ASC UGM at FISIPOL UGM Research Days 2022

Last week on FISIPOL Research Days 2022, our research on Halal Tourism has been presented by Dra. Siti Daulah Khoiriati as the lead researcher of this research project.

In this research, our research team found numerous issues and major keyfindings that are faced by the halal tourism communities in Yogyakarta. In terms of this, our Center managed to share the knowledge for the empowerment of tourism villages in Yogyakarta.

Several questions arose from the participants, start from how the halal tourism is able to increase the interest of the tourism rather than a regular tourism, also how the stakeholders could support the development of the halal tourism. Other than that, there is a question about how can the interest between halal tourism and regular tourism could be taken into a common benefit.

The product of this research are Policy Briefs, and Infographic that can be accessed through the following link.

Policy Briefs: ugm.id/ASCPolicyBriefs
Infographic: ugm.id/ASCInfographic

Bincang ASEAN on Book Launching “ASC Monograph 2021: Advancing Southeast Asia through Gender Mainstreaming”

Gender inequality is a significant issue in Southeast Asia since most countries are patriarchal and gender-based violence is pervasive. Local grassroots movements for gender equality have grown as a result. One of the discourses that advocacy movements promote to policymakers is gender mainstreaming, a globally inclusive method to make gender equality a reality. Alarming gender-based problems, such as gender-based violence brought on by gender inequity, are seen to be resolved by insisting on a broader gender perspective in the policymaking process.

On Tuesday, September 13th, 2022, the ASEAN Studies Center held a webinar series on Bincang ASEAN to launch the latest publication by the center entitled ASC Monograph 2021: Advancing Southeast Asia through Gender Mainstreaming. The webinar is purposed to disseminate the publication and discuss gender mainstreaming efforts in Southeast Asia. All contributors to the monograph will be invited to the webinar to discuss their findings and complete the discourses on Southeast Asia’s effort in mainstreaming gender alongside the editor and the audience.

To debate their findings and round out the discourses on Southeast Asia’s efforts to mainstream gender with the editor and audience, other contributors to the monograph were invited to the webinar. Author of Chapter 4 Vanesha Febrilly gave an account of the government’s intervention in Setu Garment Factory, West Java, Indonesia to protect the reproductive rights of female garment workers. Mia Hyun, the author of Chapter 6, provided an explanation of a situation of violence against women in ASEAN, focusing in particular on the governance framework for policy reform. Last but not least, Durrotul Mas’udah and Syukron Subkhi, the writers of Chapter 11, discussed the negative stigmas that single mothers in Indonesia endure as well as the community that supports them.

Along with the writers, the editorial boards’ H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum from the AICHR and Joel Mark Baysa-Barred from Mahidol University have been invited to participate in the conversation as discussants. Their concluding remarks regarding their support for gender mainstreaming, advocacy, and equality in the ASEAN Region brought the discussion to a close.

Regionally, member state collaboration on the eradication of gender-based worrying concerns is limited, notwithstanding ASEAN’s initiative on gender mainstreaming via the ASEAN Gender Mainstreaming Strategic Framework. The gender awareness and commitment of ASEAN member states are also in doubt given Southeast Asia’s patriarchal culture. In the region, efforts to eradicate issues like the violence that is gender-based have not made much success. It inspired ASEAN to take on a bigger role in supporting member nations’ dedication to gender mainstreaming and fostering collaboration to end gender-based challenges.

 

Report by 
Syukron Subkhi
Media and Publication Officer
ASEAN Studies Center UGM

NACT Working Group Meeting 2022 | ASEAN-China Partnership: Mainstreaming the ASEAN Blue Economy to Accelerate Post-pandemic Recovery

In light of the difficulties in setting up a strong and fair legal framework, ocean exploitation is likely inevitable. ASEAN and China must build on the platform’s long-term potential and unlock the platform’s capabilities that are still underdeveloped for regions that rely heavily on the marine ecosystem. The partnership between the two parties was established at the ASEAN Summit in October 2021 in order to respond to this issue. The ASEAN Leaders’ Blue Economy Declaration is a manifestation of the ASEAN-China Partnership on Blue Economy. This shows a strong commitment to promoting sustainable development, particularly in the marine economy, as well as an effort to strengthen multilateral cooperation.

