On Friday, November 14, 2025, the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM) welcomed representatives of the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (Acicis) to discuss the ongoing progress of the internship program currently hosted at CESASS UGM under the CESASS Internship Program.

This semester, three Acicis students are undertaking their internship at CESASS through Acicis’s Flexible Language Immersion Program (FLIP). As the internship has reached its halfway mark, the meeting served as an opportunity to evaluate the students’ ongoing activities, identify challenges, and discuss areas for improvement. read more

Smart City, Digital Transformation, and Society in Southeast Asia Summer Course Program 2025, organized by the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada (CESASS UGM), was officially concluded on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The closing ceremony took place in a hybrid format, held both online via Zoom and on-site at Indonesia Room, 2nd Floor, Pusat Antar Universitas (PAU) Building, UGM.

This closing ceremony marked the end of a 15-day program that welcomed 73 participants from 17 countries, who engaged in lectures, discussions, and fieldwork focusing on the intersection of digital innovation and urban development in Southeast Asia. read more

Yogyakarta, Indonesia – 10th September 2024: The Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) at Universitas Gadjah Mada, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, with support from the ASEAN Secretariat, hosted the second day of the event with an excursion aimed at introducing participants, including students and experts, to Yogyakarta’s World Heritage sites. The day’s itinerary featured a walk along the Philosophical Axis, which stretches from the Golong-Gilig Monument (Tugu) to the 0km monument. read more

Sharing Session: “Ayo! Belajar Mandarin”, held on July 5th, 10th, and 15th, 2024, was a resounding success. Featuring distinguished Chen An Chou, Suthasinee Huang, and Yi Ching Wang, international students from National Chengchi University, these events provided a unique and enriching learning experience for all attendees.

Over three days, participants from various backgrounds gathered to engage in interactive activities, gain valuable language skills, and immerse themselves in Mandarin culture. The sessions covered fundamental language skills, cultural insights, and practical tips, making learning Mandarin both fun and accessible. read more

Activity Reportage

The 16th ASIAN URBANIZATION CONFERENCE 2024
Asian Urbanization Forging a Livable and Sustainable Urban Future

The Asian Urbanisation Conference (AUC) 2024 seminar was held on 11-12 January 2024 organised by Vietnamese-German University (VGU) and Asian Urban Research Association (AURA) in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Vietnam. At the event, Prof. Dr Rini Rachmawati, S.Si., M.T., Head of PSSAT UGM, became a speaker at the Smart Cities, Big Data, and Planning Education session with a presentation on Smart Cities and Smart Urbanism in Indonesia as well as chairmain in the session and the Green Transport session. He also had the opportunity to present the activities at the Centre for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) UGM, namely the Internship program, Summer Course, Edutrips, and Journal IKAT at the AUC Youth Scholars Workshop Forum. In addition to the seminar, there is a field trip in the Mekong Delta on 13 January 2024. The next 17th AUC activity will be held in Bangladesh in 2025. read more

Democracy is a system of government in which the people govern by electing representatives. Referring to Dahl, the principle of democracy does not change in how the democratic mechanism in government institutions works. Meanwhile, there is a pathology of democracy where there are deviated forms of implementing democracy where democracy is set up for a dictatorial rule that is happening in Southeast Asia. The practice of dynastic politics then perpetuates the existence of democracy that leads to dictatorial, said Muhammad Nailul in the 34th SEA CHAT series. Muhammad Nailul is an intern student at the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies who in this SEA CHAT brings a discussion about dictatorship and political dynasties and the role of media on history Politicization. read more

The Centre for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS) is proud to have recently hosted its 33rd SEA CHAT, which was delivered via a two-part Zoom conference. This panel discussion featured four speakers from Russia’s Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), who each presented on a socio-political topic and its relevance to Indonesia. 

Gleb Darchenkov spoke first, delivering the “Information Technology in Modern ASEAN” presentation. This presentation provided information about the process of developing Indonesia’s digital economy, the intersection of Indonesia’s Information Technology sector with the country’s approach to foreign policy, and the perception of Information Technology among the Indonesian population. Gleb evidenced that Indonesia’s demographics and population position it as the largest spender on technology in Southeast Asia and the world’s 4th largest mobile market. As a result, Indonesia is witnessing a boom in eCommerce and financial technology which, coupled with a technologically capable population, predicts a high level of competitiveness from Indonesia during a digital era.  read more

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 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

Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies (CESASS UGM) atau Pusat Studi Sosial Asia Tenggara UGM telah menyelenggarakan Acara MMAT 2021 Summer Course Program yang dimulai pada tanggal 11 Oktober 2021 dan berakhir pada 10 November 2021. MMAT atau ‘Mengajar dan Meneliti Asia Tenggara’ tahun ini diselenggarakan dengan format virtual summer course yang mengusung tema “(Re)constructing Southeast Asia”.

Acara pembukaan MMAT 2021 Summer Course Program diadakan pada hari Senin, 11 Oktober 2021 yang dibuka secara resmi oleh Bapak Drs. Muhadi Sugiono dari Hubungan Internasional Universitas Gadjah Mada sebagai Ketua penyelenggara program. Dalam sambutannya, Bapak Muhadi menyatakan bahwa MMAT 2021 Summer Course Program menjadi pionir yang menginisiasi kegiatan akademik Indonesia untuk diperluas sampai pada komunitas akademik internasional. Tujuan dari diadakannya MMAT 2021 Summer Course Program ini adalah untuk memahami Asia Tenggara dari berbagai perspektif dengan mengundang orang-orang yang berasal dari beragam latar belakang. “Program ini adalah kesempatan yang sangat baik untuk mengundang para pelajar sebagai akademisi di masa depan untuk membawa intensi dalam perkembangan Asia Tenggara” ungkap Bapak Muhadi dalam sambutannya. read more