tanks held an online webinar entitled “ASEAN Centrality and ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”. The webinar was co-chaired by the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace as the representative of NACT Cambodia and China Foreign Affairs University as the representative of NACT China. The webinar was conducted 2 hours after NACT Country Coordinators’ Meeting.

ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada as the focal point of NACT Indonesia, represented by Ms. Yulida Nuraini Santoso as the Managing Director of the center delivered a presentation on the topic “Understanding the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP): is Jakarta Steadily Warming up to Beijing?”. Mrs. Yulida highlighted several major points on how meaningful the partnership strategy for China and the ASEAN Member States is, with a minor focus on a case study on its implementation in Jakarta (Indonesia).

 

Report by:
Syukron Subkhi | Media and Publication Officer

#ASC #ASEANStudiesCenter #UGM #SoutheastAsia#BringingASEANCloserToYou #NACT#NetworkOfASEANChinaThinkTanks

ASC UGM Open House 2022 – The Engagement of Academia in Community Building

The existence of an academic approach to support community building in the ASEAN and the Southeast Asia region is essential. Academia has a role in engaging the regional development through critical and scientific research in maintaining the three ASEAN Pillars, and ASEAN Community Vision 2025. It is correlated with the development of the youth in the region, with about 20 million students in tertiary education, ASEAN may become a hotspot for higher education expansion and is expected to increase the number of young researchers and academia.

Since its establishment in 2013, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada has supported and enabled the participation of academia and researchers in research and outreach projects targeted at strengthening ASEAN-People engagement. ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada seeks to improve the dialogue between researchers and academia in response to emerging challenges and underline their contribution to regional development as a hub for researchers and students.

With this idea, on Friday 25 February 2022, the ASEAN Studies Center successfully held an Open House event, that aimed to introduce the institution and its research, programs, and outreach initiatives. The event is expected to invite and attract the interest from academia, specifically researchers and students, as well as experts, to engage and provide their contribution in regional development through critical and scientific research with ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada. The involvement could be engaged by several forms such as collaborative research, scientific and critical writing in ASEAN Notes, Policy Brief, Working Paper, and joining an internship program for young researchers and students.

Aside from that, the Open House event hosted a series of webinars titled “Academic Engagement in Community Building.” The purpose of the webinar is to address how researchers and academics may contribute to and assist the above-mentioned concerns. The webinar invited Mr. Muhammad Takdir (Head for Policy Strategy for the Asia Pacific and Africa Region, MOFA RI) as a keynote speaker and was moderated by Ms. Yulida Nuraini Santoso (Managing Director at ASC UGM). Several panelists have also been invited to enliven the discussion and provide responses to Mr. Takdir’s explanation, they are Mr. Lee Yoong Yoong (Director of Community Affairs Directorate ASEAN Secretariat); Dr. Alan Chong (Associate Professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, RSIS NTU); and Ms. Prodita Sabarini (Executive Editor at The Conversation Indonesia). To seek the point of view from the young researcher, the webinar also invited Felicitas Cahya from the student community UGM ASEAN Society.

The webinar came to a close with remarks from the keynote speaker and each panelist. Hopefully, the event would promote regional community-building awareness and bring the ASEAN Studies Center closer to researchers, academia, and students from various institutions and universities in ASEAN Countries and dialogue partners. Just as ASC UGM institution tagline -Bringing ASEAN Closer to You-.

 

*You can also watch the recorded webinar on our YouTube channel, ugm.id/youtubeascugm.

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM #ThinkTanks #OpenHouse #TalkShow #ResearchCenter #bringingaseanclosertoyou

 

Bincang ASEAN ReaLISM #3 | Reading, Learning, and Invesigating Southeast Asia through Movies

On Friday, 26th November 2021, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada held a Bincang ASEAN – ReaLISM #3 “Reading, Learning, and Investigating Southeast Asia through Movies.” In this Bincang ASEAN, ASC UGM hosts a screening of Southeast Asia-related documentaries with Mr. Tunggul Wicaksono as the moderator. The event screened a documentary movie, entitled “ an Online Citizen” directed by Calum Stuart.

An Online Citizen by Calum Stuart - Cinemata

The “an Online Citizen Movie” is featuring Terry Xu, a chief editor, videographer, writer and webmaster of The Online Citizen, one of Singapore’s few independent media outlets. With a lean team and a tight budget, it’s a struggle to keep the entire enterprise afloat in an environment where mainstream media is government-controlled and the ruling party doesn’t look kindly upon dissent. But with the introduction of anti-“fake news” legislation that would allow government ministers to become arbiters of truth, the environment in Singapore might become tougher than it’s ever been.

