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

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 (09/22), 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 31st SEA Chat invited Vu Duc Hoa, an ASEAN Master in Sustainability Management Program student from UGM. On this occasion, Hoa presented his research, titled “Corporate Social Responsibility in Vietnam: Case of Domestic Leading Pharmaceutical Companies.”  read more

On 14th of September 2022, Center of Southeast Asia Social Studies (CESSAS) paid a visit to ASEAN Studies Center (ASC), a research institution focused on ASEAN at Gadjah Mada University. Located in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences building on the 2nd floor of room 209 UGM, the visit was carried out as a form of a series of international internship activities at CESSAS.

This visit aims to introduce international interns at CESSAS to one of the research institutions at UGM, especially regarding ASEAN, during the visit consisting of four international interns from Russia and two local interns from CESSAS accompanied by CESSAS Cooperation Staff during the visit to ASC. read more

CESASS interns visits to CfDS was conducted on September 13, 2022, at 10.00 WIB at room BC 201 of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. This visit is part of a series of activities for international interns during the internship program in CESASS.

The interns who participated in the visit were made up of four international interns from Russia and one local intern. These internship students are accompanied by a Cooperation Staff during their visit to CfDS.

Center for Digital Society (CfDS) is a research center under the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Gadjah Mada. CfDS was founded by the development and dynamics of contemporary socio-political life in the world, marked by the influence of technological information. Thus, it requires a new approach to managing and understanding the phenomenon of digital society itself. CfDS research and activities are based on their leading mottos of productive, innovative, and influential. read more

On Monday, the 5th of September, Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) held a welcoming meeting for internship students from Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia. The four foreign students: Gleb Darchenkov, Tatiana Putsnyakova, Dmitriy Svechnikov and Lia Korotkova, will participate in an internship program at CESASS aimed at gaining substantive experience by building networks with Southeast Asia social studies researchers and experts for the period from the beginning of September to the end of November. read more

On September 7 2022, the representatives of Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies took part in ACICIS NGO Fair held at the beginning of each academic semester. This time NGO Fair was held in Selasar Barat FISIPOL UGM (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM). The event is sponsored by the Australian government and aims at increasing the spirit of volunteerism among Jogja and foreign students.

NGO Fair introduces new ACICIS students to the opportunity to participate in various communities and organizations in Yogyakarta and its surroundings. Each semester ACICIS facilitates foreign students, especially those whose universities are members of the consortium, to study for one or two semesters at Indonesian higher education institutions such as Gajah Mada University, Sanata Dharma University, and Indonesian Islamic University. Students may opt for volunteer work as well as take part in various internship programs. read more