SSEAC Newsletter
June 2024 edition
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Welcome to the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s quarterly newsletter.
Featuring some of our research projects, education initiatives, development programs, news and events, and grant opportunities related to Southeast Asia.
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|  | Politics in Action 2024 speakers with SSEAC moderators (from left): Professor Kenneth Paul Tan (Singapore); Layton Pike (Vietnam); Dr Natali Pearson (SSEAC); Navhat Nuraniyah (Indonesia); Dr Kesone Kanhalikham (Laos); Professor Greg Fox (SSEAC Interim Director); and Professor Azizuddin bin Mohd Sani (Malaysia). Absent: Moe Thuzar (Myanmar), who presented over Zoom.
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Politics in Action 2024Our annual Politics in Action forum is an opportunity to hear from experts who deeply understand the political dimensions of Southeast Asia and this year’s forum was no exception. Held in May, the forum featured a distinguished line-up of speakers who provided insightful analysis on recent political developments in Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and Malaysia. Delivered in person and livestreamed on Facebook, several themes emerged across the presentations. Recent election results, power shifts, political legitimacy and stability in a number Southeast Asian countries were key themes, as was the relationship between economics and politics. Thank you to our speakers for their informed analysis of some complex local and regional issues, and to our audience of students, staff and researchers for engaged Q&A sessions.
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Partnerships for a Healthy Region
On 7 April 2024, World Health Day, the Australian Government announced $45.5 million in funding for six new initiatives to strengthen health systems across the Pacific and Southeast Asia as part of its Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative. One of those initiatives is the Sydney Asia-Pacific Partnership for Health Innovations and Resilient Ecosystems (SAPPHIRE) Consortium, which was awarded $11 million over four years for research on communicable disease control in Vietnam, Cambodia, Fiji and Kiribati. Co-leads of the SAPPHIRE project include Professor Joel Negin, Professor Greg Fox and Associate Professor Justin Beardsley. In Vietnam, the grant will support a program of research including community-based screening for tuberculosis, prevention of antimicrobial resistance in the health and agricultural sectors and efforts to support the scale-up of chronic disease prevention. The co-leads will also work with Dr Alvin Teo to reduce tuberculosis transmission in Cambodia. The projects will be launched in Hanoi later this year.
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 | The Australia-ASEAN funded 'SEA Collections Project' was launched in May.
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Interpreting shared maritime histories
SSEAC’s Dr Natali Pearson is leading a project that aims to increase cross-cultural capacity to interpret and communicate shared maritime histories across five ASEAN countries and Australia. “I’m excited to be working with excellent partners from museums across Southeast Asia and Australia,” Dr Pearson said, following the project launch in May. Participants included public and private museums in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, representatives from UNESCO Jakarta and Bangkok, and national, state and university museums in Australia. The ‘SEA Collections Project’ is the result of a successful $50,000 Australia-ASEAN Council Grant, which was highlighted in Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s announcement of grant winners on the final day of the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.
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A balancing act: Energy security vs food security
Professor Tiho Ancev (School of Economics) has been awarded $100,000 in funding under the University’s International SDG Collaboration Program to lead a project investigating how to optimally determine land areas where solar photovoltaics (PV) may replace or co-exist with agriculture. The project, ‘Solar vs agriculture: Land use, economics and policy’, will use economic and spatial data analysis to map land uses based on case studies in Australia, China and Vietnam to determine areas where the social costs of installing solar PV are the lowest in terms of forgone agricultural productivity. “The research findings will critically inform the transition towards Net Zero while ensuring that food security is not compromised,” Professor Ancev said. The project is a collaboration between the University of Sydney, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hue University, Institute of Energy (Vietnam), and Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Congratulations to Professor Ancev and the team!
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Advancing science communication in Indonesia
Congratulations to Professor Sonja Van Wichelen (School of Social and Political Sciences), who has been awarded a competitive Australia-Indonesia Institute grant to lead a project aimed at advancing science journalism in Indonesia. “Science communication is core to sustainability,” says Professor van Wichelen. “This project aims to increase collaboration between scientists and journalists to progress critical science communication. It will evaluate how journalists and scientists from a range of disciplines can best work together to communicate the effects of the environmental crisis on health.” The project builds on an existing collaboration between the University of Sydney, Universitas Airlangga and the Society of Indonesian Science Journalists, with up to 10 early-career science journalists with an interest in global health, public health policy, bioinformatics, biomedical sciences and digital health participating.
