Join the Indonesia Studies Program at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a webinar examining how the relocation of Indonesia’s administrative capital to Nusantara is reshaping Jakarta’s governance, planning priorities, and everyday urban experience. Speakers include Dr. Irna Nurlina Masron, Fellow of the Regional Social and Cultural Studies and the Indonesia Studies Programs at ISEAS, and Dr. Siwage Dharma Negara, senior fellow, Co-Coordinator for the Indonesia Studies Program, and Coordinator for the Singapore APEC Study Center at ISEAS. Rita Padawangi, Associate Professor at the College of Interdisciplinary and Experiential Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences, will moderate the discussion.

Join the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University for a talk by Visiting Scholar, Dr. David Thang Moe. Drawing on firsthand experience, current research, and his forthcoming monograph Beyond Buddhist Nationalism (Oxford University Press), he will discuss ungovernability, centralized nationalism, decentralized resistance, ethnic reconciliation, and visions of democratic nationhood in Myanmar.

Join York University’s Canadian Southeast Asian Studies Initiative for a book talk by Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Associate Professor of Sociology at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences. In this pioneering book, Yasmin Y. Ortiga studies the narratives that emerged around two groups of Filipino workers: nurses banned from leaving the country and cruise workers who returned home after COVID-19 shut down the travel industry. Soma Chatterjee, Associate Professor of Social Work at York University, will moderate the conversation.

Join the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University for a talk by Visiting Scholar, Dr. David Thang Moe. Drawing on firsthand experience, current research, and his forthcoming monograph Beyond Buddhist Nationalism (Oxford University Press), he will discuss ungovernability, centralized nationalism, decentralized resistance, ethnic reconciliation, and visions of democratic nationhood in Myanmar.

Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University (NIU) for a talk by Wan Juliana Emeih Binti Wahed, NIU Fulbright Visiting Scholar and Senior Lecturer at the College of Creative Arts, MARA University of Technology Sarawak Branch, Malaysia. In this lecture, Dr. Wahed will discuss the aesthetic design of Pua Kumbu, a traditional patterned multi-coloured ceremonial cotton clothing created and occasionally worn by the Iban people of Sarawak, West Kalimantan in Indonesia, and Brunei.

Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan for a talk by Dr. Yogambigai Rajamoorthy, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Accountancy and Management at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia. This presentation offers a comparative examination of the acceptance and perception of different types of vaccination in Malaysia and Indonesia, comparing and contrasting factors shaping public attitudes toward immunization across these countries.

Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at UCLA for a lecture by Dr. Supeena Insee Adler, the curator and conservator of the World Musical Instrument Collection at UCLA and an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Ethnomusicology, where she directs the Music of Thailand ensemble. In this lecture, Dr. Adler will discuss the efforts of the Thai performing arts community in preserving cultural heritage and strengthening social bonds in Southern California’s Thai diaspora.

Join NYSEAN and Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative at NYU for a talk by Gina Apostol, acclaimed author who teaches writing at the Fieldston School, Barnard College, and The New School; and Neferti Tadiar, Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College.

Join the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan (U-M) for a talk by Scott Stonington, Associate Professor of Anthropology and internal medicine physician at U-M. In this talk, Dr. Stonington explores how religious practice might emerge in the face of domineering experiences, through interviews and participant observation with people coping with severe pain in Northern Thailand.

Join the Institute of Fine Arts at NYU for a talk by Dr. Jessica Rahardjo, Research Associate at the Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford. Dr. Rahardjo’s lecture will explore the adoption of Islam in Indonesia through the adoption of specific tombstone forms and their subsequent transformations in Aceh and the Minangkabau highlands in western Sumatra.

Join the Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) at Cornell University for a talk by Dr. Liang Wu, a SEAP Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University with affiliations in the Department of Science & Technology Studies and the interdepartmental consortium Cornell Oceans. Dr. Wu presents a case study of Filipino among other Southeast Asian seafarers working in the international shipping industry across the global oceans, thus expanding the conventional definition of “Maritime Southeast Asia” – the archipelagic region of Southeast Asian countries situated between Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Join the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asian Center for a talk by Rianne Subijanto, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Baruch College, City University of New York. Her book, Communication against Capital: Red Enlightenment at the Dawn of Indonesia, tells a story of the processes through which ordinary people mobilized an anticolonial communist resistance against Dutch rule through the production of revolutionary communication in the 1920s.

To celebrate the Year of the Horse, join the World’s Borough Bookshop for author/illustrator Aram Kim reading Tomorrow Is New Year’s Day and author Monique Truong reading Mai's Áo Dài. The book readings are followed by activities learning all about customs and traditions important to the Lunar New Year, including an art workshop for kids by Bonnie Wong and a lion dance performance.

Join the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a seminar assessing what to expect from the State Security and Peace Commission’s recent polls, which are viewed widely as being orchestrated to continue the military’s political dominance in Myanmar. Speakers include: Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing, Visiting Senior Fellow in the Myanmar Studies Program at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and a visiting scholar at Cornell University, and Dr. Mary P. Callahan is an associate professor in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.

Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a talk by Lydia O’Meara, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Dr. O’Meara will explore how seasonal and environmental fluctuations in Timor-Leste shape access to nutrient-rich aquatic foods, while also providing insights into changes in marine biodiversity.

Join the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a roundtable discussing insights and innovative approaches to inform more responsive policymaking in order to address the needs and aspirations of Southeast Asia’s next generation. Speakers include: Professor Nina T. Castillo-Carandang, pioneering health sociologist at  the University of the Philippines’ College of Medicine; Shahhanim Yahya, Senior Research Executive for the Institute for Youth Research Malaysia; Voradon Lerdrat, Director of Research and Policy Partnerships at 101 Public Policy Think Tank (Thailand); Dr. Sari Damar Ratri, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Research (IFAR), Monash University Indonesia; Dr. Rayner Kay Jin Tan, Assistant Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System; and Dr. Tu-Anh Hoang, founder and Director of the Center for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP) and chair of the Vietnam Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response Network.

Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a panel by Southeast Asian language faculty at Cornell on their experiences with, and contributions to, the Southeast Asian Language Council from 2019 to 2024. Speakers include: Yu Yu Khaing, Burmese Language Lecturer; Jolanda Mendaun Pandin, Senior Lecturer of Indonesian; Hannah Phan, Khmer Language Instructor; Thess Savella, Filipino Language Instructor and President of the Consortium for the Advancement of the Philippine Languages and Cultures; and Thúy Tranviet, Vietnamese Language Instructor.

Join the Council on Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University for a talk by Christina E. Firpo, Professor of Southeast Asian history at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Dr. Firpo will discuss her new book, Beauty and the Nation, which explores the changing perspectives on Vietnamese women's beauty and their role in society during the interwar years.

Join the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University for a talk by Aditya Bhattacharjee, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow from Asian Studies at Cornell University, who will discuss how new trends in popular Thai religion have influenced the beliefs and business practices of residents in New York state’s primary Thai enclaves.

Join York University’s Canadian Southeast Asian Studies Initiative for a talk by Maria Victoria Espaldon, Professor and Scientist at the University of the Philippines - Los Baños. Dr. Espaldon will discuss Project SARAI (Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines), a national initiative to support the resilience and sustainability of small scale farming.

Join York University’s Canadian Southeast Asian Studies Initiative for a talk by Dr. Valerie Francisco-Menchavez, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, who will discuss her new book, Caring for Caregivers. The book centers the perspectives of Filipino caregivers in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2013 to 2021, illuminating their transnational experiences and the strategies and practices they employ to help one another navigate the crumbling US healthcare system.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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.