Join NYSEAN, Sulo: The Philippine Studies Initiative at NYU, and the NYU Espacio de Culturas for an evening of film shorts by women and gender-queer filmmakers that have won recognition as winners and/or finalists in festivals in New York, Manila, and elsewhere. Featured filmmakers include Marion Aguas, Ara Chawdhury, Ida Del Mundo, Angeline Marie Michael Meitzler, Margarita Mina, and Maria Estela Paiso.

At the Association for Asian Studies Conference, join NYSEAN and SEACAF for a roundtable that will explore the relationship between authoritarianism and threats to academic and intellectual freedom in a way that puts attacks on higher education in the United States in conversation with Southeast Asia. The Roundtable includes the following scholars: Bencharat Sae Chua of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University in Thailand; Herlambang Wiratraman of the Research Center of Law and Social Justice at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia; Sol Iglesias of the University of the Philippines-Diliman’s Political Science Department in the Philippines, and Rianne Subijanto of Baruch College, City University of New York. Margaret Scott, a founder of NYSEAN and a journalist with the New York Review of Books, will chair.

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 Sonic Bloom and Berlin NYC for a concert featuring distinct R&B voices from the Asian Diaspora: Jereena Montemayor, Filipino American R&B/Pop artist from Southern California; Mark Natama, Indonesian artist blending traditional R&B with contemporary elements, and Dhyan Rajamani, recording artist hailing from Maryland.

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 Asian American / Asian Research Institute at CUNY for a book talk on Contemporary Art and Ecological Transformation in East and Southeast Asia, an edited volume that examines how contemporary art in East and Southeast Asia confronts environmental destruction, ecological degradation, and social injustice against the backdrop of global ecological crises. Featured speakers include Meqin Wang, Professor of Art at California State University, Northridge; Midori Yamamura, Associate Professor of Art History at Kingsborough Community College/CUNY and an Alcaly/Bodian Distinguished Scholar at the CUNY Graduate Center; Stephanie Benzaquen-Gautier, research fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden and the Center for Khmer Studies; and Vicki Kwon, Associate Curator of Korean Art and Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum.

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 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 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 the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for an ASEAN lecture by Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines and former Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, who will discuss the priorities of the Philippines during its Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026.

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 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 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 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 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 – 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 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 Department of Anthropology and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan (U-M) for a talk by Dr. Alyssa Paredes, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at U-M. In this lecture, Dr. Paredes explores how “Big Agriculture” plantations systematically shirk responsibility for food waste, using legal contracts, scientific conventions, and standards of trade to frame them as “external” to their supply chains.

Join the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute for a seminar on the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook Survey, a region-wide annual survey to understand the climate awareness and perceptions of Southeast Asian citizens towards climate action. Presenters include Melinda Martinus, Lead Researcher at ISEAS, and Dr. Samuel Chng, Research Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Join the Philippines Institute at Australian National University for a talk by Dr. Queenie Tomaro, visiting fellow of the ANU Philippines Institute and a faculty at the Department of Political Science, Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology. This seminar examines how women engaged in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) perceive and navigate the convergence of Women, Peace and Security and P/CVE agendas.

Join the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages, the York Centre for Asian Research, the Philippines Study Group, and York International at York University for the virtual book launch of Indigeneity in the Philippines: Studies on Knowledge, Identity, and Rights. The following book contributors will be in attendance: Oona Paredes, Associate Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at UCLA; Ruth Tindaan, Associate Professor of English at the University of the Philippines - Baguio; and Maria Cecilia Medina, Associate Professor at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines - Baguio.

Join the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan (U-M) for a talk by Dr. Alyssa Paredes, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at U-M. In this lecture, Dr. Paredes illustrates “Big Agriculture” plantations produce significant industrial waste in the form of water pollution in Mindanao, Philippines.