The afternoon was overcast and a moment later it was raining heavily. In the not-so-extensive library room, a group of audiences had sat sweet and relaxed, waiting for Anthony Chen’s Ilo-Ilo to be screened. This 100 minute movie, apart from the numerous awards it earns, is worth talking about. The film itself is set in 1997, which we know at that time countries in the Asian region experienced a terrible economic crisis. The economy is paralyzed, unemployment everywhere, and Ilo-Ilo recording all of it through the simple relations of the employer and the maid, binding his characters in socio-economic relationships which then changing meaning over time, into a strong psychological relationship. read more

Think of yourself as a teenager, enthusiastic about the world. You have ambitious goals, which will help you achieve your dreams. You want to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, or maybe an engineer. You see your body as a freshly bloomed flower, and enjoy immersing yourself in a romantic love story. However, life sometimes overturns all expectations. You are asked (or rather “forced”) to marry in order to improve the fate of the family. You are forced to marry in order to avoid sin. You are forced to marry by custom. You live your life as a mother, even though you’re still a child. You marry to obey your parents, and now you must obey a husband you do not recognize. Your dreams of becoming a lawyer, teacher, or doctor instantly waver. read more

In the first and second week of September, the Standard Index of Air Pollution in Pekanbaru Riau stayed in the status of “very unhealthy” and “dangerous”. The Governor in act of Riau must announce the condition of Air Pollution Emergency. The post-decision of the status does not provide a significant meaning for the prevention of this smoke disaster. Until now, the thick haze still fluctuates in covering Pekanbaru and other cities in Sumatera Island and Kalimantan. Conversely, pressure on the Governor in act is stronger to evacuate 6.7 million citizens of Riau, even bringing back the desire for independence for a group of people who lost trust to the Central Government. Along with this haze calamity as well, the increasing demand for HTI and oil palm plantations getting higher, to be responsible, revoked its license and withdraw from Riau. Finally, only heavy rains which can calm down the anger of the people who become more flare up because of the haze. read more

Aekachai Ounsup Mike as the speaker opened the discussion that afternoon with the question “what you guys think when you hear about Thailand” then the participants also revealed their respective answers, ranging from Thai cuisine, film, language and also transgender. Mike justified these things, then Mike also explained that Thailand does many more than that. There are still many other things that are more interesting, such as the culture, how the daily life of the Thai people, and places of interest in Thailand. read more

People in Southeast Asia and surrounding areas are believed to have the same root or from the same source. It is characterized by several cultures, customs, and values that are still reflected in the life of people in Southeast Asia and beyond. This thesis was presented by Ronnie Hatley Ph.D in his presentation at SEA Talk discussion of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies in collaboration with American Institute For Indonesian Studies. This discussion was held on Thursday, February 18, 2016, followed by dozens of academics and researchers from various scientific backgrounds. read more

It has become a truth that the ASEAN community consists of various cultures, ethnicities and beliefs. Understanding the ASEAN community is clearly inseparable from the differences that exist. In this case, trust that grows and develops becomes part of the community inherent in their lives.

ASEAN became a gathering area and the development of a number of beliefs through trade channels and through colonization in the past. But basically, the ASEAN community itself has existed and has developed a number of beliefs since hundreds or thousands of years before, even its existence continues to be maintained as in indigenous peoples who have faith in nature. read more

ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a geo-political and economic organization of countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967, with signing the Bangkok Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, one of the aims and purpose of ASEAN is to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations. read more

Collaborating with Center for Rural and Regions Studies UGM and Strategic Alliance for Poverty Reduction, this research was conducted to understand the dynamics that occur in the field associated with poverty reduction programs to find the difficulties encountered in various programs implemented. From this research, it is expected to find alternative strategies that can be used by related stakeholders to jointly improve the effectiveness of poverty reduction programs so that the target of reducing social problems due to poverty can be achieved as expected. read more

SEATIDE (Integration in Southeast Asia: Trajectories of Inclusion, Dynamics of Exclusion) is an EU FP7-funded project that will make use of a field research based approach to study processes of integration and exclusion in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries. Led by the Ecole francaise d’ Extreme-Orient (EFEO), it will benefit from the resources and expertise of major Asian Studies institutions in SEA and Europe, as well as the unique EFEO network of 10 field centres located in SEA.

1. Main scientific objective

Integrative processes offer the promise of economic and cultural development, the free movement of people, the promotion of citizenship and knowledge networks with extensive links with the wider world. At the same time, failure to take advantage of these benefits can result in processes of exclusion that undermine national/regional frameworks, and entail risks in the fields of human development/security, including the danger of framework disintegration. In examining these processes, SEATIDE s research will be informed by an awareness that dynamics of exclusion should be studied in tandem with dynamics of inclusion to produce holistic analyses of integrative processes and their contemporary forms, which take into account long-term local perspectives. read more

Dispute cases that occur in the South China Sea region are one of the most complicated cases of territorial disputes that have ever occurred in the Southeast Asia region. This dispute not only involved several parties at once, namely Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Vietnam but also included several issues related to overlapping territorial claims and the withdrawal of sea boundaries in the region. Although at present the dispute in the South China Sea is relatively peaceful, the fact that the dispute has not been resolved completely enables the occurrence of frictions or even military confrontation in the future. Even if we look at the trends that have occurred over the past five years, the tension that arises between the disputing parties shows a higher level than in the previous decade. Therefore it is very necessary for a clear peace settlement framework to avoid the situation worsening in the future. read more