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Indonesia Council Open Conference 2023
Indonesia 25 Years On
The Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney and Humanitarian and Development Studies at Western Sydney University are proud to host the Indonesia Council Open Conference 2023.
Dates: 26–27 September 2023
Venue: Online via Zoom and in person at the University of Sydney, Camperdown campus
About the Conference
The Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney and Humanitarian and Development Studies at Western Sydney University are proud to host the Indonesia Council Open Conference 2023. This conference brings together academics and postgraduate researchers from across the disciplines with an interest in Indonesia, and is open to scholars, students and community members interested in engaging with cutting-edge research.
The theme for ICOC 2023 is Indonesia 25 Years On. In 2023, we mark a quarter-century of Indonesia’s abrupt rejection of authoritarianism following the resignation of Suharto in May 1998 after millions took to the streets in protest against the economic and social chaos that accompanied the Asian financial crisis of the previous year. But what does Indonesia look like now?
We invite abstract submissions from any disciplines for individual papers, panels and roundtable discussions that reflect on one or more of the myriad facets of life in today’s Indonesia, how Indonesia got there, and where it might go next.
In particular we look forward to presentations addressing the following broad themes:
- Agrarian change and rural studies
- Arts and culture
- Cities and urban living
- Gender and sexuality
- Health and wellbeing
- History
- Identity
- Indonesia in the world
- Indonesia online
- Inequality and inclusion
- Marriage and family
- Migration
- Politics and political economy
- Religion
- Social and economic development
- Social movements
- State and society
- The environment
Further information
- Call for Papers closes: 15 February 2023
- Notification of acceptance: 8 March 2023
- Registrations open: 8 March 2023
- Deadline for confirmation of acceptance: 31 May 2023
- Deadline for speaker registration: 31 May 2023
- Deadline for non-speaker registration: 31 August 2023
- Applications for the Postgraduate Workshop close: 31 August 2023
- Deadline to register for the optional food and culture trip: 31 August 2023
- Postgraduate Workshop: 25 September 2023 (morning only)
- Optional food and culture trip: 25 September 2023 (afternoon only)
- Conference: 26–27 September 2023
The conference will be held in a hybrid format, online via Zoom and in person at the University of Sydney, Camperdown campus.
The Call for Papers is now closed.
Abstract submissions open on 15 August 2022 and close on 15 February 2023. While individual paper abstracts are welcome, we strongly encourage the submission of joint proposals for roundtables, individual panels, or streams on a particular theme. Please consider gender balance and the inclusion of a combination of junior and senior scholars, in all panel, stream and roundtable proposals. We also encourage you to consider including speakers from different disciplines.
- Individual paper abstracts
Individual proposals should include a 150-word abstract. If relevant, please select one of our thematic areas when submitting your abstract. This helps our reviewing process and helps your paper be grouped with similar papers.
- Panel proposals
Panels can be proposed by an individual or sponsored by an institution, and should consist of four paper presenters and a chair. Proposals should include:
- The name of the panel chair
- A panel title and a 150-word panel abstract
- A title, 150-word abstract and author details for each of the four papers to be presented
Proposals for a stream of panels are welcome, but each panel will be assessed on its own merits.
- Roundtable proposals
Roundtable proposals should have six participants – including the chair – and should include:
- The name of the roundtable chair
- A 250-word abstract detailing the theme of the roundtable discussion and four to five key questions that will be addressed
- A list of the participants and the contribution of each to the roundtable
Individuals agreeing to join a panel or roundtable proposal should be committed to attending the conference from 26–27 September 2023, should the proposal be accepted. If paper-givers have not registered by 31 May 2023, we will remove their name from the conference program and panel chairs will be asked to identify a replacement speaker.
While the conference will primarily be in-person, the conference will include one online panel in each scheduled session so that participants in Indonesia and elsewhere can participate.
