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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Insights from Fieldwork in Cambridge on Whaling’s Self-Policing Regime

March 18, 2026
By 31421

A month of SRG-funded research in Cambridge gave Swati Malik (Geneva Graduate Institute, 2020) access to IWC archives and whaling experts, illuminating how inspections evolved in the whaling regime and what a self-policing regime reveals about enforcement, accountability, and cooperation.

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My doctoral research examines how international treaties use inspections to enforce compliance, focusing on three regimes: chemical weapons disarmament, torture prevention, and whaling regulation. Each of these regimes approaches inspections differently—from the rigorous, treaty-empowered inspections under the Chemical Weapons Convention to the collaborative monitoring of the torture-prevention regime, and finally to the more limited and ad-hoc oversight in the whaling regime.

This article centers on the last of these inspection categories: the regulation of whaling under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW).

In October 2025, supported by a Sylff Research Grant (SRG), I conducted fieldwork in Cambridge to explore how the International Whaling Commission (IWC)—the treaty body established by the ICRW—handles inspections and compliance. This trip was the capstone of my comparative study, following earlier field research on the other two regimes. While my research on inspections in the other two regimes may be mentioned as part of the broader context of my PhD research, the narrative below focuses specifically on my Cambridge field visit.

My interest in inspections in the whaling regime stems from the striking contrast they provide to more institutionalized inspection systems in international law. Whaling has long been a flashpoint between conservation goals and state sovereignty. Unlike disarmament treaties that deploy professional inspectors, the ICRW relies heavily on member nations to police themselves, thus raising questions about accountability.

I chose to study the whaling regime because it illustrates a challenging scenario: how does a country ensure compliance with international conservation rules when oversight is largely voluntary? By delving into the archives of the IWC and speaking with experts in Cambridge, I hoped to uncover how this regime evolved, how it tries to monitor whaling activities, and what lessons its successes and failures hold for international law.

The SRG-funded fieldwork in Cambridge enabled me to access materials unavailable elsewhere and provided nuanced insights into whaling inspections that complement the other case studies in my thesis.

Accessing the IWC Archives in Cambridge

The IWC Secretariat is headquartered just north of Cambridge in the village of Histon. For several days, I commuted from my hotel to the Secretariat’s modest offices—a journey that underscored the unassuming setting of this global regulatory body. My primary objective was to examine inspection reports and compliance records that are not available online.

Victory House in Histon, which houses the International Whaling Commission’s headquarters. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Beyond observer reports, the archives contained internal meeting minutes and communiqués grappling with enforcement issues. Reviewing these historical records was a highlight of my fieldwork. In particular, I discovered evidence of how shortcomings in the regime’s inspection mechanism had real consequences.

One striking find was a file concerning the Soviet Union’s whaling activities, which included scientific papers from the early 1990s revealing that the USSR had grossly underreported its whale catches for decades. This revelation, which only came after the end of Soviet whaling, underscored the limitations of an oversight system that relied on national inspectors and honesty.

Cambridge’s Extensive Resources

In addition to the IWC archives, Cambridge’s extensive resources provided many supplementary materials for my research. The University of Cambridge houses multiple libraries and collections, which proved invaluable for gathering context and secondary literature on whaling. While there, I was able to consult historical publications on the whaling industry. I also accessed scientific reports on whale populations and their conservation status to understand the ecological backdrop against which the IWC made decisions.

Cambridge is also home to the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), which maintains archives on polar exploration and whaling. After visiting the Polar Museum, I spent time in SPRI’s library reviewing historical logbooks and photographs from Antarctic whaling expeditions. These materials were not directly related to legal inspections, but they enriched my understanding of the whalers’ world—the operational side that inspectors later tried to monitor.

An old engraving portraying a whaling chase by a small crew of rowers through rough surf—a scene of danger and adventure very different from the technology‑driven methods of modern whaling. (©Patstock via Getty Images)

Seeing century-old harpoon logs and sepia-toned photos of whaling ships in icy waters gave me a visceral sense of the industry’s heritage. This, in turn, helped me appreciate why establishing inspections was so contentious; whaling had deep economic and cultural roots, and external oversight was sometimes perceived as an affront to national traditions.

Another key component of my fieldwork was engaging with experts through interviews and informal conversations. Cambridge, with its vibrant academic community and proximity to the IWC headquarters, offered an excellent opportunity to speak directly with individuals knowledgeable about whaling governance. While there, I was also able to conduct two interviews with individuals who had been part of their respective countries’ whaling expeditions as inspectors on board whaling vessels.

Findings: The Whaling Inspection Regime under the ICRW

By the end of my fieldwork, I had assembled a detailed picture of how inspections (or the lack thereof) operate in the whaling regime. One key finding was that the ICRW’s approach has always been decentralized and state-led. Unlike the Chemical Weapons Convention, which employs independent inspectors, the ICRW from its inception placed the burden of verification on each member nation. These national inspectors were employed by their own governments, not by an international body—a fact that inherently limited their neutrality.

The International Observer Scheme (IOS) of the 1970s was the IWC’s attempt to remedy this weakness by adding a layer of third-party oversight. My research confirmed that the IOS did somewhat improve transparency—observers from different nations were able to cross-verify catches and occasionally caught discrepancies in logbooks. However, the scheme had a limited lifespan. It effectively ceased once the commercial whaling moratorium took effect in 1986–87, as there were fewer whaling operations to monitor (and political enthusiasm for maintaining observers waned when the focus shifted to simply stopping whaling).

After that, the IWC entered what might be called a “post-inspection” era. The moratorium meant that in theory there was not much to inspect, aside from scientific permit whaling and aboriginal subsistence whaling. In practice, however, certain countries continued significant whaling under exemptions. All oversight in these cases was done through paperwork—catch reports submitted by countries, scientific data, and occasional reviews—but there was nothing like the robust inspection regimes of other treaties.

My findings highlight several implications of this light-touch enforcement. For one, compliance becomes a matter of trust and diplomacy rather than verification. IWC meetings often devote time to “infractions reports,” where nations publicly report any violations (such as an accidental taking of a protected whale) and explain remedial actions. This process creates peer pressure, but there is no real penalty if a nation fails to self-report or justify its actions. Through interviews and documents, I learned that this system led to frustration among the IWC’s conservation-minded members.

