Partnership as practice: knowledge-making, public engagement and dissent

2026 Arief Budiman Lecture

Join Dr Jemma Purdey, Adjunct Fellow at the Australia-Indonesia Centre, as she explores how partnerships between Australian and Indonesian researchers, educators, activists, artists and media professionals are more crucial than ever. 

In the late 1990s, Indonesian studies in Australian universities was booming. At the University of Melbourne, enrolments in Indonesian language were close to record highs. Students could choose from a wide range of Indonesia-related subjects and gain a deeper understanding of the country at a time of major political change in its history, with the fall of the Indonesian New Order government in 1998.

Today, the picture is very different. Indonesian studies is no longer thriving in Australian universities as it was, while the public's understanding of Indonesian culture and politics is limited. At the same time, the hope and optimism of Indonesia’s reformasi era is fading, and in its place, there is growing concern at the declining democratic standards and increased restrictions on basic freedoms.

Dr Purdey's presentation will investigate how collaboration can help protect academic freedom and human rights, as well as improve public understanding of one of our closest neighbours.

The Arief Budiman Public Lecture is held in honour of scholar, activist and public intellectual Arief Budiman (1941-2020). The lecture is supported by the Asian Studies Trust Fund and the Indonesian Studies Program at the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne.

Image: Mia Salim/AusAID

Sign up for our newsletter and stay connected with the latest updates from the Faculty of Arts.
 

The Faculty of Arts will collect and process your personal information to manage your registration and to contact you regarding an event once you have registered to attend. For further details on how your personal information is handled, please refer to Faculty of Arts Privacy Notice.