DEEP EnGender participated in the 9th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum, held from 29 September to 3 October at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, under the theme “Resilience for All: Catalyzing Transformational Adaptation.”

The forum provided a valuable space for exchange, particularly during the regional discussion on Developing a Blueprint for Upscaling Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) Built on Indigenous, Traditional, and Local Knowledge Systems, where diverse experiences and grounded lessons from across the region were shared.

At the same time, a critical gap emerged. Many discussions emphasized tools, frameworks, and project implementation, yet paid limited attention to the root causes of vulnerability, including extractive development models, entrenched power asymmetries, and the ongoing erosion of Indigenous land rights.

In this context, adaptation must move beyond technical and managerial solutions. Strengthening Indigenous rights to traditional territories, securing land tenure, and recognizing Indigenous governance systems are fundamental to just and lasting adaptation. These elements are also central to safeguarding Indigenous food systems, which are inseparable from ancestral lands, ecological knowledge, and cultural identity.
Looking ahead, climate adaptation must be repoliticized, centering Indigenous territorial rights, food sovereignty, and structural transformation, rather than relying solely on technical fixes.

From September 9–11, 2025, our circle initiator, Dr. Anna Christi Suwardi, represented DEEP EnGender at the RC48 Summer School Retreat in Montreal, Canada. The retreat was hosted by the International Sociological Association (ISA) Research Committee on Social Movements, Collective Action, and Social Change (RC48).

The program brought together scholars, activists, and practitioners from the Global South and Global North to reflect on the intersections of social movements and their contemporary developments, covering themes from feminist and women’s movements to climate justice.

Renowned Canadian voices in social movement studies, Prof. Lesley Wood (York University) and Prof. Chris Dixon (Carleton University), shared insights on grounding social movements as analytical frameworks while emphasizing the importance of sustaining solidarity between scholarship and activism. Unlike most formal academic gatherings, the retreat was intentionally communal and participatory, fostering stronger bonds and meaningful connections among participants.

Dr. Suwardi was selected to join this program based on her research on women’s digital movements for peace amidst two decades of conflict in the southern border provinces of Thailand. She presented her work through a creative video format, which was highly appreciated by fellows from Canada, Brazil, Taiwan, Chile, Austria, Germany, the UK, and Mexico. Her presentation highlighted how research and storytelling, when delivered through audio-visual means, can touch audiences in powerful ways beyond written text.

We are proud of Dr. Suwardi’s contribution and honored that DEEP EnGender’s perspective was part of this global exchange linking scholarship, activism, and solidarity for social change.