The first session of the Summer Course program of the Department of Politics and Government Studies was held on Monday, August 15, 2022, at 14:00 GMT+7 with the theme “From Grass Root Activism to Disinformation: Social Movement In Southeast Asia.” This session presented five speakers who were experts in their field. They were Wijayanto, Ph.D (a lecturer at Department of Politics and Government Studies, FISIP Undip), Damar Juniarto (Executive Director of Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFE Net)), Rosalia Sciortino, Ph.D (Associate Professor, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol Uni), Prof Didik J Rachbini (Board of Directors, LP3ES & Rector of the University of Paramadina), Prof Budi Setiyono (Lecturer at Department of Government Science Universitas Diponegoro & Vice Rector III Universitas Diponegoro).

In his presentation on Digital Activism, Social Movement and Resistance to Democratic Regression in Southeast Asia, Wijayanto conveyed that there were so many factors that could enlive democracy. However, many factors can kill democracy, not single factors. Sometimes, an economic crisis could lead to the end of democracy, and so did prosperity. Moreover, Damar Juniarto on Challenges on Protecting Digital Activism in Indonesia explained that Digital Activism was related to the fulfilment of fundamental digital rights. They were the right to access the internet, the right to express themselves freely, and the right to be safe while online.

Meanwhile, Rosalia Sciortino brought a theme on Failing Financing of Civil Society in Southeast Asia. In her presentation, she explained 5 Factors contributing to the financial “choking off” of civil society: The Reshaping of International aid spending globally and regionally; Paradigmatic Shifts in philanthropic giving; Scarce appreciation of civil society and advocacy work among local donors; Greater government control of funding streams for CSOs; COVID-19. Then, Prof Didik continued to present his presentation on the Political Economy & Development of Indonesia & Southeast Asian Countries. He said that Southeast Asia especially ASEAN was one of the large economies in the world with moderate and high economic growth.

The first session of the Summer Course program of the Department of Politics and Government Studies was closed by a presentation by Prof Budi Setiyono who brought a topic on Digital Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Literature Review and a question and answer session.