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Sydney Southeast Asia Centre - SSEAC

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Sydney Southeast Asia Centre - SSEAC

Supporting research, education and partnerships in Southeast Asia.

Australia and Southeast Asia: it’s a marriage some may have taken for granted, but we haven’t. At the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, we put our researchers into fields, classrooms and labs across the region to do real work. We build on the expertise of and facilitate collaborations between over 270 University of Sydney academics who specialise in Southeast Asia.

03/09/2026

Today’s Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) social lunch was a wonderful celebration of connection, community and contribution. ☀️✨

Bringing together academics, professional staff and students, our second social lunch of the year provided an opportunity for members to network, reconnect and form new relationships across the SSEAC community.

We were also delighted to recognise our outstanding SSEAC Brand Ambassadors, who were presented with Certificates of Recognition by Associate Professor Sandra Alday, Deputy Director, Partnerships.

Our Ambassadors generously volunteer their time to represent SSEAC at public events, welcoming guests and supporting our activities with professionalism, enthusiasm and warmth. Their contributions play an important role in promoting the Centre’s work and strengthening our engagement across the University and with the broader community.

A heartfelt thank you to each of our Ambassadors Muhammad Novsyaroni Umar Andina Ramadita Estri Oktarena Ikrarini Tatya Alifa Koeswanto As Syahidah Al Haq Ayendha Pangesti Yohanes Usbobo and many more - for the energy, generosity and positivity you bring to SSEAC. Your contribution is deeply valued, and our community is stronger because of you.

26/08/2026

📣 You’re invited: Navigating Migration in the Digital Age

Join researchers, practitioners and community voices to examine how technology is changing the ways migrants access information, make decisions and find support in Australia.

Using Indonesian Working Holiday Makers as a focal case, the hybrid seminar will explore the opportunities, challenges and gaps emerging as migration becomes increasingly mediated through digital platforms and services.
In the afternoon, an in-person co-design workshop will map migrants’ information journeys and identify practical opportunities for more accessible, culturally responsive and trustworthy digital migration ecosystems.

Event details:
📅 Friday, 18 September 2026
💻 Hybrid research seminar: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
🤝 In-person co-design workshop: 2:00 to 4:30 pm
📍 Michael Spence Building, University of Sydney
Online participants are welcome to join the morning seminar. The afternoon workshop will be held in person only.

🔗 Registration link (in our bio): https://tinyurl.com/4yet3r7k

This event is co-hosted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre.

21/08/2026

It was wonderful to welcome more than 100 people to last night’s public lecture with Dr Chee Soon Juan exploring democracy, resilience, and civic life in Southeast Asia.

Dr Chee reflected on the psychological dimensions of political participation - resilience, fear, burnout, and hope - and shared powerful insights into sustaining agency and dignity in restrictive political environments.

Thank you to Dr Chee and to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening such an engaging occasion. We deeply appreciate the enthusiasm and thoughtful participation of our students, researchers, and the wider community.

17/08/2026

Last week, the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) team visited Parliament House in Canberra to discuss one of Australia’s most important long-term challenges: building stronger Asia capability.

Our conversations focused on the recommendations arising from the House Standing Committee on Education’s inquiry into Building Asia Capability in Australia through the education system and beyond, the Government’s response, and the critical role universities can play in developing Australia’s linguistic, cultural, educational and research connections with our region.
We were pleased to share how universities contribute to this agenda through research, teaching, student mobility, international partnerships and community engagement, while highlighting the growing importance of Southeast Asia to Australia’s future prosperity, security and social cohesion.
Thank you to those who generously gave their time and shared their perspectives:

🔹Tim Watts MP, Chair of the Standing Committee on Education and Special Envoy for the Indian Ocean and Member for Gellibrand
🔹 The Office of Dr. Carina Garland MP, Member for Chisholm
🔹 Zhi Soon MP, Member for Banks
🔹 Dave Sharma, Senator for New South Wales
🔹 Mary Aldred MP, Member for Monash
🔹 Dai Le MP, Member for Fowler
🔹 Sam Birrell, Member for Nicholls

It was encouraging to see strong interest across the Parliament in strengthening Australia’s Asia capability and ensuring future generations have the knowledge, language skills, cultural understanding and regional connections needed to thrive.

SSEAC looks forward to continuing to support this national conversation through evidence-based research, policy engagement, education and partnerships across Southeast Asia.

12/08/2026

We’re pleased to invite you to join us for the Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposium 2026 to be held in Ho Chi Minh City in September.

This dynamic event brings together academics, researchers, clinicians, industry leaders, policymakers and institutional partners from Australia and Vietnam to share ideas, showcase research and build new connections.

Centred on Fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation between Australia and Vietnam, the Symposium will explore emerging global challenges and opportunities for collaboration across a range of disciplines, from health, science and technology to agriculture, arts, social sciences, business and the economy.

The program will feature keynote presentations, invited talks, research presentations, poster sessions and panel discussions designed to spark dialogue and support long-term partnerships between Australian and Vietnamese institutions.

The Symposium is supported by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC), Sydney Vietnam Academic Network and The University of Sydney Vietnam Institute.

