{"id":5494,"date":"2025-04-30T18:33:51","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/?p=5494"},"modified":"2025-04-30T18:33:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:33:51","slug":"icrs-hosts-international-unconference-highlights-the-growing-impact-of-polarization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/2025\/04\/30\/icrs-hosts-international-unconference-highlights-the-growing-impact-of-polarization\/","title":{"rendered":"ICRS Hosts International Unconference, Highlights the Growing Impact of Polarization"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Polarization is increasingly becoming a complex global phenomenon\u2014deeply felt across social, political, economic, cultural, and religious spheres. This pressing issue took center stage at an international unconference titled “Polarization and Its Discontent in the Global South: Mitigation Measures, Strategies, and Policies,”<\/em> held April 24\u201325, 2025, at the University Club (UC) Hotel, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n

Organized by the Indonesia Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS)\u2014a collaborative program between Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (UKDW), and Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga\u2014the event underscored ICRS\u2019s commitment to fostering critical interfaith dialogue, amplifying voices of peace, and promoting cross-cultural and cross-national collaborative research toward a more inclusive and just society.<\/p>\n

Departing from the traditional academic conference model, the ICRS adopted an unconference format\u2014a more participatory, collaborative, and flexible approach that allowed attendees to actively shape the conversation. Rather than simply listening to lectures, participants were encouraged to share experiences, engage deeply in discussion, and expand their networks in a more informal setting.<\/p>\n

The two-day program featured talk shows, documentary screenings, and group discussions centered on key themes such as polarization and social justice, religion and political polarization, environmental justice, and digital inclusion of indigenous communities.<\/p>\n

In his opening remarks, Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, Director of ICRS, expressed his hope that the unconference model would allow participants to explore the topic of polarization in a more relaxed and open atmosphere. The event was officially opened by Prof. Ir. Siti Malkhamah, M.Sc<\/a>., Ph.D., Dean of UGM\u2019s Graduate School, who encouraged knowledge exchange among attendees.<\/p>\n

The first session was a talk show focused on polarization in the Global South. Moderated by Dicky Sofjan, it featured a panel of international experts: Daniel Medina from the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), Colombia; Ana Carolina Evangelista from the Institute of Studies on Religion (ISER), Brazil; Nicholas Adams from the University of Birmingham, UK; and Nurhuda Ramli from IMAN Research, Malaysia.<\/p>\n

The panel explored foundational questions around the origins, causes, and consequences of polarization. Daniel Medina described polarization as a root problem that exacerbates other societal challenges, noting that conflict resolution becomes increasingly difficult in divided societies. Ana Evangelista characterized polarization as the radical intensification of existing differences.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Adams challenged attendees with thought-provoking questions: \u201cIs polarization an inherent reality, or is it something constructed? And if so, who benefits from it?\u201d Nurhuda Ramli added that a country\u2019s historical formation often plays a key role in how polarization manifests within its society.<\/p>\n

One participant, Bu Jeni, reflected on how polarization is inevitable in pluralistic societies but can also be repurposed. She said, \u201cPolarization is not inherently negative. The real issue is how it\u2019s managed. Those in power must act with integrity and wisdom to channel polarization toward shared societal goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

By offering a fresh platform for inclusive dialogue, ICRS\u2019s international unconference not only illuminated the challenges of polarization but also pointed toward collaborative pathways for navigating them in the Global South and beyond. [jonathan\/trans.drr<\/em>]<\/p>\n

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        Polarization is increasingly becoming a complex global phenomenon\u2014deeply felt across social, political, economic, cultural, and religious spheres. This pressing issue took center stage at an international unconference titled “Polarization and Its Discontent in the Global South: … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":5495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-berita"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukdw.ac.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}