Not all findings were negative, however, as the fieldwork also shed light on how the IWC has adapted its compliance approach in innovative ways. In recent years, the Commission has emphasized transparency and collaboration through tools such as voluntary DNA registries of whale meat (to detect illegal catches entering markets) and improved reporting requirements for scientific hunts.

While these are not “inspections” in the classic sense, they are mechanisms that contribute to accountability. One might say the IWC compensates for its lack of enforcement power by leveraging science and public opinion to keep countries in line.

When I compare the archival records from the 1970s with the whaling dynamics in 2025, it is clear there has been an evolution. The exploitative mentality of the mid-twentieth century has given way to a broader conservation ethos, resulting in some improvements in compliance. For example, no IWC member openly defies catch limits for endangered species today, which was not the case in earlier decades. Whale populations have benefitted, with many species beginning to recover under the moratorium. Thus, even a relatively weak inspection regime, paired with a strong norm like the moratorium, can have significant impact.

I spent a wonderful autumnal month in Cambridge happily hopping between colleges, libraries, bookstores, coffee shops, and the IWC’s headquarters. (Photo courtesy of the author)

In summary, my Cambridge fieldwork revealed that the whaling regime’s inspection system is fundamentally a story of trade-offs. On the one hand, keeping inspections state-led preserved national sovereignty and facilitated political agreement (many countries might have left the IWC if intrusive inspections were forced upon them).

Conversely, this choice left persistent gaps in enforcement, some of which were tragically exploited, as the Soviet example illustrates. These findings form a crucial part of my thesis’s comparative analysis, demonstrating how a weaker, voluntary inspection framework struggles to achieve the same level of compliance as the stronger, institutionalized inspections of other regimes. Yet, the whaling case also provides insight into alternative compliance tools—diplomacy, science, and public pressure—which are increasingly relevant in international law where formal enforcement often proves elusive.

Reflections and Broader Significance

This field visit to Cambridge was not just an exercise in data collection. It was also a journey that illuminated the human and societal dimensions of my research. Working in the archives and speaking with people on the ground deepened my appreciation for how international law functions in practice: through painstaking consensus-building, occasional bold leadership, and the quiet dedication of individuals behind the scenes.

I was struck by the universality and diversity of the human condition reflected in the whaling regime’s story. At its core, the idea of inspections in international treaties speaks to shared values: accountability, trust, and stewardship. Every nation, at least rhetorically, agrees that we must preserve ocean life for future generations and follow rules we have collectively set. This is a common thread of humanity—recognizing that some issues, like conserving whale populations, transcend borders and require mutual oversight.

At the same time, the implementation of that principle encounters the diversity of human perspectives and cultures. Whaling is not merely a practical activity, as it is woven into cultural narratives, national identities, and human livelihoods. What I witnessed through Cambridge’s documents and discussions is that an inspection regime must contend with these differences.

For example, the presence of an inspector on a whaling vessel may be perceived by one nation as an essential mechanism for the protection of global heritage, while another may view it as intrusive oversight that calls its way of life into question. The whaling case vividly demonstrates how one size does not fit all. This realization has made my research analysis more nuanced; rather than viewing the IWC system as simply “weak,” I now understand it as a product of compromise, an attempt (however imperfect) to respect diversity while still upholding a universal conservation objective.

These reflections also raise broader questions that make for a separate discussion: can international law find creative ways to enforce rules without alienating those who must abide by them? How do we build compliance mechanisms that are both effective and seen as legitimate by different communities? These questions go beyond whaling, as they touch on the very nature of global cooperation.

On a personal note, my time in Cambridge taught me the value of stepping outside the narrow confines of my academic research and engaging with the narratives and people behind the law. Inspections, whether in disarmament or human rights or whaling, are tools by which we act as trustees—we check on each other to uphold a common good. This fieldwork reinforced for me why this topic matters for our shared planet.

In the case of whaling, the societal contribution of better inspections (or analogous oversight) could mean the difference between whales’ survival or extinction and between a fair global agreement or a collapse back into unregulated exploitation of the ocean’s living resources.

The author recently defended her doctoral thesis at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. She is very grateful to the Sylff Association for fully funding her studies at the Institute for two academic years between 2020 and 2022 and also for twice awarding grants that enabled her to undertake research visits to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. (Photo courtesy of the author)

Conclusion

This fieldwork proved indispensable to my recently concluded PhD journey, allowing me to complete the comparative puzzle of inspections in international law by providing deep insights into the whaling regime—a case where both the cracks and potential of international oversight are on display.

In closing, I am grateful for the Sylff Association’s support that enabled this fieldwork. Without being on-site in Cambridge, I would have missed crucial evidence and perspectives that now enrich my thesis chapter on inspections in the whaling regime. By focusing on whaling—an issue that at first might seem niche or historic—I ended up exploring questions that lie at the heart of how we manage our global commons and uphold international norms.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Tokyo Foundation Connects with Sylff Fellows at UNSW Business School

March 16, 2026

On January 6, 2026, three members of the Tokyo Foundation, including President Mieko Nakabayashi, visited the UNSW Business School in Sydney. The delegation was warmly welcomed by Professor and Senior Deputy Dean Karin Sanders, along with members of the Sylff steering committee and administrative staff, with whom they exchanged views on the Sylff program at UNSW.

The Sylff program at UNSW Business School is characterized by its strong integration of academic study with industry engagement. Fellows specializing in fields such as marketing, finance, and business management are encouraged to develop leadership by pursuing research with practical relevance and social impact.

During the visit, the delegation met with four Sylff fellows on campus—Marian Cooray, Vartan Bal, Özlem Beldan, and Sacha Da Cunha Soares—who presented the research they conducted during their fellowships. Their work addresses a range of pressing challenges, including climate action, sustainable economic growth, and social inclusion.

Front row (from left): Fellow Özlem Beldan, fellow Sacha da Cunha Soares, contact person Florence Yang, and fellow Marian Cooray; back row (from left): fellow Vartan Bal, Treasury Director Andrew Fellowes, contact person Toni Hodge, Professor Karin Sanders, Executive Director Mari Suzuki, President Mieko Nakabashi, and Public Communications Officer Hiroshi Saito.

