Yogyakarta, September 13th 2022─The Institute of International Studies (IIS) under the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) UGM held the fourth annual Go South 2022 Annual Convention on the Global South from Tuesday to Thursday (13-15/9) online. This event is also in commemoration of the 67th UGM Fisipol Dies Natalis and is supported by Telkomsel.
Discussing international relations and global politics, this event aims to examine strategies and issues that exist in responding to the division between Global South and Global North countries. The discussion was in line with the main theme of this event, namely “Transcending the North-South Divide?: G20 and Multilateralism in Turbulent Global Politics”.
These issues were discussed in two sessions on the first day. The first session was a Keynote Lecture which was taught by Syarifah Munirah Alatas from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and moderated by Poppy Sulistyaning Winanti from Gadjah Mada University.
Munirah stated that in the last 70 years, Western powers have dominated the world order. “Leaders of the Global South must work strategically and systematically to modernize their people,” said Munirah.
The Keynote Lecture session was followed by a panel discussion with several speakers; Alexander Davis from the University of Western Australia, Sara Davies from Griffith University, Riza Noer Arfani from Gadjah Mada University, and moderated by Yulida Nuraini Santoso from Gadjah Mada University. Each speaker brings a different focus on topics that are being discussed.
Riza brought material about the importance of carrying out economic diplomacy and how the Global South countries can benefit from it. On the other hand, Davis brought up the issue of climate justice, geopolitics, and the transition to clean energy in Asia in the Himalayan region which is experiencing challenges from policy to politics. Meanwhile, Sara explained the issue of the lack of global cooperation in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Go South 2022 series was followed by five other panel discussions which were held on the second and third days. In increasingly polarized global politics, it is hoped that this event can evaluate the strategies that have been carried out and can present ideas, initiatives, and policies that can strengthen the Global South.