One of our researchers facilitated the “Gender III” session at the Latihan Kader Utama (LAKUT) of IPNU–IPPNU Pemalang, the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Islamic organization.

Held on 28 November 2025, the workshop brought together 30 young Islamic leaders from five regencies in Central Java. Under the theme Sangkan Paraning Dumadi (The Origin and Purpose of Existence), participants explored gender, inclusive leadership, and justice within Islamic and cultural frameworks.

Representing DEEP EnGender, Herlina Dedy Listiani facilitated critical discussions, participatory activities, and reflections on gender stereotypes, empathy, colonial legacies, and leadership roles.
This collaboration reinforces our belief that gender justice is not only a global agenda but a local necessity, rooted in everyday community realities.

Together with NU youth leaders and diverse facilitators, we affirm that inclusive leadership grows through collective effort across faiths, cultures, and generations.

Our DEEP Asia Coordinator & DEEP EnGender Circle initiator, Dr. Anna Christi Suwardi, completed her residency at Bahçeşehir University (BAU) in Istanbul, Turkey, from September to November 2025, as part of the Professional Development Certificate Program. The Rotary Center at BAU is a newly established center that primarily serves the MENA region.

Although She is based in Southeast Asia, her eagerness to expand her knowledge and skill in peace and conflict resolution has led to her selection to learn from the best practices in MENA. As a component of the fellowship, she will engage in roughly a year-long pre- and post-residency program.

This will commence with a two-week preliminary online course, followed by a ten-week on-site and field study experience. Upon her return from Istanbul, she will focus on her nine-month social change initiative project, concentrating on promoting peace in Thailand and Indonesia. Dr. Anna will collaborate with her DEEP EnGender team to implement her initiative. The program will conclude in an on-site capstone seminar back in Istanbul the following year. After completing her RPF, she is dedicated to continuing her efforts to foster peace for communities.

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.