The following day, the delegation also met Oscar Osborne, a Sylff fellow from 2020 to 2022, over lunch in Sydney. Reflecting on his experience in the Sylff community, Osborne shared how the program broadened his international perspective. He also spoke about his plans to launch a startup and his interest in collaborating with corporate and nonprofit partners in Japan and the United States.

Meeting with fellow Oscar Osborne over lunch.

The delegation was particularly impressed by how engaging and outgoing the fellows were, as well as by their commitment to applying academic knowledge to real-world challenges beyond the classroom.

This trip to Sydney was the Foundation’s first visit to a Sylff institution in 2026 and a promising start to the year. We look forward to additional visits and continued engagement with the Sylff community in the months ahead.

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Building a Circular Future in Yogyakarta with Community-Driven Waste Solutions

March 10, 2026
By 29783

As Indonesia faces a national waste emergency, a grassroots initiative in Yogyakarta is showing how public awareness and community engagement can turn waste from an environmental burden into an economic resource.

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Indonesia is currently facing an unprecedented waste crisis. In response to the escalating situation, the government of Indonesia has officially declared a national waste emergency. According to data released by the Ministry of Environment, national waste generation has reached 143,824 tons per day, a figure that continues to rise along with population growth, shifting consumption patterns, and rapid urbanization.

For decades, Indonesia has relied heavily on landfills—locally called Tempat Pembuangan Akhir (TPA)—as the primary solution for waste disposal. However, this approach has proven unsustainable. Many landfills across the country are now operating beyond capacity, forcing several regions to shut them down entirely. The closure of these facilities has resulted in widespread waste accumulation along roadsides, in residential areas, and at temporary dumping points, often producing strong odors and posing serious health and environmental risks.

In some regions, the response has been disturbingly superficial. Piles of uncollected waste are merely covered with tarpaulins and treated with special odor-reducing liquids, offering only temporary relief and failing to address the core problem. These conditions underscore the urgent need for systemic change in how waste is managed in Indonesia.

Lack of Public Awareness

Rima Amalia Eka Widya, a 2019–20 Sylff fellow at Gadjah Mada University, points out that the current waste emergency did not emerge overnight. Instead, it is the result of long-standing structural issues compounded by limited public understanding of proper and responsible waste management.

“The waste problem in Indonesia has existed for a long time,” Rima explains. “What makes it increasingly unmanageable is the lack of public awareness and knowledge about how to manage waste correctly and wisely, starting from the household level.”

Rima believes that waste is still widely perceived as something to be discarded and forgotten, rather than as a material resource that can be managed, processed, and transformed into economic value. This mindset, she argues, has slowed progress toward sustainable waste solutions and placed an overwhelming burden on downstream facilities, such as landfills and waste processing sites.

CircuLife: Transforming Waste into Opportunity

Motivated by these challenges, Rima initiated a community-based program under Sylff Leadership Initiatives 2025, titled “Community-Driven Waste Management and Circular Economy in Yogyakarta (CircuLife).” The initiative seeks to reframe waste not as a problem but as a potential driver of environmentally friendly local economies.

Through CircuLife, Rima and her team work directly with communities in Yogyakarta to promote practical and accessible waste management practices. The program emphasizes that sustainable waste practices do not require advanced technology or large financial investments. Instead, meaningful change can begin with simple innovations, behavioral shifts, and consistent community engagement.

“Our goal is to show communities that waste can be managed locally and sustainably,” Rima says. “With the right knowledge and continuous assistance, people can transform waste into an economic resource rather than an environmental burden.”

Community members in Yogyakarta participate in the Waste Management Workshop Series, bringing together students, cleaning service workers, environmental activists, residents, waste collection managers, and village government representatives.

A Multi-Stakeholder Approach

One of CircuLife’s defining strengths is its collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach. Recognizing that waste management cannot be addressed by communities alone, Rima actively involves a wide range of partners, including village governments, academics and researchers from Gadjah Mada University, waste banks, managers of temporary waste collecting sites (Tempat Penampungan Sementara, or TPS), innovative environmental startups, national and local media outlets, and environmental activists and community organizers.

By bridging academic knowledge with grassroots practice, CircuLife functions as a platform that connects research-based innovation with real-world application. This collaboration also ensures that local voices and lived experiences inform program design and implementation.

Systemic Weaknesses in Waste Management Practices

The situation at many TPS facilities in Yogyakarta highlights systemic weaknesses in current waste management practices. Most TPS receive waste in mixed form, with organic and inorganic materials combined. This significantly increases the workload for TPS staff, who must manually sort waste before processing.

In some areas, a single TPS serves approximately 700 households and receives more than 2 tons of waste per day. Such volumes are extremely difficult to manage, especially when organic waste dominates the waste stream. As a result, organic waste often accumulates around TPS facilities, creating unsanitary conditions and triggering complaints from nearby residents.

Rima notes that this bottleneck is largely preventable. “If organic waste were managed at the household level, TPS facilities would not be overwhelmed,” she explains. “The problem is not only infrastructure but also behavior and understanding.”

Accumulated waste at a TPS site in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta, caused by equipment failure and heavy reliance on an incinerator used to dry and burn organic waste.

Empowering Communities through Simple Innovations

Despite the severity of the problem, Rima remains optimistic. She emphasizes that many people are unaware that organic waste can be processed using simple, low-cost methods, such as composting, biopores, or maggot-based systems. These techniques are accessible to households and do not require specialized equipment.

Through workshops, hands-on demonstrations, and continuous mentoring, the CircuLife team introduces these methods to communities and supports them during the adoption process. The focus is not merely on sharing knowledge but also on building confidence and long-term commitment. “People often think waste management is complicated or expensive,” Rima says. “But once they see that it can be done simply and independently, their perspective begins to change.”

Participants practice making compost from household and livestock organic waste using simple, low-cost methods.

Changing Mindsets, One Household at a Time

Central to CircuLife’s philosophy is the belief that waste management must begin at the smallest unit: the household. According to Rima, households play a decisive role in determining whether Indonesia can overcome its waste emergency.

