Internship at ASEAN Studies Center UGM 2021

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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

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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

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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”

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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.

CSO Consultation on the Rights of Women and Children in ASEAN

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On Friday 30 April 2021, the ASEAN Studies Center of Universitas Gadjah Mada in collaboration with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and supported by The Netherland Embassy in Jakarta held a Round Table Discussion (RTD) between the ASEAN Commission of Women and Children (ACWC) and CSOs across ASEAN member states.

The discussion was officially opened by the opening remarks from Mr. Dafri Agussalim as the Executive Director of ASEAN Studies Center UGM, Ms. Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu as the Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA, and Prof. Roel van der Veen as a representative of Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Indonesia.

This forum also constructed a consultation with the CSOs on the rights of women and children in ASEAN that has a purpose to facilitate discussions between CSOs working in human rights, particularly on women’s and children’s right in order to increase the involvement of CSOs in the work of women and children’s rights in ASEAN with ACWC. It is expected to formulate outcomes in the form of recommendations for ACWC workplan 2021-2025, ideal working mechanism between ACWC and CSOs by strengthening its ToR, and an outlook for ASEAN CSOs involvement in the works of ACWC.

In opening the RTD, H.E. Yuyum Fhahni Paryani, Indonesian Representative of the ACWC (Children), shed light on the work, success, and challenges of the ACWC through its ten years of establishment, and highlighted the importance of collaboration among CSO to promote and uphold women and children. The opening presentation was then followed by the RTD, which was navigated by Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, a former National Commission on Violence against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan), as lead facilitator.

The RTD consisted of three panels that discussed issues pertinent to enhance further engagement between CSOs on women and children from across the region. The forum was divided into three parallel panels. Thi first delved into the topic of the “ACWC Work-plan and its alignment with the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework” which was facilitated by Karina Larasati BR, a senior fellow of Policy Lab. The second panel touched on the subject of a “Reporting Mechanism of Cases and an ASEAN Live Database of Violations against Women and Children” the discussion of which was facilitated by Desi Hanara, the Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator of Freedom of Religion or Belief, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). The last panel, through the facilitation of facilitated Rachel Arinii Judhistari, FORUM-ASIA, discussed the “ACWC – CSOs Engagement Mechanism”. The RTD aimed to provide a consultation session between CSOs working on the rights of women and children in ASEAN and their representatives at the regional level, while at the same time providing input to the work plan of the ACWC.

A Townhall Session, as facilitated by Lead Facilitator, Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, collated all points of discussion, input, and possible ways forward towards a better engagement between ACWC and CSOs in promoting and protecting women and children. In light of the unrest in Myanmar, participants of the RTD took part in a photo session, with the three fingers salute pose, as popularised by activists in Myanmar.

#ASEAN #SoutheastAsia #ASC #UGM #ACWC #CSO #RoundtableDiscussion #BringingASEANCloserToYou

Press Release ASEAN Youth Forum 2019

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ASEAN Youth Forum 2019 was successfully held through the collaboration between ASEAN Youth Forum Committees and ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada in Java Village Resort, Yogyakarta, from 26 September to 28 September 2019.

Attended by 54 delegates from different civil society organizations in ASEAN countries and Timor Leste, the event brought the theme of “Localisation of ASEAN Youth Development Index “Linking ASEAN to the Young People on the Ground”” where they try to address the challenge on campaigning and socializing ASEAN Youth Development Index (YDI) to young people on the ground, such as young people living in remote areas which rarely exposed to ASEAN influence.

On the first day, the participants received keynote address from ASEAN SOMY (Senior Officials Meeting on Youth) Representative of Indonesia from Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia, and Representative from UN Population Funds (UNFPA). The participants were also asked to draw a symbol representing ASEAN that meaningfully engages with young people in a flipchart and then represented their idea to the audience, along with introducing their name and their respective organization.

The discussion then began on the journey of ASEAN Youth Development Index and how it could affect the lives of the young people in ASEAN. The discussion was facilitated by UNFPA representatives and ASEAN SOMY representatives, where they showed the trend of development of young people in different countries all-over ASEAN, and the method of gathering the data. Although one of the biggest challenges in creating ASEAN YDI is data gathering and how to contextualize the data according to the different region, according to the UNFPA representative, however the effort of socializing YDI to young people needs to be continued. The discussion then continued with ASEAN Youth Forum (AYF) Representatives from all ASEAN countries, explaining the obstacles each countries facing on youth development. Myanmar still has the ‘homework’ of solving the persecution of Rohingya people in Rakhine state which could hinder the development of the young people there, whereas Indonesia currently in a political turmoil with massive demonstrations held in different cities due to the new bill which weaken the power of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), fines people for being homeless, jailing people for insulting the president, and many more.

Through this session, the participants and AYF Representatives exchange ideas and concerns about their country’s struggle on youth development and how there are abundant things to overcome in order to achieve the youth development that they envision. After the discussion ended, the delegates then divided into different groups and held a Focus Group Discussion with facilitators from AYF discussing different themes of ASEAN YDI, such as health and well-being, education, employment and opportunities, and participation and engagement. The delegates were asked to share the country’s situation on each theme, what are the things that they have done with their organization to contribute to the improvement of each sector, and share ‘best case practices’ of their organization with other delegates. The day then closed with ASEAN Youth Fair, where all the delegates wore their traditional costumes and showcase their food or merchandises of their countries’ culture.

