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Workshop “Caring for Dissent: Resourcing Collective Care in the Movement”
October 31 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Over the past month, a wave of protests has swept across the region. In Indonesia, demonstrations erupted in response to unfair economic policies, including tax hikes and increased benefit for MPs, followed by mass arrests and further criminalization of dissent. In Timor-Leste, youth took to the streets to protest the National Parliament’s decision to purchase SUVs for legislators, with demand expanding to include the cancellation of lifetime pensions for former MPs. In the Philippines, tens of thousands, mostly youth, rallied against corruption in past government projects. In Myanmar, people continue to resist the military coup.
People’s movements in Southeast Asia continue to work under difficult and often dangerous situation as they confront systemic injustices that undermine democratic principles and restrict fundamental freedom, facing constant treat of harassment, criminalization, imprisonment and death. With growing regional awareness, cross-border solidarity is taking new forms with the ASEAN People Forum, the Milk Tea alliance, people to people support such as the Thailand-Myanmar Alliance and sharing of symbols like the three-fingers salute in mainland Southeast Asia. In the recent protests, grassroots and community-led initiatives have emerged. Malaysian youth groups staged a protest in front of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, while online, the hashtag #SEAblings began trending[1] sparked by the death of Affan Kurniawan, a young Indonesian motorcycle taxi driver killed by a police vehicle during protests in Jakarta, Indonesia on 28 August 2025. Netizens in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines began sending food via Grab to Indonesian drivers they had never met. The Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger, a symbol of resistance that first went viral in Indonesia spread to Nepal and most recently to protests in the Philippines.
People-to-people solidarity is not a new concept in Southeast Asia’s social and political movements, however, as times and contexts evolve, so does the models and formats of solidarity. As the term suggests, #SEAblings seeks to unite citizens across the region, encouraging mutual support in times of crisis and resistance. It is a question, however, whether it can transform into a more sustainable form of regional solidarity. Humanis and SEA Junction are collaborating to create a space for reflection, dialogue, and strategy-building, focusing on the shared challenges to democracy and freedom, the rise of regional solidarity, and the urgent need for strengthen the foundation for sustainable movement-building. This second event in a two-event series hosted at SEA Junction on 31 October at 5.30-7pm invites attention for collective care as a mean of embracing interdependencies, nurturing one another, and investing in relationships that can prevent burnout and foster resilient, long-term allyship. The event will take the form of a workshop in which participants are invited to reflect on issues key to resourcing the movements and the “care’ needed to nurture solidarity within and across borders.
In a time when voices are silenced and criminalized, grassroots activists are arrested, and funding support continues to decline, there is an urgent need to treat collective care not as a side concern, but as a core political strategy for sustaining movements. It is itself a form of political organizing – shaped through anti-patriarchal practices in how meetings are run, how parental duties are accommodated, and how mental health is conceived as a political concern. Caring for social justice also means safeguarding the laws and systems that protect dissent.
Yet while collective care is increasingly recognized as essential, it can be vague, unevenly practiced, and at time risk being co-opted or depoliticizing the struggle. The challenge then, is how to root collective care, in justice, equity, and solidarity, so that it serves not as a retreat from resistance, but as a deeper, more sustainable foundation for long-term movement building in Southeast Asia, especially amid the pressures of surveillance, repression, burnout, and resource scarcity faced by grassroots activists.
The workshop aims to contextualize collective care amid repression and to envision sustainable approaches to movement building.
[1] https://theconversation.com/seablings-when-sending-food-turns-into-a-gesture-of-solidarity-among-southeast-asians-264495
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: The event is free, donations are welcome to support SEA Junction activities.
Organizers
Southeast Asia Junction (SEA Junction)
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre or BACC, SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information, see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group and page @sea-junction and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction.
Yayasan Humanis dan Inovasi Sosial (HUMANis)
HUMANis is a Jakarta-based organization that works across the Southeast Asia region to build just and sustainable societies where every individual enjoys their fundamental rights and is free from threat of environmental degradation and climate change. HUMANis is a collective of individuals who firmly believes that inclusive and gender-sensitive approach are fundamental ingredients in our activism. See https://humanis.foundation