She encourages a three-step approach: (1) waste segregation at the source, (2) independent processing of organic waste, and (3) channeling of residual and recyclable waste to TPS or local waste banks. By adopting these practices, households can significantly reduce the volume of waste entering the waste management system, easing pressure on TPS facilities and landfills alike. “Households are not just waste producers; they are key actors in the solution,” Rima emphasizes.

CircuLife as a Sustainable Educational Platform

Beyond the immediate project period, CircuLife is designed as a long-term educational platform. Rima envisions the initiative continuing beyond the SLI period, serving as a bridge between academic innovation and practical policy implementation.

The CircuLife team actively seeks to collaborate with government institutions and nonprofit organizations to scale successful models and adapt them to other regions. By doing so, the initiative aims to contribute not only to local improvements in Yogyakarta but also to broader national strategies for waste management. “We want CircuLife to become a connector,” Rima explains, “linking universities, communities, policymakers, and civil society in addressing waste issues at both local and national levels.”

CircuLife serves as a platform for education on economically valuable waste management, including transforming vegetable and fruit organic waste into eco-enzyme, a versatile biotechnological innovation.

Toward a Circular Future

At its core, CircuLife promotes the principles of the circular economy, where materials are reused, regenerated, and reintegrated into economic cycles. This approach challenges the linear “take-make-dispose” model that has dominated waste management practices for decades.

By empowering communities, strengthening local institutions, and fostering cross-sector collaboration, CircuLife demonstrates how grassroots leadership can contribute meaningfully to national and global sustainability goals.

As Indonesia grapples with its waste emergency, initiatives like CircuLife offer a hopeful reminder that transformative change often begins at the community level—driven by knowledge, collaboration, and a shared commitment to environmental responsibility.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Democratic Regression and Impunity for Human Rights Violations in Indonesia

March 5, 2026
By 26719

Indonesia’s post‑1998 reforms promised justice, democratic consolidation, and a break from authoritarian rule. Prabowo’s ascent to the presidency, however, raises questions about accountability and human rights protections, writes Yance Arizona (University of Indonesia, 2011), even as formal democratic procedures remain intact.

Introduction

Indonesia’s democratic transition following the collapse of Suharto’s New Order in 1998 was widely regarded as one of the most successful reform experiences in Southeast Asia. Constitutional amendments, direct elections, decentralization, and the establishment of independent institutions—notably the Constitutional Court and the strengthening of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)—marked a decisive break from authoritarian rule. These reforms were expected not only to institutionalize democracy but also to address the legacy of gross human rights violations committed during the New Order, particularly the escalation of state-sponsored terror in its final years.

Indonesian President Suharto announces his resignation in May 1998 amid student-led protests and widespread riots. (© Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

More than two decades later, however, the promise of accountability remains largely unrealized. Instead of democratic consolidation, Indonesia is experiencing a gradual democratic regression, as recorded by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index (2024). This aligns with the normalization of impunity for serious human rights violations. The election of Prabowo Subianto, the former son-in-law of Suharto, as president in 2024 represents a critical juncture in this trajectory. Although achieved through democratic procedures, his victory carries profound symbolic and political implications. Prabowo’s alleged involvement in the kidnapping and enforced disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1998 has never been meaningfully addressed through judicial or non-judicial mechanisms. His ascent to the presidency thus raises fundamental questions about the substance of democracy, the integrity of transitional justice, and the future of human rights protection in Indonesia.

This article argues that Prabowo’s presidency not merely reflects unresolved failures of past accountability but actively consolidates a political environment in which impunity becomes normalized. Democratic procedures increasingly operate without democratic substance, while the state’s approach to security, governance, and dissent reveals a return to authoritarian logic reminiscent of the Suharto era. In this context, prospects for resolving gross human rights violations in Indonesia appear increasingly bleak.

Democracy Without Accountability

Formally, Indonesia continues to function as an electoral democracy. Elections are held regularly, political parties compete, and leadership changes occur through constitutional mechanisms. Yet democracy in its substantive sense requires accountability, the rule of law, and the prevention of abuses of power. The persistence of impunity for gross human rights violations represents a fundamental rupture in this framework.

Since the Reformasi (post-1998) period, successive governments have failed to ensure accountability in major cases, including the 1965–66 mass killings, enforced disappearances in the late 1990s, the Trisakti and Semanggi shootings, and systematic abuses in Papua. Despite extensive investigations conducted by Komnas HAM, these cases have consistently stalled at the prosecutorial stage. The Attorney General’s Office has repeatedly refused to pursue them, reflecting not technical incapacity but political reluctance to confront powerful military and political elites.

Prabowo’s election must be understood against this background of structural impunity. His political rehabilitation was possible precisely because the process of transitional justice remained incomplete. The absence of legal consequences enabled his return to formal politics, his normalization as a public figure, and eventual rise to the presidency. This trajectory demonstrates how impunity perpetuates itself across generations of power.

Electoral Victory and the Normalization of Impunity

A visual contrast in the political career of Prabowo Subianto: on the left, his 1998 dismissal from the military following allegations of involvement in the abduction of pro-democracy activists; on the right, his 2024 receipt of an honorary general badge from President Joko Widodo, shortly after winning the presidential election with Gibran Rakabuming Raka—Jokowi’s son—as his running mate.

Supporters of Prabowo often argue that his electoral victory confers democratic legitimacy and should put past allegations to rest. This argument conflates electoral success with moral and legal exoneration. Democratic elections determine who governs, but they do not absolve responsibility for serious crimes. When democratic mandates are used to shield unresolved allegations of gross human rights violations, democracy itself becomes an instrument of impunity.

The political narrative surrounding Prabowo’s presidency emphasizes reconciliation without truth, stability without justice, and development without rights. Human rights violations are reframed as historical controversies, national security necessities, or unfortunate excesses of the past that should not impede national unity. This narrative undermines the principle that crimes against humanity are not subject to political compromise or historical amnesia. Elevating a figure associated with an unresolved past to the highest executive office sends a powerful message that accountability is optional and that power can erase responsibility.

Militarization of Civil Governance

One of the clearest indicators of democratic regression under Prabowo is the expanding role of the military in civilian governance. Although Suharto’s central doctrine of dwifungsi ABRI—the “dual function” of the military in both the defense and civilian spheres—was abolished under Reformasi, its logic is re-emerging through legal and institutional practices. Revisions to the Military Law in 2025 now permit active officers to occupy several civilian posts, while retired and active military figures increasingly dominate ministries and state-owned enterprises.

