𝐔𝐆𝐌 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐖𝐏𝐒 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬

On June 18, 2025, the students and faculty of the Diploma in Women, Peace, and Security (DWPS) program at MSU-Maguindanao took part in a profound learning session at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Hosted in collaboration with some of Indonesia’s leading peace and gender scholars, the session deepened the participants’ understanding of localized, gender-responsive peacebuilding and how Southeast Asian experiences can inform and inspire the Bangsamoro context.

The session opened with an online lecture by Prof. Hamid Awaluddin, former Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights and chief negotiator of the historic Aceh Peace Process. Prof. Awaluddin challenged common narratives that reduce conflict to religious or cultural roots. Drawing from the Aceh, Ambon, and Poso conflicts, he underscored the role of political marginalization and economic exclusion as core drivers. The Aceh peace process, he explained, was successful not because of shared religion or cultural affinity, but due to principled dialogue, secrecy that protected negotiation integrity, and a commitment to empathy and mutual dignity. Two key principles anchored the process: “Dignity for all” and “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” By focusing initial discussions on shared human concerns—especially the needs of children, women, education, and post-tsunami recovery—the peace effort moved beyond politics and toward a holistic model of reconciliation and structural reform.

The succeeding in-person panel featured three Indonesian experts who tackled gender-based violence, extremism, and grassroots peacebuilding. Dr. Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, Director of the Center for Law, Gender, and Society at UGM, opened with a discussion on the gendered dimensions of violent extremism. She explained how extremism often incubates in everyday spaces—within families, institutions, and online environments. Warning signs such as imposed dress codes, opposition to gender rights, and hyper-masculine rhetoric are often missed or normalized. “If you want to know the security situation, ask the women,” she declared, advocating for feminist approaches that confront institutional complicity and center women’s voices. Her call to strengthen women’s movements across issues of reproductive rights, identity, and dignity reinforces that gender justice is not peripheral, but essential to counter-extremism strategies.

Next, Prof. Dr. Yayi Suryo Prabandari shared the transformative efforts of UGM’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Handling Task Force. Highlighting the university’s shift toward a Health Promoting Campus, she introduced the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on sexual violence as an innovative educational tool. The MOOC is aimed at building awareness and prevention capacity among students, faculty, and staff—fostering survivor-centered and inclusive campuses. This model shows how higher education institutions can take a proactive stance in addressing gender-based violence through policy, training, and digital tools—creating a new standard for academic social responsibility.

Dr. Arifah Rahmawati, Indonesia’s representative to the ASEAN Women for Peace Registry (AWPR), capped the panel by exploring the implementation of Indonesia’s National Action Plan on WPS. She emphasized that national policies alone are insufficient—what makes WPS tangible are community-based efforts, grassroots leadership, and knowledge-sharing platforms for women. Her call for synergizing local wisdom with national WPS priorities highlights that transformative peace requires bottom-up participation and accountability driven by women leaders and scholars.

These discussions collectively demonstrated that peace and security in Southeast Asia are not abstract ideals but deeply rooted in lived realities, institutional transformation, and gender inclusion. They also presented valuable lessons for the Philippine context—particularly in the Bangsamoro region—where the journey toward peace and justice is ongoing and deeply personal.

𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥: 𝘈 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘓𝘶𝘪𝘴, 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘞𝘗𝘚 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘨𝘺𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘎𝘔 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧. 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘦𝘩 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘤𝘦𝘩’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴—𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 ‘𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭.’ 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧. 𝘠𝘢𝘺𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦—𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘗𝘚 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦—𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘞𝘗𝘚 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘨𝘺𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢, 𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘗 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 (𝘗𝘊𝘐𝘋), 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘳. 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘢𝘩 𝘙𝘢𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢.

Asst. Prof. Alvin Lois E. Pembarat, Ms. Allyndra Kate Luis