To generate a broader critical measure on this issue, the Network of ASEAN-China Think-Tanks held o Working Group Meeting on the mainstreaming of the ASEAN Blue Economy to Accelerate Post-Pandemic Recovery. Co-hosted by NACT China which is represented by the China Foreign Affairs University and NACT Indonesia which is represented by ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada, the working group meeting took place on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, through an online platform meeting in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic.

A representative of the blue economy expert from each of the 10 ASEAN member states and China represented by the NACT country coordinators have been invited to attend the meeting. Meeting participants are expected to gain an understanding of the Blue Economy and what it means for ASEAN member states and China, as well as identify best practices from each NACT representative, the main goals of this working group meeting. There are a few other objectives for the meeting, which include identifying possible strategic plans that ASEAN and China can use as the foundation for mutually beneficial cooperation.

The meeting was opened by the welcoming remarks from the Executive Director of ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada (Dr. Dafri Agussalim) as the country coordinator for NACT Indonesia. In his remarks, Dr. Dafri highlighted

“The importance of this meeting to be conducted is not only to gather and exchange constructive ideas, but also functioned as a platform to generate long term solutions on some critical issues surrounding the region, and most importantly on the cooperation with one of ASEAN dialogue partner, China”

To facilitate each representative and manage the discussion is conducted with a constructive and effective flow, the meeting was separated into three-panel sessions in accordance with the three pillars of ASEAN Community Vision 2025. The first-panel session raised the theme of “The Politics and Security of the Sea under the Blue Economy” under the Political and Economic Cooperation pillar. Moderated by Dr. Yang Yue, a Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, China Foreign Affairs University, the session was managed to feature a representative from NACT Lao PDR, represented by Ms. Haknilan Inthalath that delivered a presentation entitled “ASEAN-China Partnership in Blue Economy Development to Accelerate Post-pandemic Recovery”. Continued by a presentation from Prof. Su Hao, a representative of NACT China. He delivered a presentation entitled “Deepening the China-ASEAN Partnership on Blue Economy by Increasing Political Conditions and Consolidating Security Foundation”.

During the discussion, both presentations elicited strong reactions from the audience in terms of politics and maritime security in the context of blue economy cooperation. Mr. Than Tun, the representative of the NACT Myanmar from the Institute of Sciences and International Security Myanmar observed and respond to the issue by recalling the ASEAN-China pledges to promote the economic growth, in this matter, the political and security approach should be determined as the important aspects to support this implementation. The first panel of the meeting was closed with the discussion and concluded with the need for ASEAN and China to take joint action for those challenges (piracy, illegal fishing, and pollution), not only individual actions by certain countries.

The second panel of the meeting raised a theme on the pillar of Economic Cooperation, entitled “Economic Development and Technological Advancement”, and was moderated by Ms. Yulida Nuraini Santoso, M.Sc, a Managing Director of ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada. The second-panel session started with the presentation from Dr. Li Feng the other representative of NACT China, who delivered a presentation entitled “Blue Economy to Boom Economy”. Continued by Dr. I Made Andi Arsana the representative of NACT Indonesia presented his thoughts on “Geospatial Clarity towards Blue Economy: Challenges in Maritime Zone and Boundary Definition for Effective Utilization of Ocean Resources”. Dr. Lim Tai Wei from NACT Singapore as the next panelist explained his research on Singaporeans’ perspective on the economic development and technological advancement in the blue economy cooperation. Next, NACT Thailand was represented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thamasak Yeemin from Ramkamhaeng University presented the perspective of Thailand regarding the technological advancement for the blue economy development. Representatives from NACT Vietnam, Dr. Le Trung Kien, and NACT Cambodia, Amb. Pou Sothirak, and the Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace’s Dr. Henry Chan, continued the discussion by explaining their points of view and perspectives.

Last but not least, Dr. Falikul Isbakh from the University of Gadjah Mada’s Department of Sociology moderated the final panel discussion. In the context of blue economy cooperation, the third-panel session addressed the socio-cultural issue of “Maintaining Environmental Conservation.” “Enhancing ASEAN-China Cooperation on Marine Environmental Protection: A Perspective from the Philippines” was delivered by NACT Philippines representative Mr.  Edcel John Ibara, followed by Prof. Li Xia, the third NACT China representative. “Committing Science to Sustainable Resource Management” was the final presentation given by Prof. Dato’ Noraieni Mokhtar of the NACT Malaysia at this NACT Working Group Meeting 2022. There was a productive discussion between the panelists about the opportunities for ASEAN and China in the context of blue economy cooperation before concluding the panel session.

