The Indonesia Forum is a dynamic network of academics and staff dedicated to fostering Indonesia-related research, policy advisory, and community engagement.
The University of Melbourne pioneered Indonesian studies in the mid-1950s. Since the early 1990s, Indonesian studies has undergone an impressive growth in both student numbers and staffing and Indonesian studies are now available across a wide range of Departments, Faculties and Centres, including Architecture, Building and Planning, Commerce, Engineering, Law and Medicine, as well as more traditional areas such as Language, Anthropology, Politics and History.
Formed in 1991, the Indonesia Forum (IF), previously known as the Indonesia Interest Group, is an informal and open network of academics and administrative staff of the University who share a common interest and professional involvement in Indonesia. Members keep in touch by e-mail and hold meetings, seminars and discussions. For the past ten years, the IF has hosted major functions which have brought together the wider Melbourne Indonesian and campus-based Indonesia-interested communities.
The Forum also plays a policy advisory role on Indonesia-related issues within the University and works closely with the Asia Institute and with Indonesian students and students studying in Indonesia-related areas. In 1999 the Forum arranged its first postgraduate roundtable for students studying in Indonesia-related fields.
The Indonesia Forum is currently led by Convenor Dr Monika Winarnita and co-Convenor Dr Wulan Dirgantoro.
43ʳᵈ Indonesia Forum Postgraduate and Early Career Researcher Symposium
Indonesia Post 2024 Elections: Research Contribution and Collaboration • 20-21 November 2024
Visiting Scholar Presentations
Through The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts Indonesia Initiative and the Indonesia Strategic Engagement Group (ISEG), the Indonesia Forums brings scholars from around the world to speak to the academics and researchers of The University of Melbourne.
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Sustainable Eco-Textile Production in Indonesia: The Role of Sunda Wiwitan Women
Date Wednesday, 28 August 2024 Time 12:30 – 1:30pm Venue Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Room 321 Location The University of Melbourne Sunda Wiwitan is a local belief system (Indonesian: aliran kepercayaan) in Sundanese-speaking areas of West Java, Indonesia. The documentary Finding the Book of Life in the Land of AKUR: Protecting Nature and Cultural Heritage by Positioning […]
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Future Potentialities for Returned Objects: The Nias Plaster Casts taken by J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan
Date Friday, 23 August 2024 Time 11:30am – 12:00pm Venue Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Room 321 Location The University of Melbourne In 1910, the Dutch physical anthropologist J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan (1875-1971) travelled to the Indonesian archipelago, at the time Netherlands East Indies. In search of visual evidence in support of European racial theories, he took 188 […]
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Southeast Asia Focus: Local Innovation in Conservation Materials & Practice
Date Wednesday, 21 August 2024 Time 1:00pm – 2:30pm Venue – Location Online Focusing on innovations in conservation materials, research and practice in Southeast Asia, this webinar invited conservators and cultural practitioners across Southeast Asia, including Assoc Prof Maria Bernardita Maronilla-Reyes, Musrizal Mat Isa, and Mohamad Habibi to share their experiences working in conservation. It […]
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Human Rights in Indonesia – Expert Panel
Date Wednesday, 21 August 2024 Time 11:00am – 1:00pm Venue Yasuko Hiraoka Myer Room (106)Sidney Myer Asia Centre Location The University of Melbourne The ‘Human Rights in Indonesia’ Expert Panel 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 […]
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Visiting Scholar Presentation: Reforming Food Program in Indonesia: Obstacles, Success Story and Challenges to Sustain It
Food, particularly rice, constitutes a significant portion of poor households’ budgets. This prompted the Indonesian government to launch the RASKIN food program (Program Subsidi Beras bagi Masyarakat Berpendapatan Rendah) in the early 2000s. Despite its critical role, studies have shown that the program did not fully achieve its potential. Although some reforms have incrementally improved […]
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Visiting Scholar Presentation: Islamic and Communist Protest Movements: Revolution and the End of Resistance in Colonial West Sumatra
The communist critiques of colonial West Sumatran society initiated by Sarekat Rakyat members in October 1923 involved the strategic use of the press, recitations, and clubs to cultivate anti-colonial and anti-capitalist sentiment. These activities contributed to the uprisings of late 1926 and early 1927 and influenced the colonial government’s decision to exile several leaders. In […]
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Postgraduate Lunchtime Seminar: Historical Memory of Aceh Chinese and Its Impact on Identity and Belonging
In a corner of Indonesia’s Aceh province, the Chinese community holds a unique and intricate history that often goes unnoticed. Through her current research project, Chontida Auikool, PhD candidate from Lund University, explores the memories and narratives that shape the lives of the Aceh Chinese community. By investigating both historical events and contemporary experiences, this […]
Art & Literature
The Indonesia Forum supports the celebration of Indonesian arts and literature as a window to Indonesian history and culture. From book readings and art exhibitions, to musical performances and literary analyses, here you will find past events run by the Indonesia Forum.
