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.
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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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 […]
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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) […]
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Postgraduate Lunchtime Seminar: Glory be to the Catholics: Minority Overrepresentation and Disproportionate Influence in Suharto’s Indonesia
During the first two decades of Suharto’s New Order, a network of political operatives belonging to the Catholic minority achieved sustained overrepresentation in key positions and wielded disproportionate influence in policymaking. These successes, it is argued, were the result of a path-dependent process consisting of three sequences. Firstly, the removal of hostile rivals by Suharto’s […]
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Visiting Scholar Presentation: ‘Empowering Resilience: Unintended Consequences and Reflections on Women and Work after COVID-19 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
In this seminar, speaker Dr Fina Itriyati presents an ethnographic study that investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of low-income women in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, a city affected by the crisis. By conducting 120 in-depth interviews with women engaged in various economic sectors, including formal and informal employment, this research explores the […]
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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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) […]
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Art Exhibition: ‘Revolution: Crosspoint of Power of 45-65’
About the exhibition Through the Revolution: Crosspoint of Power of 45-65, Patriot Mukmin, PhD researcher at the Victorian College of Art, University of Melbourne, delves into the events of Indonesia in 1965-66 – a period marred by the tragic loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. The exhibition aimed to explore the preceding era between 1945-65 […]
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Book Launch: Prof Kate McGregor’s book ‘Systemic Silencing’
Wednesday 22nd of November 2023, 5.45pm-6.45pm Arts West Room 253 Professor Kate McGregor’s book Systemic Silencing: Activism, Memory, and Sexual Violence in Indonesia (UW Press, 2023), is an outcome of her ARC Future Fellowship. It offers an in-depth empirical history of the system of enforced military prostitution during the Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East […]
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Contemporary Indonesian Literature: In Conversation with Dias Novita Wuri
Contemporary Indonesian Literature: In Conversation with Dias Novita Wuri On Thursday 2nd of November evening, Dr Ken Setiawan from the Indonesian Studies Program was joined by our members and Indonesian Postgraduate students, in conversation with author Dias Novita Wuri to discuss her novella Jalan Lahir, or translated into English as Birth Canal. Birth Canal tells the […]
Annual Postgraduate Network Symposium
The Indonesia Forum’s annual flagship program, the Indonesia Postgraduate Network Symposium, is a continuation of the University of Melbourne’s commitment to engage and build excellence in scholarship on Indonesia. The Indonesia Forum has built a strong sense of community and collaboration amongst researchers on and from Indonesia.
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43rd IF Postgraduate and Early Career Researcher Symposium
Indonesia Post 2024 Elections: Research Contribution and Collaboration
21-22 November, 2024
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42nd IF Symposium for Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers
Reformasi 25 years on: Opportunities and challenges for Indonesian society’
22-23 November, 2023
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41st Indonesian Postgraduate Network Symposium
Digital Disruption, Political Manipulation, and Regional Stability
29-30 November, 2021