Indonesia Council Digest - August 2024
I am writing this on 17-an, so happy independence day to you Indonesia! I was fortunate to visit Jakarta last week for an Australia-ASEAN Council workshop with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and was pleasantly surprised by how blue the skies. The city was dolled up in red and white, and everything was rather pretty. Very noticeable were all the Nusantara Baru, Indonesia Maju signs, in case you had forgotten that was happening. I also heard some rumours of a fairly high level visitor to Canberra in the next few weeks so stay posted for some more attention on the bilateral relationship.
Until next month, Natali
What’s happening
Happening tomorrow in Melbourne, 21 August (11.00am-1.00pm): Human Rights in Indonesia Expert Panel hosted by Indonesia Forum. This is a joint panel session addressing human rights issues affecting some of Indonesia’s marginalised communities, bringing together Andreas Harsono, Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch, and Dr Otto Gusti Ndegong Madung, Chancellor of the Philosophical and Creative Technology Institute (IFTK) of Ledalero. Click here for information and to register.
Also in Melbourne, Indonesia Forum and the Faculty of Arts is hosting a seminar on 'Future Potentialities for Returned Objects: The Nias Plaster Casts taken by J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan' on Friday, 23 August 2024 (11.30am–12.30pm).In 1910, 188 facial plaster-casts were taken from living individuals in Minangkabau, Nias, and Glodok by Dutch physical anthropologist J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan. In this seminar, Historian and curator Dr Sadiah Boonstra will discuss the casts taken from 64 living individuals in Nias, North Sumatra, presenting collaborative work with partners in Nias that aim to shift the gaze from a Eurocentric framing towards an understanding of the casts to the signification of Nias communities.
Meanwhile, for the archaeologists out there: the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA) has just announced Yogyakarta will be host city for IPPA 2026, under the leaderships of Dr Anggraeni. This is the largest archaeology conference in the region and this will be the second time that the conference will be held in Yogya. More info to come, no doubt.
Know someone who deserves the recognition of doing such great work in the Australia-Indonesia space? Nominations for the 2024 Australia-Indonesia Institute Awards are OPEN! The Australia-Indonesia Institute’s (AII) Indonesian Studies Awards recognise the achievements and contributions of Indonesian language teachers, researchers, and leaders in Indonesian cultural outreach in Australia. There are three award categories:
AII Language Teaching Award
AII Studies and Cultural Leadership Award
AII Distinguished Service Award
More details and to nominate yourself or someone else here – closes 20 September.
**Attention late stage or recently completed PhD candidates from the social sciences or humanities** New Mandala has announced its new Emerging Scholar Award, offering awards of A$1,000 to support 15 emerging scholars showcase their doctoral research on Southeast Asia through publication of an essay at New Mandala. Apply here.
Other cool stuff
Congratulations to Kate McGregor (University of Melbourne) on being shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s General History Prize for her book Systemic Silencing: Activism, Memory, and Sexual Violence in Indonesia. The final Awards ceremony is on 6 September 204 so watch this space!
Congratulations also to Melissa Crouch (UNSW Sydney and current President of ASAA) who was awarded a Future Fellowship by the Australian Research Council to investigate the legal challenges the military poses to constitutional democracy in Asia, focusing on Myanmar and Indonesia. The project will develop research to explain how the military rules through constitutions in authoritarian regimes. Outcomes will benefit Australian policymakers, international organisations committed to advocacy for constitutional democracy, and international scholarship.
Last but not least, a special shout out to the two Indonesian gold medallists at the Paris Olympics (in what The Diplomat described as “niche sports’! Speed climber Leonardo Veddriq gave Indonesia its first Olympic gold medal in a sport other than badminton, while Rizki Juniansyah brought home gold for men’s weightlifting.
Vale
Vale Elisabeth Rianti “Emmy” Oey Quinn. Born in Sokaraja, Indonesia on 30 April 1940, Ibu Emmy died in Canberra on 5 August 2024. Ibu Emmy was a loved and much respected language educator whose patience, persistence and rigour nurtured the language skills of many of those who now contribute to the relationship between Indonesia and Australia at all levels of government, education and cultural exchange, in both countries and around the world. Ibu Emmy’s legacy will continue for many decades to come.
~ Elly Kent
Indonesia Council Open Conference
We’re cooking up some great initiatives at ICOC in July next year, including student bursaries and a special members only networking event. To be eligible, you’ll need to be an Indonesia Council member, dong! Stay tuned for updates via this newsletter. And, in case you missed the dates for the ICOC (hosted by the University of Melbourne) here they are again.
CFP opens mid-September 2024
CFP closes early November 2024
Paper selection November-December 2024
Notification of acceptance mid-January 2025
Registration end February 2025
Postgraduate Day: 7 July 2025
Conference: 8-10 July 2025
Publications, podcasts and more
Tim Mann’s new book, Defencing Legal Freedoms in Indonesia: The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and Cause Lawyering in an Age of Democratic Decline in Indonesia, will be released this week. The book traces the trajectory of the Legal Aid Foundation from its establishment in the 1970s through to the present day, examining how its lawyers have responded to democratic change. As Tim explains, it’s ultimately a book about how democracy shrinks, and how lawyers push back.
Food security is expected to be the signature policy of the new Prabowo administration, with the incoming President describing Indonesian farmers as true patriots who will lead the country to food sovereignty. Rebecca Meckelburg gets us up to speed for the Talking Indonesia podcast, in which she discusses how small holder farming is organised politically, socially and historically to better understand how state projects for agricultural transformation impact the lives of ordinary rural communities.
University of Sydney historian and International Editor at The Australian Financial Review, Professor James Curran, made a speech at the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Canberra in which he asked whether Australia can live with a more powerful Indonesia. “I think only if we develop a diplomatic, cultural, and human relationship vastly different from now and I think we need more Indonesian university students and tourism here, as well as some encouraged migration.” It’s at the 36m30s mark, but the whole thing is worth watching. As ACICIS Director Liam Prince noted (in his always enjoyable reflections), it was interesting to hear Professor Curran raise the prospect and desirability of an "encouraged migration" policy designed to grow the size of the Indonesian diaspora community in Australia (~70,000 at the last census).
Membership
All the cool folks are signing up to become members of Indonesia Council – and you can too! Paid membership allows us to cover our modest operating costs and to support keynote speakers at the biennial ASAA conferences. It also provides added benefits for you, including eligibility for:
Biennial Indonesia Council Early Career Book Prize
Dedicated postgraduate events and workshops
Special members-only newsletters
Other events, activities and subsidies as suggested by you