This militarization has profound implications for human rights. Military institutions prioritize command, hierarchy, and security rather than democratic deliberation and rights protection. When military actors dominate civilian spaces, governance tends to privilege order over accountability.

In regions such as Papua, this approach has intensified repression. Militarization there aligns with government projects to clear approximately 2 million hectares of land for food production through deforestation, despite opposition from Papuan indigenous communities. Security operations continue to be framed as responses to separatism rather than potential sources of human rights violations. The normalization of military involvement reinforces institutional cultures that historically enabled impunity.

Criminalization of Dissent and Reversal of Direct Local Elections

Another telltale sign of democratic regression is the systematic narrowing of civic space. Activists, students, and civil society organizations increasingly face surveillance, intimidation, and criminal prosecution for protests and expressions critical of government policy. Demonstrations are frequently met with excessive force, arbitrary arrests, and charges under vague criminal provisions. After the mass protest in August 2025, 13 people died due to violence by security forces, and 703 individuals were detained and prosecuted. They are political prisoners who were tried for their legitimate expression in public. This pattern reflects a governing philosophy that treats dissent as a threat rather than a democratic resource. Laws on public order, electronic information, and national security are used to silence critics, creating a chilling effect on political participation. Many targeted activists are those who consistently demand accountability for past human rights violations. By criminalizing their actions, the state suppresses both contemporary dissent and collective memory of past injustices.

Protestors in Surabaya clash with police in August 2025. Government buildings were torched and the homes of parliament members were looted in Indonesia following a violent crackdown on civil dissent. (© Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

The proposal to revert the selection of regional heads from direct elections to appointments by regional legislatures represents another significant democratic setback. Direct local elections were one of the most tangible achievements of Reformasi, enhancing political participation, accountability, and local autonomy. While the system has its flaws, its abolition would concentrate power within political elites and weaken popular control over local governance.

The justification for this reversal often rests on efficiency, cost reduction, or political stability. Yet these arguments obscure the broader democratic implications. Removing direct elections diminishes citizens’ ability to hold local leaders accountable and reinforces oligarchic control over political processes. It also aligns with a broader trend toward centralization and elite-driven decision-making.

In the context of human rights, this shift is particularly concerning. Local elections have often provided avenues for marginalized communities to influence governance and challenge abusive practices. Their removal would further distance decision makers from affected populations, reducing opportunities for rights-based advocacy at the local level.

Rewriting History and the Failure of Transitional Justice Mechanisms

The rehabilitation of authoritarian figures illustrates the depth of democratic regression. President Prabowo’s decision on November 11, 2025, to grant national hero status to former President Suharto represents an official rewriting of history. Suharto was forced to resign in 1998 amid mass protests against corruption, repression, and widespread human rights violations. Honoring him erases victims, understates suffering, and legitimizes authoritarian governance.

This revisionism reshapes collective memory and signals that justice is subordinate to political power. It also reflects the broader failure of Indonesia’s transitional justice framework. Judicial mechanisms have been ineffective, while non-judicial initiatives have been delayed or diluted. Under Prabowo’s leadership, meaningful accountability appears increasingly unlikely, given his personal history and reliance on military and elite support. Without accountability, the structural conditions that enabled past abuses persist, embedding impunity within political culture.

Indonesia’s experience reflects a broader global trend in which democratic procedures are used to legitimize authoritarian practices. Elections and constitutional forms remain intact, but their substance is hollowed out. Democracy becomes a shield for power rather than a constraint upon it. Under Prabowo, democratic mandates coexist with policies that weaken civilian control, suppress dissent, and reinvent authoritarian legacies. As a result, Indonesia risks consolidating an illiberal democracy in which elections legitimize authority while justice remains perpetually deferred.

Bibliography

Aspinall, Edward, and Ward Berenschot. Democracy for Sale: Elections, Clientelism, and the State in Indonesia. Cornell University Press, 2019. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvdtphhq.

Crouch, Harold. The Army and Politics in Indonesia. Cornell University Press, 1988. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctvv417br.

Power, Thomas P. “Jokowi’s Authoritarian Turn and Indonesia’s Democratic Decline.” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 54, no. 3 (2018): 307–38. doi:10.1080/00074918.2018.1549918.

Robinson, Geoffrey B. The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965–66. Princeton University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvc774sg.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

York Fellow’s Article Spotlights Corporate Accountability in Ghana’s Extractive Sector

February 27, 2026

In February 2026, Cynthia Kwakyewah—a 2016-17 Sylff fellowship recipient and currently a course director in social science at York University—published an article in The Conversation examining the evolving landscape of corporate responsibility and community activism in Ghana’s mining, oil, and gas sectors. The piece draws heavily on her doctoral research, supported by a Sylff Research Abroad grant in 2019–20.

Kwakyewah is a global sociologist specializing in human rights, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable development. In the article, she provides both an empirical analysis and a hopeful narrative of how communities, civil society organizations, and state institutions in Ghana are challenging longstanding patterns of corporate abuse.

A History of Resource Extraction, a New Wave of Accountability

Ghana’s long history of gold, stone, sand, and salt mining has often displaced people, polluted the environment and destroyed livelihoods. While public perception commonly assumes that such abuses persist with few consequences, Kwakyewah’s findings reveal a more complex and rapidly shifting reality.

Her research analyzed 27 human‑rights‑related cases filed between 2000 and 2020 and included interviews with policymakers and civil society leaders to illuminate on‑the‑ground dynamics.

One key insight was that 83% of rights violations stemmed directly from the actions—or inactions—of extractive firms themselves, rather than from multinationals enabling host governments to carry out abuses. Many cases involved inadequate compensation for lost land or crops, forced displacement, physical abuse, and environmental contamination.

A major contribution of her study is the recognition of how Ghana’s civil society organizations have stepped in to fill governance gaps, emerging as de facto regulators increasingly capable of holding corporations accountable. She shows that such “accountability from below” can often be more effective than top-down enforcement.