To enliven the discussion, in this event, we invited Calum Stuart, the movie director itself, Kirsten Han, journalist based in Singapora, and Dr. Budi Irawanto, a Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies UGM. The discussion about the “an Online Citizen” movie became more interesting with some Q&As and invited several perspective about freedom of press and journalism in Southeast Asia generally, due to issues of democratic repressive in the region.

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM #BincangASEAN #ReaLISM #AnOnlineCitizen #Singapore #freedomofspeech #MovieScreening #Journalist

Bincang ASEAN on Book Discussion | Indonesian Civil Society and Human Rights Advocacy in ASEAN

On Friday, 12th October 2021, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada held a Bincang ASEAN on Book Discussion. The discussion took place online by Zoom and streamed on ASEAN Studies Center Facebook page at 13.00 GMT. In this Bincang ASEAN, ASC UGM hosts a discussion on the Indonesian Civil Society and Human Rights Advocacy in ASEAN book authored by Dr. Randy W. Nandyatama.

The discussion has invited Dr. Randy W. Nandyatama as the book’s author and senior researcher at ASEAN Studies Center UGM. Furthermore, several academicians and practitioners on human rights advocacy were also invited to enliven the discussion. H. E Yuyun Wahyuningrum as Representative of Indonesia at AICHR and Senior Advisor at HRWG, Assoc. Prof. Anthony J. Langlois as an Associate Professor from College of Business, Government, and Law at Flinders University, and Asst. Prof. Deepak Nair as Assistant Professor of the Political Science National University of Singapore. The discussion was moderated by Yulida Nuraini Santoso as the Managing Director of ASEAN Studies Center UGM.

Dr. Randy W. Nandyatama enlightens up the discussion by starting a presentation in regards to the book. He divided the presentation into four parts: the central puzzle, analytical framework, the book’s main points, and revisiting the institutionalism of Human Rights in ASEAN. In the presentation, Dr. Randy stated that it is essential to increase and push conventional constructivism into something much more critical since the real commitment is for dissecting the myths associated with the norms dynamics. Dr. Randy also has in regards to Indonesian CSOs in the field of ASEAN. Further, Dr. Randy concluded his presentation on the book by revisiting the institutionalism of Human Rights in ASEAN that three unique patterns consist of supportive, critical, and adaptive. These three notable patterns contribute to nuanced normative struggle in Indonesia’s regional human rights issues and the ASEAN human rights institutionalization process.

H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum has also stated her opinion regarding the books; she agrees that the books are fascinating. She also indicated her agreement on the ideas of how civil society has helped to engage ASEAN. Perhaps she stated that this condition might be different in reality, and the implementation of human rights norms in ASEAN results from a long debate. Further, Assoc. Prof. Anthony J. Langlois has also stated that this book’s primary goal is to understand the subsequent progress in the institutionalization of human rights on ASEAN. He also agreed that The existing literature does not explain Civil Society Engagement well, so we didn’t have this vibrant idea. Further, he explained that this book is quite interesting in explaining this. Lastly, Asst. Prof. Deepak Nair has also stated his interest in the upbringing topics of this book. He noted that this book provided us with an account of institutionalism from the bottom-up perspectives and actors’ perspectives beyond actors.

The discussion also became more interesting with the Questions and Answers session with participants of this book discussion. The talk was lively as participants were eager to raise questions on the concept of civil society and the context of Indonesia and ASEAN. The discussion then wrapped up with the statement regarding the importance of keeping up the human rights advocacy in Indonesia and ASEAN essentially.

Report by:
– Citta Azarine A. (Median Intern at ASC UGM)

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter#ASC #UGM #BincangASEAN #BookDiscussion#HumanRights #Advocacy #CivilSociety #CSO

 

Bincang ASEAN ReaLISM #2 “Reading, Listening, and Investigating ASEAN through Movies”

On Friday, 29th October 2021, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada held a Bincang ASEAN – ReaLISM #2 “Reading, Learning, and Investigating Southeast Asia through Movies.” In this Bincang ASEAN, ASC UGM hosts a screening of Southeast Asia-related documentaries with Ms. Yulida Nuraini Santoso as the moderator. The event screened a documentary movie, entitled “ Sittwe”

To enliven the discussion, in this event, we invited Jeanne Hallacy, a photographer and documentary filmmaker of the movie, Mr. Irawan Jati, a PhD Candidate in School of Political Science and International Studies, and Thiha Wint Aung, a Senior Program Manager at Forum of Federations.

