The Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada proudly present a panel discussion that held on Friday, 25th November 2022. The panel discussion was SEA CHAT #33 as the monthly program of CESSAS to discuss the current issue in the Southeast Asian Country. In this session, there were two students intern from MGIMO University, Russia as the speakers. 

The first presentation delivered entitled “Cultural Diplomacy between Russia and Indonesia” by Tatiana Putcniakova. Tatiana started the discussion with outlined the topic to understand the definition of cultural diplomacy. Tatiana stated from Barghon’s book said that “Cultural diplomacy is the manipulation of cultural materials and personnel for propaganda purposes” (Barghorn, 1930). Besides, Tatiana also cited the definition of cultural policy that, “Cultural Policy is a set of principles, administrative and financial activities and procedures that provide the basis for state action in the cultural sphere” (The UNESCO report ‘Cultural Policy – Preliminary Consideration, 1967).  Then, Tatiana highlighted that cultural diplomacy used in the international arena for many countries including between Russia and Indonesia.  read more

On Monday, October 31st, 2022, the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) held a welcoming meeting for Thomas Bartley, a student intern from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Thomas will participate in the internship program at CESASS from November to the end of December to gain experience in research and build networks with Southeast Asia social studies researchers and experts in CESASS.

The meeting started with a brief introduction led by Rizki Dwi Wibawa, CESASS Cooperation Staff, who greeted the intern and explained the research activities and work of the Center, as well as the opportunities provided by the internship. An introduction to fellow student interns and other members of the Center was conducted afterward. They shared their cultural background and exchanged views about their research interests. read more

Last Thursday (27/10), Center of South-East Asia Social Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) held a sharing session with international student intern, Zacharie Nichols-Lang from Murdoch University, Australia. Attended by more than 10 people, Zac explained about “Australia, the Monarchy, and the Commonwealth,” where he underlined that after Queen Elizabeth II died, the discourse of shifting to a republican nation state is rising in Australia. 

Zac opened his presentation by explaining about Australia’s political system which is a combination of British Westminster and the United States of America’s influence. In addition, sharing a fun fact about Australian political culture, Zac also mentioned about “Democratic Snags” or “Democratic Sausages,” a sausage wrapped in a slice of bread that later will be given to every voter across Australia when it comes to national election day.  read more

On Tuesday (10/26), the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) continued to hold the Southeast Asian Chat (SEA Chat), a discussion agenda that talks about social issues happening around Southeast Asia. As for the speaker, this 32nd SEA Chat presented Lyska Coyoga, a student intern from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta with a major in Geography Education. Coyoga presented his research titled “Migrasi Rohingya dari Myanmar ke Aceh: Isu dan Perkembangan Kecamatan Jangka, Kabupaten Bireuen, Aceh.” read more

On Tuesday (18/10), Center of SouthEast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) held a sharing session by buddy about Indonesian Fauna. This sharing session was attended by CESASS interns both local and russian. The sharing session was presented by Dinda Bariqul Zahfa and Lyska Coyoga as interns at CESASS. The material is divided into three parts such as; brief history and theories, each characteristic of fauna type along with an example, and their various habitats.

Dinda Bariqul as the first presenter explained the history of the distribution of fauna in Indonesia. The territory of Indonesia was not what it is now, but separated and united with other big continents, namely Eurasia (present-Asia) and Australia. This has an impact on living things, both flora and fauna in Indonesia, which have a high level of diversity. Alfred Russel Wallace made an imaginary line to separate fauna that have Asiatis and Australis types. Max Carl Wilhelm Weber then found that the central part of Indonesia had a special type of fauna and drew an imaginary line again to separate it from Asiatis and called it the “Transitional” area. read more

On October 6, Dr. Abdul Gaffar Karim from Department of Politics and Government Gadjah Mada University delivered a lecture under the title of Indonesian Politics: A Brief Introduction to the interns of PSSAT UGM. 

The lecturer started with describing the social and geographical factors which exercise a substantial impact on the Indonesian political system. The dispersity of islands and diversity of religions and ethnicities can be named among these objective circumstances. 

Later on, Dr. Abdul Gaffar gave a brief outlook on the political history of Indonesia and analyzed the existing trends. For instance, the lecturer stressed the so-called “double-majority” factor. It implies that if one is Muslim and Javanese, they have far higher chances of being elected as governor/president.  read more

Last Friday (30/9), Center of South East Social Studies (CESASS) held a sharing session by an Indonesian Intern about popular culture in Indonesia such as music, movie, fashion, and memes. This sharing session was attended by CESASS interns both local and Russian. This sharing session was presented by Ilham Ramadhan and Dinda Bariqul Zahfa as an intern at CESASS.

Ilham Ramadhan as the first presenter explained music and memes in Indonesia and start with the definition of popular culture. Popular culture is a mass production and consumption process of cultural products mainly by the middle and lower-class society. In the Indonesian context, popular culture plays the political, moral, and ideological dynamics in Indonesian society. Music, Film, Fashion, and Memes were chosen in this sharing session to explain the diversity and dynamics of Indonesian popular culture.  read more

On Friday (30/09), the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) held a Sharing Session to share about Aceh with friends from Russia. This Sharing Session will be delivered by Acehnese who is interning at CESASS UGM, namely Muhammad Naufal Rizky, Lyska Coyoga, and Muhammad Zaky Al Aqsa.

This sharing will be specifically talking about Dutch History in Aceh, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Aceh Tsunami, and Acehnese cuisine. Aceh is a special region in Indonesia where almost three and a half centuries ago it was occupied by Dutch. But, only in the 20th century could they successfully conquer Aceh. That is because the Aceh kingdom had a lot of power back in the early 15th century. The Aceh kingdom had built a very good relationship with the Ottoman empire and many other kingdoms in Europe such as the British and France kingdom. The presentation continued with an explanation of the history of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh, which was an experience that many Acehnese could not forget. Talking about GAM cannot be separated from the Tsunami because for the people of Aceh, the Tsunami is believed to be God’s way to solve the problem of the Aceh war between GAM and the Indonesian government. Finally, the presentation explained the cuisine in Aceh. Aceh is famous for spicy and savory foods such as Mie Aceh, food of Kuah Pliek, Manuk Labakh, Baku Pinget, Sie reboh and Le Bu Peudah. read more

Written by: Dmitry Svechnikov & Lia Korotkova

On September 30 2022, Wisnu Prasetya Utamo, S.IP., M.A., delivered a lecture on the Media Landscape Indonesia. The lecture was visited the representatives of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies. The event was sponsored by FISIPOL UGM (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM) and aimed at increasing the awareness about the work of the media in Indonesia. 

Wisnu put the issue into a broader perspective and gave the context of the work of the media. He told about the system of media as well as the kinds of media, distinguishing between state and non-state media groups. Besides, Wisnu touched upon the biggest media holdings and their main characteristics. According to Wisnu, nowadays mass media in Indonesia have to face quite a few challenges. Among them are the lack of funding for local media, political bias in the interests of this or that political party or corporation.  read more

On Wednesday (09/21), the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Gadjah Mada University (CESASS UGM) held an Indonesian student interns sharing session with Russia MGIMO student interns. In this session, Muhammad Nailul Fathul Wafiq (Universitas Islam Indonesia) and Farah Diana Patcha (Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta) as the International Relations students presented their knowledge about Indonesia’s Foreign Policy, including Indonesia’s role in ASEAN, to other interns. Both presenters shared their opinions and insights on Indonesia’s Foreign Policy, especially on Joko Widodo’s Presidency era. read more