Twelve Asian universities discussed critical island studies at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), on Sunday (October 1).
These twelve universities come from Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Japan.
The UGM Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro, stated that the event aims to strengthen perspectives on equality and environmental issues.
“The conference is in line with SDGs 5 (gender equality), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 13 (climate action), 14 (life below water), and 15 (life on land),” said Professor Udasmoro on Wednesday (October 4).
The vice-rector explained that critical island studies is a relatively new field of study in Indonesia. Nevertheless, there was significant enthusiasm from participants to attend this event.
“More than 100 presenters submitted their abstracts with studies from various perspectives. More than half of these critical island studies presenters come from abroad, including the Philippines, Japan, Australia, South Korea, China, the Netherlands, and Taiwan,” she added.
Keynote speakers for the conference included Dr. Daud Aris Tanudirdjo, an archaeologist from the UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences, and Oscar Campomanes, an Ateneo de Manila University professor.
The two-day event, held at UGM and Sanata Dharma University, also featured the signing of a cooperation agreement to strengthen the critical island studies consortium and a meeting of the Asian Journal Network.
Author: Satria