“Sittwe” is a story about two teenagers from opposing sides of deadly religious and ethnic conflict. The movie provides voice to the youth in a deeply divided society, to create a space for dialogue about reconciliation. Phyu Phyu Than is a Rohingya Muslim girl and Aung San Myint is a Buddhist boy from Myanmar. Both saw their homes burned down during communal violence in 2012. In the discussion, Jeanne Hallacy highlighted the issue of education which is part of human rights and social justice. Mr. Irawan Jati highlighted conflict resolution in the states, in which the current unstable political situation on Myanmar is a sincere narrative of survival. Meanwhile. Lastly, Thiha Wint Aung as the representative of youth from Myanmar in this discussion, he explained the history of the conflict, how the conflict could have occurred and how is the current condition of Myanmar. The discussion about the movie “Sittwe” became more interesting with a Q&A session with the participants of this event.

The discussion was concluded with the importance of understanding conflict, in which the dissemination of information plays an important role because information can be engineered and can lead to its perpetuation.

Bincang ASEAN “Myanmar Protests and Unrest: A Test of ASEAN Diplomacy”

On Friday, 23 April 2021, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada held a Webinar Series titled “Myanmar Protests and Unrest: A Test of ASEAN Diplomacy” which was led by Managing Director, Yulida Nuraini Santoso. The discussion highlighted the campaign of #FreeSawLin and diplomatic efforts by ASEAN member states during this crucial time, especially as the member states were scheduled to gather at the ASEAN Leader’s Meeting on Saturday, 24 April 2021.

Nicolas Jude Martinez, a representative of the #FreeSawLin campaign from the Global Campus Coalition for Human Rights (GCCHR) explained that the campaign was launched to bring together people from all regions to fight for equality, restorative justice, and democracy, especially in education. The arbitrary arrest of Saw Lin Htet, a citizen of Myanmar, who happened to be studying human rights is just one out of the many cases of people who had been affected by the restriction of freedom to education by the military Junta. Education is the gateway to livelihood and this in turn helps to create an economic safety net which is much needed for communities at risk.

From a regional point of view, Dr. Rizal Sukma, Central for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia, and former Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for UK, Ireland, and IMO explained that if any change were to happen, this would greatly depend on the Leaders Meeting and the negotiation package put forward by ASEAN member states. Despite the large criticism of member states acknowledging the military Junta by welcoming them at the Leaders meeting, he argues that this is in fact necessary for a meaningful dialogue to take place and serves a greater chance for killings and fatalities to come to an end.

The discussion also discussed the coup being a momentum for revisiting the ASEAN Charter which had for a long time been critiqued by the international community for excluding meaningful notions of responding towards human rights above Centrality and the mandate that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights can play in a situation as such. Dr Rizal states that, “we need more than just sanctions, we need the support of the international community. But for now, what is most important is how to stop the killings and how ASEAN can come together to assist in order to create a safe environment for a meaningful dialogue.”

The full webinar discussion can be accessed on our YouTube Channel, titled Bincang ASEAN “Myanmar Protests and Unrest: A Test of ASEAN Diplomacy” by following the link below:

ugm.id/youtubeascugm

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #Myanmar #Coup #CSIS #GlobalCampusCoalitionForHumanRights #WhatIsHappeningInMyanmar #FreeSawlin #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM

Bincang ASEAN on ASC Monograph 2020 “Small States, Strong Societies: Essays on Covid-19 Responses in Southeast Asia”

Tuesday, 19th January 2021 ASEAN Studies Center UGM held the webinar series in Bincang ASEAN on ASC Monograph 2020, entitled “Small States, Strong Societies: Essays on Covid-19 Responses in Southeast Asia.”

The webinar invites the contributors alongside the editors which has different background and prespective to further discuss about the development end the difference responses between ASEAN Countries in handling the Covid-19 Pandemic outbreak.

Every chapter inside the monograph bringing a regional and cross-national perspective to understand the Covid-19 response. The monograph show that three aspects explain the inequality of Covid-19 responses in Southeast Asia: the differing degree of state capacity, the resilience of society, and the regional cooperation.

Thank you for participating in #BincangASEAN together with contributors and editors from ASC Monograph 2020. Hopefully this webinar able to increase our insights regarding the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in ASEAN countries.

Stay safe, and healthy!

#BincangASEAN #ASC #UGM #AseanStudiesCenter #ASEAN #webinarseries #covid19 #Monograph #BringingASEANCloserToYou