Professor Guo Yanjun, Director of the Institute of Asian Studies at the China Foreign Affairs University, delivered the closing remarks to the NACT Working Group Meeting 2022. According to Professor Guo Yanjun, ASEAN and China are taking advantage of the many opportunities to develop and collaborate on an economic partnership in the blue economy as a way to speed up the post-pandemic recovery process. Professor Guo Yanjun hopes that ASEAN-China cooperation on the blue economy will be one of the most vigorous and promising cooperations in ASEAN Community Vision 2025’s three pillars.

 

Report by
Syukron Subkhi
Media and Publication Officer

2022 Asian Studies+ President Forum

On Monday 9th May 2022, The ASEAN Studies Center represented by Dr. Dafri Agussalim as our Executive Director accompanied Ir. Panut Mulyono the Rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada to attend the virtual meeting on the 2022 Asian Studies+ President Forum hosted by National Chengchi University, Taiwan.

This forum has the objective to invite presidents and rectors from each university participant to present and share their universities’ current developments and prospects for Asian Studies. Besides, the forum is purposed to engage all the participants to exchange ideas on the vision and possibility of establishing a global alliance for Asian Studies in the future.

ASEAN Studies Center UGM has been established in 2013, since then the center has contributed to and generated many publications and policy recommendations for the development of the Southeast Asian region. Hopefully, the meeting will be able to extend our network in ASEAN Region and dialogue partners to enhance the academic approach to the development of ASEAN Community.

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM#GadjahMada #PresidentForum #AsianStudies #Chengchi

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

Ambassadorial Lecture “Improving the Implementation of ASEAN Charter” with H.E. Amb. Noel Servigon

This year remarks the 15 years of implementation of the ASEAN Charter that was adopted at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007. In fact, the draft of the ASEAN Charter as the constituent instrument of the association had been formally proposed in 2005 at the 11th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Until now, the ASEAN Charter remains strongly considered as the basic instrument for ASEAN and member countries informing policies and decisions on the regional contexts and issues.

ASEAN Studies Center UGM in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN successfully held an Ambassadorial Lecture on Friday, 21st January 2022, entitled “Improving the Implementation of the ASEAN Charter”. The lecture was moderated by Ms. Yulida Nuraini Santoso, the Managing Director of the Center, and invited H.E. Ambassador Noel Servigon as the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN to deliver the lecture as the main speaker.

In his speech and presentation, Ambassador Noel addressed, through the years the ASEAN Charter has guided the association in various activities. On its implementation, there were several attempts to review the implementation and the provisions of the ASEAN Charter and amend certain portions of the charter back in 2017 in Philippine ASEAN Chairmanship and 2020 in Vietnam ASEAN Chairmanship. Ambassador Noel stated that ASEAN Charter is a living document that must continuously be improved, both in its context as well as in its implementation.

Based on his experience, Ambassador Noel pointed out certain provisions of the charter that needs to be implemented further, he highlighted several provisions on ASEAN Summit, ASEAN Coordinating Council, ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, ASEAN Community Councils, ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies, ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting, ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives, ASEAN Secretary-General and the ASEAN Secretariat, and lastly is ASEAN Chairman.

The lecture was continued with the Q&A session with the participant and was moderated by Ms. Yulida. The session collected several questions to be addressed by Ambassador Noel, including the question from H.E. Ambassador Will Nankervis, the Ambassador of Australia to ASEAN.

At the end of the lecture, Ambassador Noel addressed the closing speech that he hopes through this kind of webinar and public lecture, ASEAN able to be brought closer to the people in ASEAN Member Countries. These kinds of events managed to raise the awareness and deeper understanding of ASEAN and its charter so that the ASEAN as a regional organization could fulfill the goal of behaving in a rules-based community.

 

Report by: 

  • Syukron Subkhi Media and Publication Officer

Internship at ASEAN Studies Center UGM 2021

In early September, the ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada had accepted 7 students and new graduates to take part in the internship program offered by the Center for three months. The interns are separated into three divisions at the Center, namely the Research, Programs, and Media Division. The internship program was carried out with a hybrid system (online and offline), and was not only offered to students/graduates of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada, but also students from other faculties and/or universities.