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Sydney Horizon awardees
Congratulations to SSEAC’s Myanmar Country Coordinator Dr Louis Taborda (Faculty of Engineering), one of the specialist educators recruited under the Sydney Horizon Educator scheme. The scheme, which recognises talented university educators, provides access to a range of professional development opportunities and grants to support educational innovation. Dr Taborda will draw on the Horizon program’s support for education-focused research to investigate experiential learning that helps students apply knowledge in practical ways.
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SSEAC also congratulates new member Dr Nicholas Fancourt (Faculty of Medicine and Health), who is one of the first cohort of Sydney Horizon Fellows. The Horizon Fellowships support 40 Fellows to undertake innovative, multidisciplinary research in the areas of climate change, health and sustainability. Dr Fancourt’s project is ‘Immunology and pneumonia in malnourished children: A translational approach from Timor-Leste to improve global child mortality’. The five-year research-focused fellowships include a training and development program and mentorship to support Horizon Fellows to become global research leaders.
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Awards continue for Sophie Chao’s In the Shadow of the Palms
The awards build on earlier recognition for her work reported here.
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Writing goals achieved!
We’re thrilled to report on the publication of two journal articles that were progressed during our popular postgraduate and early- and mid-career researcher writing retreats. Congratulations to PhD candidate Louisa Field, whose article ‘Prioritized but declining’ looks at participation trends in four identified “priority” Asian languages, including Indonesian, in Australian secondary schools. And to University of Sydney alumni Dr Chieh-Ming Lai, who worked on a first draft of his article on urban greening practices in Bangkok at a SSEAC writing retreat.
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Citizen scientists in Vietnam help explore fungal diversity
Associate Professor Justin Beardsley and a team of researchers have partnered with high schools in Hanoi to run a citizen science project aimed at studying six key fungi in Vietnam where no formal surveillance exists. The pathogens were ranked as high or critical in the World Health Organization fungal priority pathogens list and recognised as major disease-causing agents in Vietnam. Secondary school students collected soil and air samples for fungal identification and characterisation of drug susceptibility. A video was made to show the students how the collected samples are analysed in the lab and what they found. The full study published in One Health demonstrates an approach to fungal surveillance that enhances science education and awareness of fungal diseases. It addresses critical healthcare and education challenges in Vietnam while combating the growing issues of invasive fungal diseases and antifungal resistance.
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Higher ground or into harm’s way?
The Philippines is expected to see the highest rise in population exposure to storm surge of any country globally over the next century under climate change. While research on evacuations often evaluate the safety of public shelters, what’s missing is knowledge of where households intend to evacuate under storm surge advisories and the overall scale of risk in their planned choices. A new study by Dr Aaron Opdyke (Faculty of Engineering and SSEAC's Philippines Country Coordinator) assesses storm surge risk to homes and planned evacuation locations in 12,150 households in the Municipality of Carigara and finds that large numbers of households intend, likely unknowingly, to evacuate to a building that is potentially higher risk than their primary residence. Learn more.
Most disaster-affected populations face the complex task of reconstructing their dwellings with minimal or no external support. In a separate study on post-disaster housing reconstruction, Dr Opdyke, PhD candidate Arvin Hadlos and SSEAC member Dr Ali Hadigheh (Faculty of Engineering) conducted a case study analysis of a geographically isolated municipality in the northern Philippines to understand the construction practices of the Ivatan Indigenous households after the 2019 earthquakes. The study focuses on the multi-hazard realities affecting communities and the use of local and indigenous knowledge to reduce disaster impacts. Learn more.
