Yogyakarta, August 28, 2026 ㅡ In collaboration with Seoul Women’s University, UN Women, and KOICA, IIS UGM held the International Conference on the Gender-Responsive Humanitarian, Development, and Peace (HDP) Nexus on Friday (28/8). The event took place in a hybrid format at the 4th Floor Auditorium of Fisipol UGM and online via the Zoom platform.
Today’s series of events began with opening remarks by Ulziisuren Jamsran, the Representative and Liaison to ASEAN for UN Women Indonesia. In line with the spirit of international collaboration being promoted, Dr. Hyun Gyung Kim, the Co-Convener from Seoul Women’s University, emphasized that this forum is more than just a one-way knowledge transfer platform.
“This conference is a two-way street. Indonesia and Korea meet here not as donor and recipient, but as two societies learning from each other about disasters, peace, and about the women who struggle together,” stated Dr. Kim in her remarks.
A major highlight of the opening session was the presentation by the Director of the Wahid Foundation, Yenny Wahid, who was also a speaker in the seminar session. She shared the inspiring story of Mrs. Nuraini from Penatoi, Bima, West Nusa Tenggara. Nuraini is a vulnerable woman living at the intersection of various stigmas; she is the second wife of a man involved in an extremist group and was economically abandoned. However, she refused to divorce due to the fear of the stigma attached to being a widow, while on the other hand, she was also considered an infidel and rejected by her husband’s radical network. Despite bearing many heavy labels, Nuraini managed to transform herself. Armed with a deep understanding of her community and the existing economic consequences, she has now risen to become a kindergarten teacher.
“Empowerment is not simply when a woman gains agency for her own life. Leadership begins when her agency expands the agency of others. For me, Nuraini’s story explains the Humanitarian, Development, and Peace (HDP) Nexus better,” asserted Yenny Wahid.
Entering the main agenda, Kim Sun Young (Assistant Manager and Gender Specialist at KOICA) presented material on how KOICA operationalizes the HDP Nexus approach across their various programs. The event then continued with a Morning Seminar guided directly by Dr. Suci Lestari Yuana from IIS UGM. This session featured the Deputy for the Coordination of Equitable Regional Development and Disaster Management of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs (Kemenko PMK) Dr. Lilik Kurniawan, UGM Professor Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, and Yenny Wahid to dissect the conceptual approach from the Indonesia-Korea perspective.
After the lunch break, the conference continued with five parallel thematic panels discussing specific issues such as:
- Mainstreaming Gender Data for Inclusive Development Policies
- Women in Leadership for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism
- Gender-Responsive Community-Based Resilience Initiatives
- Women Empowerment and Child Protection on the Prevention of Social Conflict — Framework for Women in Crisis
- HDP Nexus Partnership — Indonesia–Republic of Korea Bilateral Cooperation
The event was then concluded with a plenary discussion to formulate gender-responsive HDP policy recommendations for partner ministries.