Join the Stimson Center for a two-part webinar analyzing the junta-led elections in Myanmar and their implications for Myanmar’s political landscape and stakeholders as the military regime shapes itself. Speakers include: Min Zin, Executive Director of ISP-Myanmar; Morgan Michaels, Research Fellow for Southeast Asian Security and Defence at the International Institute for Strategic Studies; H.E. Moe Zaw Oo, Foreign Affairs Advisor, National Unity Government; Moe Thuzar, Senior Fellow and Myanmar Studies Program Coordinator at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute; Amara Thiha, Stimson Nonresident Fellow; Steve Ross, Stimson Senior Fellow; and Yun Sun, Senior Fellow of the Myanmar Project and Co-Director of the East Asia Program at Stimson.

Join the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a webinar exploring the key issues shaping Thailand’s 2026 general election. Speakers include Mathis Lohatepanont, Political Science Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Michigan, and Thanisara Ruangdej (GG), the CEO and Co-founder of WeVis, a civic technology group advancing Thailand’s participatory democracy through open data.

Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor for a talk by Adam Bobbette, geographer and Lecturer in Political Geology at the University of Glasgow. Professor Bobbette’s talk explores how the modern earth and environmental sciences were shaped by Indonesian intellectuals and knowledge traditions on the slopes of Javanese volcanoes.

Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a talk by Mark Sanchez, Assistant Professor of Asian and Asian American Studies at Vanderbilt University, who will discuss how legal advocates fought to defend civil liberties during the martial law era in the Philippines (1972-1981).

Join NYSEAN and the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute for a screening of short films from Democratic Voice of Burma and PBS on the fifth anniversary of the coup in Myanmar. The film screenings will be followed by a discussion with May Sabe Phyu, a Kachin social worker and activist, and Dr. Kyaw Moe Tun, President and Founder of Parami University.

Join the Vietnam Studies Program at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a talk by Le Duy Binh, Chief Economist and Managing Director of Economica Vietnam, and Long Tran, Head of Research at BIDV Securities (BSC), one of Vietnam’s oldest and most prominent securities firms. These experts will provide an analysis of Vietnam’s economic performance in 2025, assess its outlook for 2026, and evaluate whether Vietnam is ready for a new “Era of National Rise.”

Join the ASEAN Studies Center at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a panel exploring how Cambodia, Laos, and Singapore have “led from the middle” to steer ASEAN through periods of uncertainty. The panel will examine what these lessons and experiences hold for future chairs, including Timor-Leste, in keeping ASEAN cohesive, credible, and responsive to emerging challenges. 

Speakers include: Ambassador Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS); H.E. Sisangkhom Sisaketh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Lao PDR to ASEAN; Dr. Joel Ng, Senior Fellow and Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at Nanyang Technological University; and Dr. Anoulak Kittikhoun, Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Join OCA-NY for a one-day leadership summit with interactive trainings on community organizing, advocacy, and civic engagement for AANHPI community members and leaders. The summit will encourage participants to become more civically engaged and to create a pipeline of policy champions.

Join the Southeast Asia Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEACAF) for its orientation and general assembly. This is a key opportunity for members to shape priorities, engage in meaningful discussions, and contribute to the next phase of SEACAF’s work in 2026.

Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan for a talk by geographer and visiting professor Saw Yu May, who will discuss water challenges in Myanmar, from pollution and overuse to climate and governance pressures. It links research-based on water issues and community livelihoods with national policy efforts, highlighting the gap between environmental needs and implementation of the 2015 National Water Policy.

Join the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies for a talk by Danny Wong Tze Ken, Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Universiti Malaya, who will discuss the experiences of Chinese diasporas in Southeast Asia as well as their relations with China.

Join the ASEAN Studies Center and Philippine Studies Program at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a seminar examining the priorities, constraints, and opportunities of the Philippines’ 2026 Chairmanship of ASEAN. Speakers include: M.C. Abad Jr., a Trustee of ASEAN Society Philippines and the first Director of the ASEAN Regional Forum from 1997 – 2007; Marilyn J. Alarilla, former Philippine Ambassador to Turkey (2011-2013) and Laos (2009 to 2011); and Professor Mely Caballero-Anthony, President’s Chair in International Relations and Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.

Join the Council on Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University for a talk by Christina H. Lee, Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Acting Chair of the Humanities Council at Princeton University. Professor Lee will discuss how elite indigenous women in the Philippines signed documents in pre-Hispanic indigenous scripts known as baybayin, demonstrating their persistence in preserving this cultural heritage despite over a century of gradual decline in literacy following the Hispanization of the indigenous script.

Join the Malaysia Studies Program at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a talk by Ibrahim Suffian, co-founder and programs director of Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, who will discuss public sentiment on the Madani Administration and other political issues in Malaysia.

Throughout 2025, there have been scores of activities commemorating the centennial of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesia’s most internationally translated literary figure. His novels have been translated into at least 49 languages. New foreign language editions in French and Chinese have recently appeared. Within Indonesia, however, his works are never, or extremely rarely, discussed in public schools. In the official or semi-official historical narrative of Indonesia, he was part of Indonesian society that was banned and marginalised. Pramoedya himself was 14 years in prison without charge from 1965 and his works, including the famous BUMI MANUSIA (This Earth of Mankind), published after his release from prison in 1979, was also banned. It was only after the fall of Suharto in 1998 that Pramoedya’s books could be purchased in a bookshop.