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Recent highlights
—workshops, webinars, events & more
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Webinar | History of pandemics in Singapore
Social and endemic histories come together in this webinar on Singapore’s response to pandemics across the centuries. Based on their book Pandemics in Singapore, 1819–2022: Lessons for the Age of COVID-19 (Routledge, 2024), historian Dr Kah Seng Loh and infectious diseases physician Professor Li Yang Hsu examine Singapore’s pandemic history, different government responses and valuable lessons learned for navigating the challenges posed by COVID-19. The discussion is followed by reflections from Professor Ben Marais, Director of the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute.
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PhilS4 | Building relations: Citizenship regimes in post-disaster communities in the Philippines
Note: The Editor apologises to Dr Cajilig for erroneously attributing this seminar to the moderator in the March newsletter.
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New reports on Southeast Asia
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- Transforming ASEAN: Strategies for Achieving Inclusive and Sustainable Growth (Asian Development Bank Institute) examines critical themes highlighted under Indonesia’s 2022 G20 presidency and 2023 ASEAN Summit chairmanship, including economic resilience, digital transformation, food security, green energy transition, scientific and higher education, and regional and international collaboration, and explores opportunities for knowledge sharing.
- Southeast Asia’s first homegrown cyber capacity assessment framework, Cyber ASEAN: Advancing Cyber Resiliency and Capacity in Southeast Asia (Pacific Forum International) highlights the region’s complex cybersecurity challenges, and its innovative, entrepreneurial and inclusive approaches to cyber security.
- The State of Southeast Asia: 2024 Survey Report (ASEAN Studies Centre, ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute) provides a snapshot of the views and perceptions of Southeast Asians on geopolitical developments affecting the region, key international affairs and how ASEAN Dialogue Partners have engaged with the region over the preceding year.
- SIGI 2024 Regional Report for Southeast Asia: Time to Care (OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index series) provides new evidence-based analysis on the progress and setbacks in eliminating the root causes of gender inequality in the region with a focus on the care economy.
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What’s coming up?
—events and opportunities
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Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposia
The Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposia 2024 will bring together senior university leaders, researchers and academics from Australia and Vietnam to showcase multidisciplinary research collaborations and explore new opportunities for cooperation to tackle major shared challenges. This year's theme is ‘Strengthening partnerships in research and innovation’ and will include focused research presentations, a roundtable discussion on growing high-quality research partnerships in Vietnam and a panel discussion on developing the next generation of research leaders. The Symposia will be held in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in person and online as part of the official launch of the Sydney Vietnam Institute.To register to attend the Symposia online:
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Imagine a world without corruption
In this SSEAC Seminar, Raymond Abrea, Lead Convenor of the International Tax and Investment Conference, will discuss his latest book, Reimagining the World Without Corruption, including the definition, origin, causes and effects of corruption and the different ways that it can manifest. He will also explore various international initiatives to fight corruption, and propose a governance framework to address this widespread issue and empower others to take and demand action.When: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Where: Seminar room 3001, Sydney Nanoscience Hub, University of Sydney
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GEOFEST 2024 Sydney Workshop
The annual Geotourism Festival and International Conference (GEOFEST) focuses on the development of geotourism within the Indonesian UNESCO Global Geoparks. Now in its 5th year, this year’s theme is ‘The Volcano as a World Class Sustainable Geotourism Destination’ and for the first time Australia, through the auspices of the Australian Geoscience Council, has been invited to collaborate. The conference will conclude with a series of events over three days at the University of Sydney.Workshop
- Thursday, 18 July, 8:30am–5:00pm, New Law Building (F10)
- Register here (university students $20)
Dinner
- Thursday, 18 July, 6:00pm–11:00pm, Holme Building (A09)
- Register here
Field trips
- Blue Mountains, Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion and South Coast volcanics at Kiama
- Friday, 19 July, 8.00am–6.00pm, depart from Madsen Building (F09)
- Register here (places filling fast)
Wildlife Workshop
- Saturday, 20 July, 9.00am–4.00pm, Masden Building (F09)
- Register here
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Call for papers: Disability, Technology and Digital Inclusion in Southeast Asia
After a successful conference on Digital Inclusion in Southeast Asia co-hosted by the Centre for Disability Research and Policy (University of Sydney), Institute for Culture and Society (Western Sydney University), Asian Communication Research Centre (Nanyang Technological University) and SSEAC in March 2024, Dr Kuansong Victor Zhuang (NTU), Professor Gerard Goggin (WSU) and Professor Jennifer Smith-Merry invite abstracts for a special issue for consideration in Information, Communication & Society. Abstracts should either focus on Southeast Asia as a region, and/or specific Southeast Asian nation-states. While the Editors draw attention to the region, they are also interested in how the global intersects with Southeast Asia.