The Sylff Association secretariat is proud to have supported her research and looks forward to supporting similar initiatives that empower local communities, strengthen global governance, and promote human rights around the world.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Building Emotionally Safe and Inclusive Schools in Samburu County, Kenya

February 25, 2026
By 33015

Using an SLI award, Jayne Warwathia Chege (University of Nairobi, 2012–14) organized a project in northern Kenya to strengthen teachers’ ability to integrate social and emotional learning into everyday classroom practice while also addressing the often-overlooked issue of teacher well-being and professional development.

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Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
—Aristotle

In many parts of Kenya, schools operate within difficult social, cultural, and environmental conditions that strongly influence how learners experience education. Teachers today are expected to do far more than teach academic content. They are expected to guide behavior, instill values, protect learners from harm, respond to emotional distress, and prepare young people to participate responsibly in society. Yet, the support systems available to teachers have not evolved at the same pace as these expectations. In Samburu County, this gap is especially visible.

Teachers in the county face the dual responsibility of implementing the competency-based education (CBE) curriculum while responding to ongoing challenges such as tribal conflicts, learner emotional distress, school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV), harmful cultural practices, environmental pressures, and limited access to counselling and psychosocial services. Many schools serve communities affected by poverty, insecurity, and long-standing social norms that place learners—particularly girls—at risk. It was within this context that the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Training of Trainers initiative was developed and implemented.

Funded by a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) grant and implemented by the community-based organization Persons of Influence, the project aimed to strengthen teachers’ ability to integrate social and emotional learning into everyday classroom practice while also addressing the often-overlooked issue of teacher well-being.

SEL aligns closely with the goals of CBE by supporting values education, emotional awareness, communication skills, ethical decision-making, and responsible citizenship. However, early engagement with teachers and education stakeholders revealed a major concern: while teachers understood the importance of learner well-being, very few had received structured opportunities to update their skills, reflect on their practice, or learn how to respond to the growing emotional and social needs in their classrooms.

The author leading a session on self-awareness.

For many teachers, professional development opportunities are limited and narrowly focused on syllabus coverage and examinations. Training on mental health, emotional well-being, child protection, or trauma-informed teaching is rare. Yet, teachers regularly encounter learners dealing with grief, neglect, violence, early marriage, poverty, and emotional withdrawal. In the absence of structured support and clear guidance, teachers often rely on personal judgment and experience, carrying the emotional weight of these challenges largely on their own.

Over time, this accumulation leads to fatigue, frustration, and burnout. The SEL Training of Trainers initiative responded directly to this reality by placing teacher well-being at the center of the conversation, guided by a simple but powerful reminder that ran throughout the program: you cannot pour from an empty vessel.

Interactive and Reflective Approaches

The project began with a stakeholder engagement forum that brought together teachers, curriculum support officers, Ministry of Education officials, and civil society partners. The forum underscored the need for integrating SEL into schools, but it also revealed serious gaps. Participants spoke openly about the prevalence of SRGBV, the difficulty of identifying learners with mental health challenges or learning disabilities, and the absence of clear referral pathways to health and social services. These discussions made one point clear: schools are being asked to manage problems that go far beyond the classroom, often without the tools, authority, or institutional backing to do so effectively.

Using insights from this engagement, a team of trainers developed a five-day SEL Training of Trainers program that focused on practical application rather than theory alone. Specialists in child protection, gender-based violence, mental health, and inclusive education were invited to support specific sessions. The training methods were interactive and reflective, using role plays, real-life case discussions, guided journaling, group work, and school-based planning. These approaches allowed teachers to connect the training to their daily experiences and to reflect honestly on their own emotional health and leadership roles.

Role play on responsible decision-making.

Baseline assessments conducted at the onset of the training showed clear gaps. Most participants had limited understanding of the core SEL competencies or familiarity with the core values of the competency-based curriculum. Confidence levels were low when it came to recognizing emotional distress, responding to sensitive cases, or navigating referral systems. Many teachers also acknowledged that they struggled to manage their own stress, despite being expected to remain calm, patient, and supportive in difficult situations.

At the same time, teachers expressed a strong willingness to learn. Attitudes toward SEL were positive, and participants showed openness to new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. By the end of the training, post-assessment results showed clear improvement. Teachers demonstrated a better understanding of SEL concepts, greater confidence in facilitating discussions about emotions and behavior, and stronger ability to integrate SEL into lesson planning and classroom routines. Awareness of referral pathways for mental health concerns and SRGBV cases also improved, enabling teachers to respond more responsibly and ethically.

The project placed strong emphasis on continuity beyond the training itself. Each participating school developed a simple SEL action plan outlining activities, responsibilities, and timelines. Teachers committed to embedding SEL into lessons, assemblies, clubs, and everyday interactions with learners. A community of practice was also formed through a shared WhatsApp group, allowing participants to share experiences, ask questions, and support one another. This peer network helped reinforce the idea that change in schools is sustained through shared responsibility rather than individual effort.

Ms. Mirriam facilitating a session on self-management.

Equipping Teachers to Create Supportive Spaces

A few challenges were encountered during implementation. Limited resources, higher-than-expected attendance, and environmental conditions such as prolonged drought affected some planned activities, including school greening initiatives. At the school level, weak enforcement of child protection and SRGBV policies, combined with limited access to counselling services, made immediate application difficult in some cases. These challenges highlighted the limits of short-term training and the need for stronger institutional support and follow-up.

Despite these constraints, the project demonstrated the value of investing in teachers as whole people, not just curriculum implementers. When teachers are given space to learn, reflect, and receive support, they are better equipped to guide learners through difficult emotional and social realities. More importantly, they are better placed to model integrity, empathy, and responsible behavior.

After all, CBE was not modeled on examination results; it was meant to shape young people who can think critically, relate respectfully to others, make ethical choices, and participate meaningfully in their communities. The SEL Training of Trainers initiative demonstrated that when teacher well-being is prioritized and teachers are given opportunities to retool, schools become safer, more supportive spaces. In contexts like Samburu County, where social challenges and education are deeply intertwined, such approaches are essential for raising engaged, empowered, and ethical citizens as envisaged by CBE.

Group photo of participants in the SEL Training of Trainers program.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Legian at Night: Reflections on Luxury Tourism and Local Life in Bali, Indonesia

February 25, 2026
By 29430

In a preliminary report on his SRG study into Bali’s luxury tourism, A. Faidlal Rahman (Gadjah Mada University, 2008–09) offers his personal thoughts on how upscale visitor experiences rely on the labor, lives, and adaptability of the local community.