Join the Graduate Education and Training in Southeast Asian Studies (GETSEA) consortium for an information session for undergraduate students. In this session, graduate students studying Southeast Asia in universities across the United States will discuss resources, programs, funding, advisors, and other topics related to pursuing a graduate degree in Southeast Asian studies.

Join the ISEAS Myanmar Studies Program for insights from researchers and observers examining the complex conflict dynamics affecting stakeholders and electors, the known knowns and the uncertainties in the economic landscape, and the mechanics and implications of the State Peace and Security Commission’s election exercise.

Join the Center for Remembering & Sharing for a concert that explores the theme of immigration, growing out of their own rich multi-ethnic family and musical histories, from Africa, Japan, Timor, Taiwan, Haiti, and beyond. Curated by Jen Shyu, the concert features Jen Shyu herself (vocals, Taiwanese moon flute, Japanese biwa, Korean gayageum), Sumi Tonooka (piano), and Val Jeanty (SoundChemist).

Join Gamelan Kusuma Laras for their 2025 Klenèngan, a Javanese music jam in a relaxed atmosphere. Gamelan Kusuma Laras is directed by I.M. Harjito. This klenèngan will feature special guests Darsono Hadiraharjo, Peni Candrarini, and Heri Purwanto. There will be two performance sets: 4:00 - 6:00 PM and 7:00 - 10:00 PM.

Join the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) for a virtual screening of all five episodes of the Southeast Asian American Journeys documentary series, produced in partnership with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and featuring guest appearances from community members featured in the films. The screenings will be followed by a Q&A with Producer/Director Quyên Nguyen-Le, SEARAC Executive Director Quyen Dinh, and CAAM Executive Director Donald Young.

Join the EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop for a workshop on making prints, using letterpress and risograph technologies, to collectively produce a zine or short monograph. This workshop includes a brief introduction by Rianne Subijanto, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Baruch College-CUNY, and Meghan Forbes, author of Technologies for the Revolution: The Czech Avant-Garde in Print. This event will highlight histories of print culture from Indonesia to Czechoslovakia a century ago, in which the working class and avant-garde artists utilized printed matter and modern channels of communication to push for an anti-capitalist, anti-colonial future.

Join the Stimson Center for a talk by Aye Lei Tun, PhD Candidate in Political Science at McMaster University. As an expert on Myanmar’s pro-democracy civil society organizations (CSOs), Aye Lei Tun will delve into the complexities of how CSOs are strategizing for survival amid pressures by the ruling junta, with new research tracking the latest developments in Myanmar’s civil society.

Join the Indonesia Institute at Australian National University (ANU) for their annual Human Rights Day panel, which brings together experts with deep knowledge of the historical evolutions of human rights activism and protections, from independence to the present day. Speakers include: Sidney Jones (NYSEAN and NYU), Dede Oetemo (GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation), Usman Hamid (Amnesty International Indonesia), and Robert Cribb (ANU). Dyah Ayu Kartika, PhD candidate in the Department of Political and Social Change at ANU, will moderate the discussion.

Join the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and The Twisted Spine Bookstore for the book launch of Twin Tides by Hien Nguyen, a speculative fiction writer who writes about Vietnamese ghosts, monsters, and mythology. The event features a reading by Carolina Đỗ and Rebecca Ho, voice actors of the audiobook. Writer and filmmaker Jade Song will moderate the discussion.

From his powerful lyricism as MC Geologic of the legendary Blue Scholars to his current work as Prometheus Brown of Beatrock Music, join the Asian American Education Project to learn more about how Geo Quibuyen is continuing his legacy empowering Filipino Americans through hip hop and beyond.

Join the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a talk by Dr. Kaewkamol (Karen) Pitakdumrongkit, the Interim Secretary General and incoming Executive Director of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s (PECC) International Secretariat. Dr. Pitakdumrongkit will examine the key findings of the PECC State of the Region Report 2025-2026, which gathered data from over 500 leaders across 24 economies on their outlook for the region from 2026 to 2027.

Join Engage Thailand for a talk by Anchana Heemmina, a human rights defender and the founder of the Duay Jai Group, an organization that provides rehabilitation services for torture victims in Thailand and support for their families. Anchana will discuss her experience working on human rights in Thailand's Deep South, including the current legal context, lessons learned, and pathways to peace. The conversation will be conducted in Thai, with live English interpretation.

Join Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative at NYU, Espacio de Culturas at NYU, and NYSEAN for an evening of short films by Lav Diaz. The program includes: “Butterflies Have No Memories,” “Himala: A Dialectic of Our Times,” “Prologue to The Great Desaparecido,” “The Boy Who Chose the Earth,” “The Day Before the End,” and “The Firefly.”

Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a panel exploring Chinese migration to 20th-century Malaya and contemporary Singapore. Panelists include Zach Howlett, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at National University of Singapore; Wen Li Thian, PhD student at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations; and Darren Wan, History PhD student at Cornell. Shaoling Ma, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, will moderate the panel.