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Sustainable Eco-Textile Production in Indonesia: The Role of Sunda Wiwitan Women
Date Wednesday, 28 August 2024 Time 12:30 – 1:30pm Venue Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Room 321 Location The University of Melbourne Sunda Wiwitan is a local belief system (Indonesian: aliran kepercayaan) in Sundanese-speaking areas of West Java, Indonesia. The documentary Finding the Book of Life in the Land of AKUR: Protecting Nature and Cultural Heritage by Positioning […]
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Southeast Asia Focus: Local Innovation in Conservation Materials & Practice
Date Wednesday, 21 August 2024 Time 1:00pm – 2:30pm Venue – Location Online Focusing on innovations in conservation materials, research and practice in Southeast Asia, this webinar invited conservators and cultural practitioners across Southeast Asia, including Assoc Prof Maria Bernardita Maronilla-Reyes, Musrizal Mat Isa, and Mohamad Habibi to share their experiences working in conservation. It […]
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Reinterpreting Alternatives: Movement and Collective Action in Bandung after the Reform
Date Thursday, 15 August 2024 Time 12:30pm – 1:30pm Venue Sidney Myer Asia Centre, Room 321 Location The University of Melbourne ‘Collectivism’ in the Bandung (West Java), Indonesian art scene, as well as in other cities, is deeply intertwined with Indonesia’s specific historical socio-political context. Bandung experienced a period of immense growth in the number of alternative […]
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The Sights & Sounds of Maluku: Eastern Indonesia’s Spice Island
A collaborative event with the Australia Indonesia Youth Association of Victoria Maluku is renowned for its equal population of Islam and Christianity, with adherents of both religions living side by side. Despite being in the less developed eastern part of Indonesia, Maluku holds a central place in Indonesia’s history and colonial legacy as the home of […]
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Book Talk: ‘Marriage Migration, Intercultural Families and Global Intimacies’
Intercultural marriage is an important part of the personal lives of many Australians in this multicultural society. But pejorative stereotypes endure of marriages between Asian women and ‘Aussie’ men, especially if they have been brokered, or developed through correspondence courtship. The so-called ‘Mail Order’ bride stereotype, and families formed through transnational correspondence courtship, are explored […]
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Gender, Islam and Sexuality in Contemporary Indonesia
This page recaps Day 2 of the two-day event hosted by the Indonesia Forum, in collaboration with colleagues from Cultural Studies at Universitas Indonesia and The University of Melbourne’s School of Culture and Communication. The event took place on April 18-19, 2024, at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre. The event for Day 2 (April 19) […]
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Doing Cultural Research in the Global South panel discussion & The Art of Environmental Activism in Indonesia Book Launch
This page recaps Day 1 of the two-day event hosted by the Indonesia Forum, in collaboration with colleagues from Cultural Studies at Universitas Indonesia and The University of Melbourne’s School of Culture and Communication. The event took place on April 18-19, 2024, at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre. The event for Day 1 (April 18) […]