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.

Contact the host of Partnership as practice: knowledge-making, public engagement and dissent

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