* * *

My current research into “Luxury Experience, Empowerment, and Their Impact on Tourist Satisfaction” did not begin with data or theory. It began with night-time walks through the streets of Legian—a vibrant, beachfront district in southern Bali.

As night falls, Legian comes alive. Neon lights flicker on, music spills from bars and cafés, and the sidewalks fill with people speaking different languages. For many visitors, Legian is a place to be free, have fun, and enjoy the nightlife.

But as a Sylff fellow who has stayed in many of Bali's fancy hotels, I see Legian a little differently. This area shows how luxury tourism, urban development, and local life are interconnected, even amid the crowds and noise.

As I walk down Legian's main street, music is everywhere—some quickly fading away and others loud enough to shake the pavement. Small bars with live bands sit next to older buildings and longstanding local shops. Tourism workers stand in front of restaurants and attractions, serving food, guiding guests, or just watching the night unfold.

Live music fills the streets of night-time Legian.

Many electrical wires crisscross above the street—a reminder of how quickly this neighborhood has grown, often outpacing institutional planning. Legian’s layout is imperfect and improvised, shaped by flexibility, compromise, and the routines of daily life.

This field experience is important to me on a personal level. My interests go beyond just academic work. I can see how upscale travel is planned and managed by watching how luxury hotels operate. But Legian prompts a deeper question: who sustains this luxury?

Legian as a Place to Learn

The atmosphere inside Legian’s fancy hotels feels calm and controlled. Service follows international standards. Building design takes into account local traditions. Each guest gets personalized attention, and a sense of orderliness reinforces the feeling of richness.

But as soon as I step outside the hotel grounds, the mood changes. Big tourism businesses operate alongside local shops, informal vendors, and local residents. Life is busier, more fluid, and more interactive outside the hotel walls. It becomes clear that luxury tourism never exists in isolation.

Many hotel workers I met lived in Legian. During the day, they work in highly professional, polished hospitality environments. At night, they return to neighborhoods that have been heavily shaped by tourism. For them, the nightlife in Legian is not entertainment—it is a part of daily life.

Even though my time in Legian was limited, I was able to see how local life and international tourism interact. The people working behind the scenes—hotel staff, suppliers, small business owners, long-established shopkeepers, and informal transport drivers—are the ones responsible for making guests feel like they are in luxury. Their labor is the reason why tourism works.

The unhurried atmosphere of Legian’s nightlife.

This experience has changed how I approach the study of tourism. Thanks to my SRG award, I was able to slow down, hear more stories, and spend more time in the field. I learned that finding quick fixes do not always lead to the best solutions; understanding a place comes from small, everyday moments, such as short conversations with employees heading home late at night, watching how the street changes from hour to hour, or noticing the contrast between the quiet of hotels and the noise of the streets outside.

This experience also made me think about the social responsibility of researchers in the global academic community. The support I received from Sylff was not only a personal benefit but also reminded me that knowledge should ultimately contribute to society. Legian makes this clear. Tourism is more than just an industry; it also involves people, jobs, homes, and the environment.

What I saw in Legian can be found in tourist destinations all over the world. Global competition and rapid growth often put a strain on local life and identity. These challenges are not unique to Bali—they are part of a larger global tension between luxury tourism, sustainability, and community well-being.

Legian taught me that tourism is not simply about visitor numbers or revenue. It is about who benefits, who has to adapt, and who bears the consequences. The crowded sidewalks, late-night businesses, and multitasking employees are reminders that tourism is much more complicated than it looks.

Every night that I walked through Legian, I saw how global issues like sustainability and the search for authenticity play out in the details of everyday life. For people who live and work in tourist areas, these are not abstract concepts but everyday realities.

For me, Legian has become a place to learn. I now understand that tourism is a constantly evolving social phenomenon—not just an industry or a visitor’s experience but a space where people, values, and global responsibilities intersect.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Website Maintenance on February 24 (15:00 to 18:00 JST)

February 18, 2026

We will be performing maintenance on the Sylff website on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, between 15:00 and 18:00 JST.

During this period, the website will be unavailable for approximately one hour and will display a “Maintenance in Progress” message.

The maintenance is part of our updates to pages related to the Sylff Support Programs for fiscal 2026.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Exploring the Upsides of Dark Tourism: Lessons from the Holocaust Memorial

February 17, 2026

Farhad Nazir, a Sylff fellow at the University of Coimbra, has co-authored a book chapter with Hassan Ali of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, Germany. The chapter, titled “The Holocaust Memorial and Upsides of Dark Tourism in the Modern Times,” appears in The Emerald Handbook of International Dark Tourism.

Nazir recently completed his doctoral degree in Tourism, Heritage, and Territory at Coimbra. He was awarded a Sylff fellowship in 2022 and a Sylff Research Grant in 2024 and 2025.

The study examines the potential benefits of dark tourism at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial—officially the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe—focusing on its social, educational, psychological, and economic dimensions. The facility is the central subject of the research, a place to reflect on and remember the atrocities perpetrated during World War II.

On a societal level, the study discusses how the memorial can foster understanding and compassion by immersing visitors in the victims’ experiences and suffering. From an educational perspective, it considers the memorial’s capacity to provide historical context and promote critical thinking regarding the consequences of bigotry and prejudice. From a psychological dimension, the study investigates the memorial’s potential as a place for healing and dealing with loss and pain, while encouraging resilience and hope.

Additionally, the chapter explores the site’s role in enhancing social engagement, expanding educational possibilities, and contributing to the local economy by attracting tourists and reinforcing solidarity with affected communities. It underscores the memorial’s importance as a dark tourism destination in modern times, showcasing its function in promoting empathy, awareness, and respect for human rights. The study also provides practical implications for stakeholders directly or indirectly associated with shaping dark tourism experiences.

Link to the book chapter: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80592-501-920251024

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投稿者 : ld-sylff

Harmony across Cultures: A Music and Arts Festival in the Suburbs of Paris

January 26, 2026
By 33110

Pianist Florent Ling (Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, 2024–26) co-organized a festival of classical music and the arts, bringing free concerts, workshops, and community programs to a culturally diverse district of suburban Paris—proving that cultural inclusion can inspire lasting engagement and creativity.

