Yogyakarta, October 1st 2025─The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FISIPOL UGM) and the University of Melbourne launched a book entitled Rethinking Histories of Indonesia: Experiencing, Resisting, and Renegotiating Coloniality at the 4th floor auditorium of FISIPOL UGM. The event featured four speakers from various institutions, namely Kate McGregor (University of Melbourne), Abdul Wahid (Universitas Gadjah Mada), Brigitta Isabella (Indonesian Institute of the Arts), and I Ngurah Suryawan (University of Papua).
SDGs 4: Quality Education
Yogyakarta, October 1st 2025 – Seventy years after the historic event of Bandung Conference in 1955, where twenty nine leaders from Asia and Africa united against colonialism and formulated a new vision for the world, the spirit of Bandung remains relevant today. The Institute of International Studies (IIS), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), carries this spirit forward by organizing the Annual Convention on the Global South (GO SOUTH 2025) on October 1–2, 2025. This convention will be held offline at the campus of UGM, Yogyakarta, and carries the theme: “70 Years of the Bandung Spirit: Re-invigorating the Decolonial Struggle amidst Geopolitical Turbulence.” This convention will be a forum dedicated to examining the dynamics of the Global South, which continues to evolve amid the complexity of the current global geopolitical and economic situation.
Yogyakarta, September 30th 2025 – The Global Humanities Alliance Roundtable Forum officially opened on Tuesday (9/30) with eight world universities, including the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. As one of the pioneers of the GHA, FISIPOL UGM hosted this year’s meeting, which was held in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of FISIPOL UGM.
The Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Wawan Mas’udi, S.I.P., M.P.A., Ph.D., conveyed the importance of opening up opportunities for students to work in the international arena. The learning process cannot be limited to classrooms alone. Understanding various fields of study, especially social humanities, requires involvement in various social and cultural aspects. Through this initiative, it is hoped that brilliant ideas will emerge in response to global challenges. “We do have an agenda to become more engaged with the global community, and this is one of our strategies to facilitate students,” he said.
Yogyakarta, 30 September 2025–The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) Universitas Gadjah Mada hosted the Global Humanities Alliance (GHA) Steering Committee Meeting, an important forum that marked the launch of a series of international cooperation activities.
One of the main agendas of this meeting was the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) involving eight GHA member universities from various countries. The signing was an important milestone in strengthening global collaboration networks in the humanities and social sciences.
Yogyakarta, 30 September 2025–The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada hosted the Global Humanities Alliance (GHA) Annual Meeting 2025 from September 30 to October 2, 2025. As part of the agenda, a selection of the best photos from the GHA Sustainability and Climate Change Photography Challenge, which had been held previously, were exhibited at the West Hall of the campus.
The Photo Challenge was conducted simultaneously and participated in globally by members of the academic community from the eight universities affiliated with the GHA, namely: Ashoka University (India), Mahidol University (Thailand), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile), Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indonesia), University of Manchester (UK), University of Melbourne (Australia), University of Nairobi (Kenya), and University of Toronto (Canada).
Yogyakarta, September 25, 2025—The Center for Digital Society (CfDS) of Universitas Gadjah Mada collaborated with the University of Oxford and Worker Exchange in organizing Difusion #127 titled “Algorithms at the Wheel: Global Perspectives on Ride-Hailing Work”. This discussion brought together Reuben Binns (University of Oxford), James Farrar (Worker Exchange), Ayom Mratita Purbandani (CfDS UGM), as well as Suci Lestari Yuana (Universitas Gadjah Mada).
This public forum highlighted how the algorithm manages and controls the workload of ride-hailing gig workers globally. This forum delved upon whether or not the artificial intelligence based-system can actually produce efficiency, or make gig workers more vulnerable. Through a research report titled “Precarity by Design: AI, Labor Discipline, and the Welfare of Ride-hailing Drivers in Jakarta and Gunungkidul”, researchers at CfDS found out that the aspects of opacity in the systems of AI is not just a mere coincidence, but a calculated approach in supporting the interest of the platform. This algorithm works by exploiting the flexibility of gig workers, where drivers need to work in order to be visible in the system.
Yogyakarta, September 25th 2025 – The Student Council (Dema) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) is once again organizing its annual Arts Week program, which will take place from September 22 to 26, 2025, at the Sansiro Park, FISIPOL UGM. This year, the Arts Week carries the theme “The Confluence of Memory Through Form and Method” as a collective space to remember and express resistance against human rights violations, which remain a shared wound.
Yogyakarta, 24 September 2025–Prof. Vedi Hadiz, an Indonesian professor at Melbourne University, was the guest of honor at a public lecture held by the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol) at Universitas Gadjah Mada on Wednesday (25/9). His visit discussed how the world has entered an era of Popular Discontent, where public dissatisfaction with the fulfillment of rights and services has led to a decline in trust in government institutions and the democratic system.
Popular Discontent literally means “popular dissatisfaction” and represents the feelings of dissatisfaction among the public, which are largely triggered by social, economic, and political issues. Vedi began his public lecture by stating that today’s democracy is far from what was once hoped for. Democracy should be able to accommodate the public interest, but instead, it has created gaps and inequalities.
The Soenario Kolopaking Team from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has won first place in the National Student Scientific Article Competition at the Sociology Competition of Unesa (SOCIUS) 2025, organized by Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA). The competition ran from June 10 to August 3, 2025, and was participated in by eight universities from across Indonesia.
The Soenario Kolopaking Team consists of Nurima Setianingrum and Afkaar Nabil Falah. Under the guidance of Gregorius Ragil Wibawanto, M.A., the team successfully presented their scientific paper titled “The Public Between the State and the Market: The Struggle of Female Online Ojek Drivers in Layered and Persistent Vulnerability.”
Yogyakarta, 12 September 2025 — The International Relations Student Corps (KOMAHI) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) at Universitas Gadjah Mada officially opened the International Relations English Competition (IREC) 2025, a prestigious annual event for high school students across Indonesia. Over three days, from 12–14 September 2025, participants showcase their English proficiency while deepening their understanding of pressing global issues.
The event began with a keynote lecture by Arief Rizky Bakhtiar, Senior Officer for Analysis and Monitoring on Trade, Industry, and Emerging Issues at ASEAN, who offered insightful perspectives on regional trade dynamics, industry trends, and key strategic issues.