The importance of ICT has been increasing time by time. Seeing the ICT development throughout the times has been affected the development of other sectors positively. Furthermore, ICT development enables the easier and faster cooperation and integration of other sectors within and among states. In regard to ASEAN, ICT plays the main role of better integration within and among its member states since its establishment in 1967. I can assure that without ICT development in ASEAN, the ASEAN Free Trade Area will be taken into force later than 1992; the establishment of ASEAN Community will take into force probably in the next 10 years. Moreover, most of cooperation and integration in ASEAN nowadays is ICT-based, so then the easier and faster agreement will be possible. Nonetheless, there remain obstacles for ASEAN integration along with the ICT development gap within and among ASEAN member states. In this article, I will specifically concern on the action that has been taken from certain elements/actors to narrowing the ICT development gap as well as its parameters. Eventually, I will recommend the possible solution that probably can be taken to close the gap as well as to foster the ASEAN integration. read more

SEA Chat (Southeast Asian Chat) is the monthly agenda of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies which invites students to discuss about countries in Southeast Asia region. It is expected to provide a clear picture of the state of the country, share information, and be a way to understand each other. On Monday (24/07/2017) at 15:00 at the CESASS Library, SEA Chat was again held for the fifth time. With the theme “Unstereotyping Southeast Asia”, this time SEA Chat invited Gibson Haynes, an American Southeast Asia researcher from John Hopkins University. read more

Southeast Asia is a very diverse and multi-layered sub-region in Asia which consists of different nations with different ethnicities, languages, cultures, and societies. Besides, Southeast Asian nations considerably share distinctive socio-cultural features, in terms of language spoken, ethnicities, religion, culture, and society which differed from one to another. Specifically, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore are highly considered as Southeast Asian diverse nations, ethnically, linguistically, religiously, culturally, socially, and politically. But they are diverse in different ways and cope with diversity in different ways (Ali, 2011). read more

The forms of corruption occurring in the private sector include licensing, procurement, money politics, bribery and stealth. Stealth article is the articles in the Draft Law which is included in the text of the role of private parties. In addition, this kind of article can even appear in the legal products under such as Ministerial Regulation. This was stated by Dr. Rimawan Pradiptyo, lecturer of Economic Department, Faculty of Economics and Business UGM, in the regular discussion of SEA-Talks # 15 (15/06/17). read more

In today’s digital era, the role of local government, especially in public-related channels, is very significant for managing and disseminating information. With attention to the public relations role in local government, CESASS held a Public Relations & Information Management Training held from 7 June 2017 to 9 June 2017 at CESASS. The training was attended by twelve participants who are public relations tools from various regions in Indonesia, such as Aceh Tamiang, North Kalimantan, Berau, Sukabumi, D.I.Yogyakarta, and Central Java. read more

Recognizing the importance of mastering English as an international language in increasing global competition, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University (NPRU), Thailand in cooperation with Southeast Asian Social Studies Center (CESASS) UGM held NPRU Summer Program at CESASS.

Started from 27 May 2017 – 20 June 2017, the program was attended by 14 students from Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University and was accompanied by 8 buddies from Universitas Gadjah Mada. In addition to learning English, a tour of Yogyakarta and its surrounding attractions also become the agenda in this program. read more

Education is one of the key factors in strengthening the spirit of togetherness among countries in Southeast Asia as a nation community. It also underlies the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Gadjah Mada University to open wide opportunities for students from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and other countries who want to exchange insights and share social-cultural experience.

On Monday (29/05/2017), CESASS received four students from Mahidol University, Thailand in a sharing session held at CESASS office. The four students are Nisanat Watthayu (Faculty of Liberal Arts), Yosita Jampafeung (Faculty of Liberal Arts), Thanatcha Somchaimongkol (Faculty of Liberal Arts) and Warachote Shinwasusin (Faculty of Engineering) who were the recipients of the Backpack Scholarship, a program devoted to explore the ASEAN region and visit campuses with the aim of enhancing global insight, developing sociability skills, and speaking for Thai students. These four students were also ambassadors of the Mahidol University International Relations (MURI) program which aims to support the international cooperation program of Mahidol University. read more

In the framework of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN, the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) in cooperation with the Mission of Japan to ASEAN held an international seminar entitled “Strengthening Japan and ASEAN Relations on the Ocassion of the ASEAN 50th Anniversary”. This seminar was a manifestation of CESASS UGM’s commitment in developing studies on Southeast Asia and its relationship with other countries outside the region. In this activity, CESASS provided a special study on strengthening the relationship between Japan and ASEAN in social perspective. read more

The production of knowledge that occurs due to the social interaction of Indonesian students in Egypt, especially at Al-Azhar University, has a major role in the formation of a cosmopolitan identity. In this context, the daily social conditions of students in Egypt are more influential in the production of knowledge than the academic background. This was conveyed by Prof. Dr. Judith Schlehe, Professor of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Freiburg, in a discussion of SEA-Talks # 14 on Friday (07/04). The discussion entitled “Student Mobility & Knowledge Migration: Indonesian Azharites as Cultural Agents” was held at the office of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) UGM. read more

Sawatdi Khrab!

My name is Jusuf, or commonly called Ucup. In this article, I will share my experience in joining the Liberal Arts of ASEAN Seeds Camp III, 9-14 January 2017 organized by Thammasat University in Rangsit, Thailand.

The event was held for six days in several cities, such as Rangsit, Ayuthaya, Kumphaeng Phet, and Sukhothai. There we visited the tourist areas and crafts. While in Sukhothai, we visited Ram Kamhaeng Museum, Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai Airport, Haad Siew traditional weaving industry, and Sukhothai clay craft center. The schedule of activities was quite compact. Every day, the event started at 6:00 am and ended at 8:00 pm, except at a certain time when we were discharged early because we had to move on to the city. read more