* * *

I am Florent Ling, a classical pianist raised in the suburbs of Paris and trained at some of the world’s leading music universities. As a French citizen of Asian descent, born in a neighborhood where access to classical music and other art forms often considered elitist was limited, I decided early on to make their democratization and transmission a major focus of my work. My upbringing instilled in me the conviction that access to culture can profoundly shape a young person’s sense of belonging, aspiration, and self-expression.

While the neighborhoods where I grew up are known for their cultural diversity, classical music continues to be perceived as elitist, distant, or irrelevant to daily life. This perception perpetuates a cycle of exclusion in which children and families from underrepresented or working-class backgrounds have limited opportunities to encounter the arts in empowering and inclusive ways. These are the reasons why I felt a personal responsibility to address this gap by creating a festival that would bring classical and multidisciplinary artistic experiences directly to the communities that shaped me.

With this vision, the project Sido & Co: Harmonies Croisées was conceived as a multicultural, interdisciplinary festival combining high-quality performances, educational workshops, and community-rooted initiatives. The name “Sido” was inspired by the two music notes si and do, while “& Co” reflects the project’s ambition to open music to other art forms and broader audiences.

Supported by Sylff Leadership Initiatives, the project evolved over several months of preparation into a four-day festival held from November 6 to 9, connecting the 10th district of Paris with its surrounding suburban areas for this inaugural edition. In co-direction with Camille Théveneau—whose experience in local cultural policy enriched the project’s reach—we were able to bridge institutional, geographical, and symbolic distances between Paris and its suburbs, which was an essential aspect of the festival’s mission.

An evening of “Cordes en Cœur” at the 10th district city hall, November 7, 2025.

The opening event marked an important milestone in this effort. Thanks to strong support from the municipality of the 10th district, we were able to host our main concert in the prestigious city hall, offering completely free admission. The program featured six classical musicians, all from suburban and culturally diverse areas. The event was an overwhelming success, drawing over 200 attendees, including families and children from the suburbs who were personally invited through schools and community partners, such as the Conservatoire de Malakoff, where I currently teach. The atmosphere was both celebratory and intimate, demonstrating that when artistic excellence is made accessible, new audiences respond with great enthusiasm and curiosity.

Around this central event, we developed a series of socially engaged activities that embodied the festival’s multidisciplinary and inclusive philosophy. Perhaps the most meaningful was Prolégomènes Dumky, a music-theater show for children built around Dvořák’s “Dumky” Trio. Featuring three professional musicians who themselves grew up in suburban environments, the show humorously and tenderly portrayed the behind-the-scenes process of chamber music rehearsals, from negotiations and challenges to the moments of inspiration that shape artistic collaboration. Because the piece demystifies classical music while honoring the lived experiences of the performers, it resonated powerfully with schoolchildren.

A packed house of enthusiastic young listeners attended the music-theater performance of Prolégomènes Dumky.

Thanks to our close collaboration with local elementary schools, we were able to welcome four different classes to this event, totaling over 100 children across the two performances. One of the highlights of these sessions was the post-show interaction between the young audience and the musicians. Children asked perceptive, often surprising questions—not only about the instruments or the music but also about perseverance, teamwork, and what it means to be an artist. These simple exchanges created a sense of proximity that is rarely offered in traditional concert formats.

Miniconcerts featuring Duo Théveneau were presented during the festival for healthcare workers at Lariboisière and Saint-Louis Hospitals.

Another key component of the Sido & Co Festival was the project’s engagement with local hospitals, further advancing our commitment to accessibility. Inspired by the belief that artistic experiences can offer comfort and human connection in challenging environments, we organized performances in two hospitals. A pair of musicians visited Hôpital Saint-Louis and Hôpital Lariboisière to present short musical programs for patients, families, and medical staff. These moments of pause, beauty, and shared presence were warmly received by both institutions, which quickly expressed a desire to renew the collaboration in the future. Bringing music into healthcare settings reaffirmed our conviction that the arts can serve as a vital form of social care, especially for individuals who cannot easily access cultural events.

The festival also featured two multidisciplinary evening events in a contemporary art gallery: “Raices,” a concert blending folk and classical music performed by two musicians of Hispanic descent, and L’Histoire du Soldat, an epic tale combining music and theater. These events attracted a remarkably diverse audience: regular gallery visitors, artists, long-time residents from nearby neighborhoods, and new suburban participants who had learned about the festival through earlier events. These enriching encounters illustrated one of our festival’s core intentions: to create shared spaces where people from different backgrounds feel equally invited and represented.

Behind the scenes, the festival was also shaped by the long-term “Résonances Personnelles” workshop, which took place over the preceding months at the suburban Conservatoire de Malakoff. Working with local teenagers, we explored how personal histories, musical influences, and spoken narratives can intersect to create new forms of artistic expression. This workshop was essential not only for artistic reasons but also because it offered young people an opportunity to take ownership of the project and see their creativity valued. By inviting them to all festival events as part of the workshop and enabling exchange with different artists, we were able to broaden their artistic perspectives.

The “Raíces” concert for voice and clavichord.

By the end of the four days, the festival had welcomed nearly 400 participants across all events, including more than 100 children. Beyond the numbers, the most meaningful outcomes lay in the strengthened relationships among artists, cultural institutions, municipal partners, and schools that collaborated in this first edition. Teachers reported that their students continued discussing the performances days after attending; hospital staff shared that the musical sessions had lifted the spirits of patients and medical staff alike; and many first-time audience members expressed their desire to return for future programs.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign of the project’s long-term impact is this clear demand we received for continuity. Multiple partners, including schools, hospitals, gallery spaces, and municipalities, have already requested opportunities to collaborate again. The festival demonstrated that when artistic experiences are brought directly to communities and shaped with their realities in mind, they generate lasting enthusiasm and engagement.

Ultimately, Sido & Co: Harmonies Croisées has established a replicable model for community-based artistic events that can be strengthened and expanded in future editions across both urban and suburban contexts. The project reaffirmed the transformative potential of culturally inclusive artistic practices and reminded us of our responsibility as artists and educators to make the arts accessible, empowering, and reflective of the diversity of the communities we serve.