Submit your abstracts to Victor Zhuang with the following details by 31 July 2024:
- Email subject line: CFP Special Issue Disability Technology in SEA
- Abstract: An abstract of between 350 and 500 words, detailing the argument, findings and methodology of the research
- Bio: A short 50-word bio of each author(s)
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FMH Global Health Research Showcase
This inaugural Faculty of Medicine and Health (FMH) Global Health Research Showcase will share global health research highlights from FMH’s Networks and Centres and from across the university. Hear from senior global health researchers about the current global health landscape and opportunities for international research by early- and mid-career researchers. Engage with partners working across the world, including from Vietnam, Fiji, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and beyond.
When: Thursday, 1 August 2024, 1:00pm–5:45pm
Where: In person, Michael Spence Building (F23), University of Sydney Camperdown Campus
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7th Conference on Human Rights
When: 28–29 August 2024
Where: Faculty of Law, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia
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2024 Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia Conference
The University of Sydney will host the 2024 Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia (OMAA) Conference, which will explore themes of ‘Multilingual archives and histories’ and ‘Multilingualism in translation’. The OMAA Conference will be held in Sydney on 2–3 December 2024 and the call for papers is now open for abstracts and panel proposals. Deadline for submissions: Wednesday, 31 July 2024, 11:59pm AEDT
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NHMRC, MRFF and Wellcome
University of Sydney Information sessions:
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ECR Fellowship opportunity
The Westpac Research Fellowship supports early-career researchers who are looking to fast-track their trajectory and create positive change in Australia. The program provides up to five years of funding for postdoctoral research projects in four priority areas: sustainability; technology and innovation; social change; and Australia’s relationship with Asia.
Key dates (Westpac deadlines are in red):
- Applications open: Thursday, 4 July 2024
- Westpac online information session: Tuesday, 16 July 2024, 1:30pm
- USyd internal EOI closes: Monday, 22 July 2024, 9:00am
- USyd internal EOI outcomes: Tuesday, 30 July 2024
- USyd internal deadline closes: Wednesday, 21 August 2024, 5:00pm
- Westpac applications close: Wednesday, 28 August 2024, 5:00pm
SSEAC member applicants who pass the expression of interest stage (internal EOI outcomes estimated 30 July 2024) are eligible to receive targeted support from SSEAC academic mentors. Please email sseac@sydney.edu.au to express your interest in receiving support.
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Ignition Grants
The University of Sydney – University College London (UCL) Ignition Grants are a new initiative. Proposals are invited from academic staff from all disciplines at the University of Sydney and UCL, and their affiliated Research Centres and Institutes. Proposals may be submitted in any disciplinary area, but projects in the following fields are particularly encouraged: Infection and immunity; Neuroscience; Biomedical engineering; Biotechnology; Nanotechnology; Artificial Intelligence.Expressions of interest close: 6 September 2024
Applicants must provide CI names, the project’s title, and a brief (100-word) summary of the proposed theme and activity in an email to the University of Sydney and UCL program coordinators.
For Sydney University applicants, see here for more details, or visit the UCL website.
Applications close: 5 October 2024, 2:59pm AEST (Ithaca – Friday 4 October 2024, 11:59pm EDT)
All applications must be jointly submitted by a Chief Investigator from the University of Sydney and a Chief Investigator from Cornell University. Preference is given to applications involving new collaborations.
For Sydney University applicants, see here for more details.