During the internship period, interns are responsible for supporting and assisting the daily activities and work of each division. They were involved in most of the programs, research, and publications conducted by the Center, to experience the working atmosphere in a think-tank institution and get professional supervision from each division and the Managing Director of the ASEAN Studies Center UGM.

In addition, the interns were given several Capacity Building Classes held every 2 weeks, to enhance their skills and get more point of view from the experts, such as Project Management, Introduction to ASEAN, Career Development Pathways, Policy Brief Writing, and Photo Discussion. From this internship program at the ASEAN Studies Center UGM, interns are expected to be able to discover additional professional skills and knowledge to build their professional career paths.

In addition, the internship program also assigned several academic-research tasks that interns must complete, such as writing op-ed articles, creating podcasts, infographics, and working papers. These academic assignments aim to increase the awareness and knowledge of apprentices on issues in the ASEAN and Southeast Asia region.

See you at our next internship program next year! Keep an eye on our website and social media for more information!

Interns:
– Alysia N. Dani (Research Intern)
– Veronica Ayu (Research Intern)
– William Help (Research Intern)
– Chusnul Mar’iyah (Program Intern)
– Lucky Kardanardi (Program Intern)
– Citta Azarine A. (Media Intern)
– Munawar Wahid S. (Media Intern)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#ASEAN #SouthEastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM#Internship #OnlineInternship #InternshipatASC#InternshipAtUGM

Ambassadorial Lecture on ASEAN-Egypt Outlook: Challenges and Future Prospects

On Monday, 29th November 2021, the ASEAN Studies Center held an Ambassadorial Lecture on ASEAN-Egypt Outlook: Challenges and Future Prospects. The lecture takes place online by streaming on ASEAN Studies Center UGM Youtube channel. The lecture session was delivered by H.E. Amb. Ashraf M. Sultan, the Ambassador of Egypt to ASEAN and Indonesia, accompanied by the Executive Director of ASEAN Studies Center UGM Dr. Dafri Agussalim M.A as the moderator.

The lecture highlighted several issues in the areas of Egypt-ASEAN relations. H.E. Amb. Ashraf M. Sultan started his speech by giving several brief remarks on what happened on Egypt lately after some political disturbances in 2011 and 2013 that showed the need of economic and social reforms to change many constants and introduce new practices. Moreover, the speech delivered by Ambassador Ashraf also highlighted the possibilities of qualitative bilateral exchange with ASEAN Countries in overcoming the Covid-19 Pandemic and further economic and social recoveries by sharing common sense on not neglecting the permanent goals on sustainable development program which designed to secure the welfare of the citizen in either Egypt or ASEAN Countries. Ambassador Ashraf mentioned that Egypt and ASEAN Countries needs to start discovering and creating the new knowledge to develop the capabilities on both sides to enter new markets and have more input and contribution to the world scientific and technical progress as well. Those initiation could be useful to find an appropriate format for extending cooperation and exchanging knowledge and best practices.

The lecture was followed by a Questions and Answers session by the participants. The talk was lively as participants were eager to raise questions on compelling topics regarding ASEAN-Egypt relations and their cooperation prospects. Among them were questions on the future initiatives and development to be exchanged between Egypt and ASEAN

In closing, the ASEAN-Egypt Oulook Ambassadorial Lecture, H.E. Amb. Ashraf M. Sultan concluded that ASEAN and Egypt are both developing economies and both are looking for more big spaces for technical cooperation in unusual fields and probably should not be in a traditional way that could be focused on trade and direct cooperation. The expanding of bilateral relations is possible to automatically expanding the investment and trade all the way. The challenges that could be faced by the cooperation between Egypt and ASEAN Countries should be addressed wisely and need to be accomplished more to give new initiative on Egypt-ASEAN relations.

 

 

Report by Syukron Subkhi
Media and Publication Officer at ASEAN Studies Center UGM

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASEANStudiesCenter #ASC #UGM #Webinar #Dialogue #Egypt #EgyptEmbassy #EgyptASEAN #Prospects #Cooperation #InternationalRelations #ASEANDialogue #TAC #treatyofamityandcooperation

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.