The 13th International Convention of Asia Scholars
Collaborating with IIAS, Universitas Airlangga with AIIOC will host the 13th ICAS on July 28th – August 1st, 2024, in Surabaya, Indonesia. ICAS 13 Surabaya represents AIIOC and IIAS initiative to conduct Asian Academic ConFes (Conference-Festival) in the post-COVID world which has given a significant impact and change in human-life-nature upon contemporary daily life. We are convinced that in spite of the expediency of digital platforms, in-person and place-based academic events are still important, providing a better approach to collaboratively discuss and relate the more global relevance. We (AIIOC) as organizer of this International Convention of Asia Scholars propose to host the meeting in 2024, in Surabaya, amidst the history and reality of the city in Asia, as well as in the maritime route of Indian-Ocean crossroads. Participants will have the opportunity to embed and to engage themselves across local context, regional and disciplinary divides and explore new practices of knowledge production, problem solving, community service and empowerment.
Collaborating with Watchdoc:
Initial Preparations for UNAIR to Host the 13th ICAS
Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), which is hosting the 13th International Convention of Asian Scholars (ICAS), 28 July-1 August 2024, has started its initial preparations. One of several initial preparation plans for holding the ConFes (conference-festival) in Surabaya was taking some footage to prepare the 13th ICAS video teaser.
Airlangga University which AIIOC (Airlangga Institute of Indian Ocean Crossroads) represents pays special attention within the making. Much attention is needed because it would be one of the commercial efforts of UNAIR and AIIOC to reach a wider range of publications related to 13th ICAS. UNAIR’s seriousness in preparing the 13th ICAS was shown by the collaboration with Ari Trismana, the producer of Watchdoc production house in the making process of the teaser. Watchdoc itself is a national production house that has gone international. Generally, Watchdoc is well-known as an audio-visual production house and documentary film studio based in Bekasi.
On a national scale, Watchdoc’s involvement in the world of journalism is somehow unbeatable. As quoted on the YouTube channel, this production house has produced at least 165 documentary episodes and 715 television features. At least, the 45 commercial & non-commercial works they have produced had been appreciated with various awards, one of which is the Magsaysay Award touted as the Asia’s Nobel in 2021.
The collaboration of Watchdoc in the 13th ICAS organizing structure represents the multi-disciplinary and collaborative spirit of Universitas Airlangga and AIIOC. As with the involvement of 4 Airlangga University faculties (Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Social and Political Sciences, Public Health and Medicine) in the establishment of AIIOC, Watchdoc’s collaboration proves an effort to create a global academic community that inseparable from society and other stakeholders. “Knowledge production is not only limited by the walls of campus institutions, but also by various initiatives originating from the community who work closely with campuses,” said Lina Puryanti, P.hD, director of AIIOC.
Location Scouting for the 13th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS)
In February, several IIAS delegates checked Trowulan Site as a potential destination for the 13th ICAS. This time, IIAS’ visitation to Surabaya enriched the realization of the multitude of ICAS themes which ranged from history and contemporary urban cultures. Several visited sites were Universitas Airlangga’s Faculty of Medicine, Siola, Tunjungan Street, North Quay, Kampung Peneleh, and Tambak Bayan.
Not only functioning as an academic space, but the building of Universitas Airlangga’s Faculty of Medicine also possesses important historical values for Indonesia. It is credited as a national heritage that demands no significant change to be made to its architecture. It became one of Indonesia’s first nationally-owned university buildings through the 1954 Indonesian Government Regulations.
Siola and Tunjungan Street are part and parcel of the heart of Surabaya’s urban center. Located right on the north side of Tunjungan Street, Siola is the gateway into a wide range of stores and cafes on Tunjungan Street.
During the 1945 Battle of Surabaya, Siola was a buffer zone in fighting the Alliance armies. Since then, the building has undergone several functional changes, ranging from being used as a department store and public mall, and now as Surabaya Population and Civil Registration Agency office as well as a museum. North Quay offers a different atmosphere in comparison to the previous three sites. Located in North Perak, the northern coastal part of Surabaya, it becomes a site of port activities and a space where coastal inhabitants perform their daily life.
Another visited site was Kampung Peneleh. Kampung Peneleh has a track record of being chosen as a site for various international programmes, most recently for the Urban Sketching Program initiated by the Southeast Asia Neighborhoods Network (SEANNET) in collaboration with Urban Sketchers Surabaya. Peneleh is laden with ‘Southeast Asian identity’. Its complex relation to Surabaya as a city and its dense population as well as historical significance make Peneleh a suitable site to be looked upon for ICAS.
(Courtesy: Rohman Obet, 2023)
The last visited site was Kampung Tambak Bayan. Tambak Bayan is known for its high numbers of Chinese population. It is thus often called the ‘Chinatown of Surabaya’. Kampung Tambak Bayan has existed since the 11th century. Most of its inhabitants work as merchants, cooks, tailors, and carpenters. Like other visited sites, Tambak Bayan offers a multifaceted image of Surabaya whose historical weight is undeniable.