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Analysis of corruption in Indonesia’s courts
In Judicial Dysfunction in Indonesia (Melbourne University Press, 2023), Professor Simon Butt demonstrates that Indonesian courts have tended to act without accountability, offers detailed analysis of highly controversial decisions by Indonesian courts, sets out for the first time how bribes are negotiated and paid to judges, and reveals that judges have issued poor decisions and engaged in corruption and other misconduct, largely without fear of retribution. Essential reading for scholars and students of Indonesian law and society.
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Resilient resistance in Myanmar
In Outsourcing the Polity (Cornell, 2023), Gerard McCarthy offers a new account of social outsourcing in post-independence Myanmar. Grounded in extensive research during Myanmar's decade of partial civilian rule (2011–2021), the book examines how ideals and practices of non-state welfare (charity, philanthropy and social provisioning beyond the state) can both sustain democratic resistance and entrench inequality over time. A roundtable discussion was held ahead of Politics in Action 2024, with discussants Dr Susan Banki, Moe Thuzar and PhD candidate Tony Neil.
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Making sense of climate finance
Climate change is increasingly contested on financial terms, with different actors advancing competing climate visions and interests by adopting financial positions. In Climate Finance: Taking a Position on Climate Futures (Agenda Publishing, 2024), SSEAC member Dr Sophie Webber and Dr Gareth Bryant provide a guide to the political economy and economic geography of climate finance through six competing “positions”. They use a wide range of case studies to show how climate finance is shaping our collective climate futures.
Buy your copy here or download the open access eBook here.
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Financial access and socio-economic development in Indonesia
Globally, 1.4 billion people are “financially excluded” from access to financial services, with Muslim-majority countries particularly impacted. Indonesia’s outgoing President Joko Widodo has actively sought to promote Islamic finance-based development initiatives. In this episode, University of Sydney alumni Dr Tanvir Uddin, founder and CEO of investment platform Wholesum, discusses the intersection of Islamic law, finance and development and looks at how to generate economic participation in the world’s largest Muslim country.
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Cambodia’s construction industry and workplace gender-based violence
International donors in Cambodia have driven increased scrutiny of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) within the domestic sphere and, increasingly, in the workplace. While greater attention is needed and welcome, Professor Michele Ford and PhD candidate Vichhra Mouyly argue that to effectively eliminate GBVH from the workplace, a close examination of the way work is organised and controlled is needed. They discuss these issues and share their research on women’s experiences of GBVH in the context of Cambodia’s construction industry.
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Disability and work in Timor-Leste
What does an inclusive society look like? And what are the challenges and opportunities when the society in question is one of the most resource-constrained in Southeast Asia? Dr Kim Bulkeley, Centre for Disability Research and Policy, argues that people with a disability are a key component of a truly inclusive society – and that employment can be a key policy lever for inclusion. With Timor-Leste recently ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, now is the time, she says, for building an evidence base for employment as a foundational right that has transformational potential not only for people with disability but for the broader community.
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In the media
- A study by Dr Sandra Seno-Alday was highlighted in an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on celebrating Filipino women entrepreneurs.
- Dr Natali Pearson wrote for The Conversation on an ARC Linkage project studying ‘orphaned objects’ to uncover which shipwrecks they came from. Also translated in Bahasa Indonesia. She was also interviewed on ABC’s Sunday Extra.
- Associate Professor Justin Beardsley was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald about a new antifungal drug that could be rendered useless before it hits the market.
- Professor Simon Butt wrote for Indonesia at Melbourne on amendments to Indonesia’s Constitutional Court Law and democratic decline.
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ICYMI: Dr Natali Pearson was recognised by a peer as a champion in investing in relationship building, just one of the themes that emerged when KONEKSI interviewed EMCRs to understand what makes a successful research collaboration in Indonesia as outlined in this Indonesia at Melbourne article.
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Join the conversation!
SSEAC is connecting with thousands of individuals and organisations engaging in Southeast Asia every month on social media. Join the conversation to share your work, hear about our latest events and seminars, and be the first to know about grants, research and opportunities in Southeast Asia.
If you have a recently published article, book review, or interview that you’d like to share with a Southeast Asia-focused community, let us know! Email sseac@sydney.edu.au with the details, or tag us in your tweet @seacsydney.
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