On the second day, the discussion continued with a different theme, this time it is focusing on the role of ASEAN youth in localization of ASEAN YDI through several ways such as national advocacy, social media advocacy, grassroots campaigning, and feedback mechanisms. The participants shared their way of advocating ASEAN YDI through internet and data, lobbying with the political entities, or through grassroots campaigning which trying to reach out the young people at remote areas. They also discussed how to evaluate YDI on young people through specialized mechanism. The discussion then continued with an Action Plan, where all of the delegates wrote their plan on what will they do after they get back to their countries. The event then closed with a Closing Statement from Ferena, AYF Representatives. She encouraged every delegate to do an action, whether it is small or big, to contribute to the development of youth.

Press Release Bincang ASEAN: “Challenges for Civil Society Advocacy on Human Rights in the Next Decade”

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Yogyakarta, 30th September 2019
Written by Robbaita Zahra

Yogyakarta – On Friday, 27th of September 2019, ASEAN Studies Center Universitas Gadjah Mada held Bincang ASEAN with the theme of “Challenges for Civil Society Advocacy on Human Rights in the Next Decade”, bringing Ms. Yuyun Wahyuningrum, the Representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) as the speaker.

The discussion started with the elaboration of human rights regime analysis by Donnelly, which consists of: Declaratory, Promotional, Implementation, and Enforcement. Declaratory regime is when a state declare whether or not it acknowledges human rights. Promotional regime refers to the engagement of states in activities such as exchange of information, technical assistance, and other processes where human rights are discussed. A state can be said to be in implementation regime if it has concluded legally binding documents on human rights.  Enforcement is when a State has enforced human rights accordingly. Ms. Yuyun stated that Indonesia is currently in promotional regime going to implementation regime.

Further, the discussion continued with discussing international law. It is important to discuss international law when talking about human rights as it puts state as the main actor of human rights (produce, enforce, monitor). In this context, State has 2 identities: as the offender and protector of human rights. The balance between these identities have to be seen to determine whether or not a State is respecting human rights. However, this dual identity makes the relation between State and international human rights law complicated.

Moving to the discussion about the context and regionalism in ASEAN. Ms. Yuyun explained that ASEAN countries, which previously only discussed about politics and economy, are forced to discuss about human rights within this new regionalism context. There are 3 reasons of State creating regional human rights mechanisms: 1) As the expression of modernity; 2) Compared to international mechanism, regional mechanism is more likely to discuss issues within Southeast Asia; and 3) As the intermediary between national and international system.

 After the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all countries in the world domesticate human rights into their constitutions, including ASEAN countries. Despite this fact, human rights are not included in the establishment of ASEAN. The reasoning behind this is because countries in Southeast Asia do not want to be disturbed by the competition that is happening within the Cold War. However, this does not mean that human rights are not discussed at all in ASEAN. It has to be noted that ASEAN is home for diversities, different from for example EU – which is supranational. Therefore, in talking about human rights, ASEAN has to be careful because it cannot replace the state’s role as the protector of human rights.

With regard to ASEAN human rights system, one of the main part of this is ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which has the function to protect and promote human rights. Ms. Yuyun then proceed to discuss the challenges for civil society. Regional human rights framework in ASEAN is the product of the combination between ASEAN Way, international human rights law, and national interest of ASEAN member states. With this context in mind, the challenges for civil society are: 1) Lack of independency of the AICHR Representatives; 2) Lack of transparency of AICHR’s work; 3) Lack of interest of AICHR Representatives to engage with CSOs; 4) Lack of recognition from AICHR on the role of CSOs/Stakeholders; 5) Lack of member states’ political will to integrate human rights fully in ASEAN regionalism project; 5) Lack of ability and capacity to protect human rights; and 6) Lack of people awareness about its role.

Despite these challenges, AICHR has obtained several achievements during Ms. Yuyun’s period, such as the adoption of ‘Minus X Formula’, meaning that which countries are ready to participate in any scheme, they can go ahead while members who are not ready could join in later. This has opened several discussions which are not being able to be held before due to the difficulty to reach consensus from all member states. Another achievement is the agreement to conclude ‘Recommendation on the Implementation of ASEAN Human Rights Declaration’, successful briefing on Rakhine Crisis, and other various achievements. However, none of these achievements are coming from the request of the people, which is aiming at the protection of human rights. Nonetheless, this can be the starting point of doing so.

Lastly, the discussion ended with a question and answer session. Within this session, Ms. Yuyun explained that the deficit of democracy within countries in Southeast Asia has influenced the development and the dynamic of AICHR. She also explained that knowledge regarding the dynamic of culture and tradition are essential in ASEAN. However, many institutions are not aware of this fact. Therefore, AICHR tries to respond with this by establishing practice, concluding internal documents as future references, and engaging with civil society and students in various countries in ASEAN. This Bincang ASEAN is one of the manifestations of this practice.