Bridging Leiden and Surabaya
My journey with ICAS started at its 10th edition in Chiang Mai, Thailand. At that time, I was lucky enough to get there through the Southeast Asia Neighborhoods Network (SEANNET), another initiative from the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS). As a participant, I got a lot more than I expected. It was such a huge event and engaging experience, one which allowed me to meet many new colleagues (and respected scholars in my field) and which set the bar for how a conference should be organized.
After about six years, I seized the chance to join the organizing team for the ICAS 13, which took place in Surabaya, Indonesia. I believe it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create ICAS in a place where I have a lot of connections and many things to share. Furthermore, we envisioned ICAS 13 as a pioneering Conference-Festival, fostering numerous experiments, increasing collaborations, and providing diverse opportunities for knowledge production and dissemination, both within and beyond the campus' walls in Surabaya.
Fig. 2: Some members of the ICAS 13 team: (from left to right) Adrian Perkasa, Wai Cheung, Narutai Riangkruar, Redo Nomadore, Alexei Wahyudiputra, Erik Jansen. (Photo courtesy of Lina Puryanti, 2024)
Ultimately, all of these events occurred both during and prior to ICAS. As you can see from our team's testimony, a new research collaboration was established between one of the ICAS Book Prize editions and a local researcher who was also part of the organization team. In terms of experimentation, we received numerous proposals containing innovative ideas, including exhibitions, workshops, and even sketch walks, which we endeavored to implement to the best of our ability. Although ICAS officially ended after five days, there were still things happening in Surabaya and its surrounding region, where the participants tried to explore more activities together with the local scholars, artists, and activists that they met during the ConFest.
Fig. 3: Members of the ICAS organizing team, 2024.
To conclude my story, I had the honor of participating as part of the organizing team for ICAS 13. I experienced the joy of unexpected encounters from the preparation phase to the very end of this event. I was grateful to meet my old friends and new colleagues and to connect all of my networks through ICAS. It was beyond my wildest expectations that I closed the busiest week of this year by visiting a local shrine, located just behind our hotel in Surabaya, alongside my friends from Surabaya and those from the Netherlands.