We invite paper and panel proposals on any topic related to the conference theme, and in particular on the following:
- Agrarian change and rural studies
- Arts and culture
- Cities and urban living
- Gender and sexuality
- Health and wellbeing
- History
- Identity
- Indonesia in the world
- Indonesia online
- Inequality and inclusion
- Marriage and family
- Migration
- Politics and political economy
- Religion
- Social and economic development
- Social movements
- State and society
- The environment
| Theme | Champion | Email address |
| Agrarian change and rural studies | Jeff Neilson | jeffrey.neilson@sydney.edu.au |
| Arts and culture | Elly Kent | ellen.kent@anu.edu.au |
| Cities and urban living | Sophie Webber | sophie.webber@sydney.edu.au |
| Gender and sexuality | Benjamin Hegarty | benjamin.hegarty@unimelb.edu.au |
| Health and wellbeing | Catherine Smith | cat.catherinesmith@gmail.com |
| History | Vannessa Hearman | vannessa.hearman@curtin.edu.au |
| Identity | Charlotte Setijadi | csetijadi@smu.edu.sg |
| Indonesia in the world | Jemma Purdey | jemma.purdey@monash.edu |
| Indonesia online | Annisa Beta | annisa.beta@unimelb.edu.au |
| Inequality and inclusion | Riyana Miranti | riyana.miranti@canberra.edu.au |
| Marriage and family | Ariane Utomo | ariane.utomo@unimelb.edu.au |
| Migration | Salut Muhidin | salut.muhidin@mq.edu.au |
| Politics and political economy | Eve Warburton | eve.warburton@anu.edu.au |
| Religion | Eva Nisa | eva.nisa@anu.edu.au |
| Social and economic development | Zulfan Tadjoeddin | z.tadjoeddin@westernsydney.edu.au |
| Social movements | Iqra Anugrah | officialiqraanugrah@gmail.com |
| State and society | Jeremy Kingsley | jkingsley@swin.edu.au |
| The environment | Jeff Neilson | jeffrey.neilson@sydney.edu.au |
The Indonesia Council Open Conference 2023 will also include a half-day postgraduate workshop on Monday 25 September 2023 (morning only).
Register for the half-day postgraduate workshop by 31 August 2023.
The workshop is open to all postgraduate members of the Indonesia Council. Postgraduates wishing to attend the workshop are strongly encouraged to attend the conference as well.
- Umi Pujiyanti - u.pujiyanti@westernsydney.edu.au
- Yunie Rahmat - yunie.rahmat@sydney.edu.au
The ICOC 2023 food and culture trip will run in the afternoon of Monday 25 September 2023.
This activity is open to all those who have registered for the Indonesia Council Open Conference 2023 (not just postgraduates!).
Participation is optional and you will be expected to self-fund (we will use public transport, and you will buy your own snacks and refreshments).
Registrations for this event is now closed.
Conference convenors
Dr Natali Pearson is the President of the Indonesia Council Inc (INC2300434) and Curriculum Coordinator at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, University of Sydney, where she is affiliated with the Department of Archaeology. Her research focuses on the protection, management and interpretation of underwater cultural heritage in Indonesia.
Natali’s first book, Belitung: The Afterlives of a Shipwreck, will be published by University of Hawai‘i Press in 2022. She is an Expert Member of the ICOMOS International Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management. Natali co-edits 'Perspectives on the Past' at New Mandala and is a regular contributor to the media.
Professor Michele Ford is Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney, where she researches labour internationalism and labour activism in Southeast Asia. Her books include Workers and Intellectuals: NGOs, Trade Unions and the Indonesian Labour Movement (NUS/Hawaii/KITLV 2009), From Migrant to Worker: Global Unions and Temporary Labor Migration in Asia (Cornell 2019) and Labor and Politics in Indonesia (Cambridge 2020, with Teri Caraway). Her most recent research project, with Dr Kristy Ward, APHEDA, BWI and the Solidarity Center, examines the international labour movement’s efforts to reduce gender-based violence in Cambodia’s construction sector.
Associate Professor Zulfan Tadjoeddin is Associate Professor in Development Studies at Western Sydney University. He had visiting research appointments at the Queen Elizabeth House (QEH) of the University of Oxford (UK) and at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands); was a Technical Advisor on decentralization and conflict at the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) in Indonesia; was a Researcher at the UN Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR-UNDP) and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). His areas of research include political economy of development, employment and labour market as well as poverty and inequality. His first book titled Explaining Collective Violence in Contemporary Indonesia: From Conflict to Cooperation is published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. His second book Employment and Reindustrialisation in Post Soeharto Indonesia is also published by Palgrave, 2018. His articles have appeared in leading academic journals, such as Journal of Development Studies, Oxford Development Studies, Journal of East Asian Studies, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of International Development, Economic and Labour Relations Review and Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. He has consulted for Asian Development Bank (ADB) and various UN agencies such as FAO, ILO, UN-ESCAP, UNICEF and UN-OHRLLS.