📅 Wednesday 9 September 2026
⏰ 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

🔗 Learn more and register for online attendance:
https://lnkd.in/g3Ki7Y7e

We hope you can join us as we share ideas, strengthen connections and grow together!

10/08/2026

🚨We are just 10 days away! Have you secured your spot?

Unbroken: Resilience, Dissent, and the Future of Democracy in Southeast Asia

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear directly from prominent Singaporean pro-democracy leader, Dr. Chee Soon Juan. In his upcoming lecture, Unbroken: Resilience, Dissent, and the Future of Democracy in Southeast Asia, Dr. Chee will unpack the emotional toll of political dissent, the limits of technocracy, and his vision for democratic renewal.

Whether you are a student, scholar, activist, or simply passionate about human rights and civic life, this is an evening you won’t want to miss.

🗓 When: Thursday, 20 August 2026 | 5:00 PM (Lecture starts at 6:00 PM)
📍 Where: Institute Lecture Theatre (1) N295, Institute Building, University of Sydney
🤝 Co-hosted with: Malaysia and Singapore Society of Australia (MASSA)
🎟️ Seats are filling up fast! Tap the link in our bio to register today.

06/08/2026

The Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) invites you to a special hybrid seminar exploring the history of the Karen, or Kayin (ကရင်), people of Myanmar and Thailand.

Join us on Friday 21 August 2026, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm, in Room 708, Level 7, Jane Foss Russell Building (G02), or attend online.

Professor Angelene Naw will share insights from her book, The History of the Karen People of Burma, tracing the Karen people’s history from the pre-colonial era to the 21st century through a Karen Christian perspective. The presentation will explore religion, education, nationalism, military conflict and Burma’s political history, as well as the Karen people’s first encounters with Baptist missionaries, including Adoniram Judson.

Register for webinar using the link in our bio.

29/07/2026

Join us for the upcoming SSSWARM Seminar ‘Socialising Land: Intersections of Plantations, Dispossession, and Resistance in Laos’.

Drawing on his 2025 monograph, ‘Socializing Land: Plantations, Dispossession, and Resistance in Laos’, Dr Miles Kenney-Lazar will examine the expansion of Chinese and Vietnamese pulpwood and rubber plantations onto Indigenous Brou lands in southern Laos.

The seminar will explore land not as an “empty” or “degraded” resource, but as a complex web of relationships connecting peasant farmers, state officials, civil society organisations, and plantation capitalists. It will consider how competing claims to rice fields, fallows, and forestland shape control of land, rural livelihoods, and local environments.

Introductory remarks by Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC)’s Laos Country Convenor, Professor Nick Enfield.

Join us for a compelling conversation about plantations, dispossession, resistance, and the contested meaning of land in Laos.

📅 Thursday, 20 August 2026
🕒 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
📍 A02 Social Sciences Building, Room 341
💻 Online attendance available.
🎟️ Free event. Read more and register here: https://bit.ly/4yG96GI

21/07/2026

From collaboration to IMPACT. 🚀

This Monday our Sydney Southeast Asia Centre team had an incredible day at the first-ever Global Health Research Symposium! It was inspiring to connect with over 150 colleagues from University of Sydney (USYD), UNSW, UTS, Macquarie, and The George Institute to discuss the future of global health. 🌍

A few recurring themes from today’s brilliant speakers:
🔹 Partnerships must be designed for long-term sustainability, not just outputs.
🔹 True impact happens when research directly informs policy and practice.
🔹 We need genuine collaborations where local institutions take the lead.
🔹 Communities and consumers are our most essential partners.

The biggest takeaway? Impactful global health research is always founded on humility, trust, and long-term relationships. 🤝

Thank you to the speakers, panellists, and co-hosts (Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute & Medicine and Health - USyd) for such an engaging event. See you next year at UNSW!

Which of these takeaways resonates with you the most? Drop your thoughts below! 👇💭

09/07/2026

Meet our new Grand Challenge Champions! 🏆
SSEAC is excited to announce Associate Professor Jonathon Hutchinson and Dr Sabin Zahirovic as our Grand Challenge Champions for “Digital Transformation and AI”!

✔️Jonathon is an internationally recognised scholar in digital media, focusing on cultural and digital intermediation, public service media and generative AI. He holds leadership roles in multiple research projects and teams including lead investigator of the Sydney Vietnam Media Innovation Hub.

✔️Sabin’s research focuses on building a deep-time digital twin of our planet. His open-source Earth System models and databases have opened new pathways for regional researchers in biological evolution, climate change and critical mineral systems. His commitment to digital inclusion and open science is shaping a future where high-impact research tools are accessible to all, empowering researchers to tackle the major challenges we face in the 21st century.

Congratulations to Jonathon and Sabin! Their appointment as Grand Challenge Champions marks the beginning of a vital phase in SSEAC’s strategy – facilitating connections among University of Sydney researchers, driving collaborative partnerships and fostering academic leadership to deliver meaningful impact across Southeast Asia.

Address

Level 7, Jane Foss Russell, University Of Sydney
Sydney, NSW
2006

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://sydney.edu.au/southeast-asia-centre/

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