Hundreds of Academics and Activists Discuss the Nation's Current Issues

Hundreds of university academics and activists convened to discuss the nation’s problems at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Monday, 13 April 2026. The organising committee and UI Board of Professors member Teddy Prasetyono stated that the purpose of the event was to foster new ideas.

“And to produce educational materials to assist and strengthen the community, particularly vulnerable groups, the poor, and women,” he said in an official statement on Monday, 13 April 2026.

The event was held by the Forum Intelektual Antardisiplin (FIAD) in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) format themed “Interdisciplinary Intellectuals Speak about Today’s Indonesia”. FIAD invited several academics from various state and private universities. It also invited activists from diverse backgrounds.

Based on the invitation list, some of the attending academics included Professor Tjandra Yoga Aditama from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Indonesia, academic Agustinus Setyo Wibowo from STF Driyarkara, lecturer Ubedilah Badrun from UNJ, Professor of Constitutional Law at Universitas Padjadjaran Susi Dwi Harijanti, lecturer in constitutional law at Universitas Andalas (Unand) Feri Amsari, and Professor Zainal Arifin Mochtar from UGM. There were also several activists, such as lawyer Daniel Winarta from LBH Jakarta, Chairman of YLBHI Muhammad Isnur, and Marzuki Darusman.

They discussed national issues. Some of the topics covered included economy, food, health, energy and natural resources, law, social, cultural, and higher education. These issues were discussed in seven discussion groups.

Teddy said the results of the FGD could be utilised for follow-up actions to support the community. Communities could be encouraged to tap into their own local knowledge to address problems. For example, Teddy said, when facing shortages of food supplies, fuel and gas crises, and various public services. “How they can tap into local food and energy sources to sustain their lives together,” he said.

He stated that the academics and activists gathered not to engage in practical politics. They were carrying out a moral movement and the university’s mandate to produce scientific knowledge as well as social and humanities knowledge for the welfare of humanity.

“Universities are special institutions that cannot be equated with any other institution, whether political or business,” he said.

He also questioned the stance of those in power in positioning scientists and activists today. He questioned the neglect of research results, evidence-based data, various scientific recommendations, and academic opinions in decision-making.

“They don’t want to listen, allowing governance errors to occur. They are busy making policies and programmes in the name of the people. But in reality, they aim for populism and to maintain the status quo of power,” he said.

In fact, university academics share responsibility for addressing various societal problems. They also collaborate with public intellectuals, government, markets, the wider community, and other stakeholders.

According to him, in many countries, almost no public policy lacks a foundation in research and scientific recommendations. Moreover, there are many intelligent Indonesians in universities and the wider community.

“There are many scientists producing science and technology products in health, engineering, and important recommendations in social and community fields,” he said.