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Building Digital Resilience in Indonesia’s Vulnerable Communities

September 8, 2025
By 32013

Digital threats like online lending and gambling are on the rise in Indonesia. An SLI-supported digital resilience project led by Obby Taufik Hidayat (Universiti Malaya, 2023) offers strategic solutions through education, community collaboration, and policy reform to protect vulnerable groups in West Java.

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In today’s interconnected world, rapid advances in digital technology have revolutionized numerous aspects of our lives, including communication, commerce, education, and social interaction. However, this digital revolution also brings significant challenges, particularly in the form of digital threats, such as cybercrime, identity theft, digital fraud, and cyberbullying. These threats compromise the security and privacy of individuals, posing a significant risk to the stability and well-being of communities worldwide. Addressing these issues requires proactive and comprehensive strategies that empower individuals and communities to navigate the digital landscape safely and effectively.

The alarming increase in online lending in West Java is a pressing issue that underscores the importance of such strategies. By early 2024, total debt from online lending in the region had reached a worrying IDR 16 trillion. This significant financial burden indicates broader digital vulnerabilities faced by communities. Many individuals, particularly those with limited financial literacy, fall victim to predatory lending practices and digital fraud associated with online lending.

The ease of access to quick online loans, combined with a lack of understanding of terms and conditions, often leads to debt cycles and financial instability. Additionally, the digital nature of these transactions makes it easier for fraudulent actors to exploit unsuspecting borrowers, exacerbating the problem further.

The Building Digital Resilience program that I initiated is aimed at addressing these challenges by providing communities with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to combat digital threats. This initiative aligns with the Sylff goal of identifying and nurturing leaders who can transcend differences in nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, and political systems.

By enhancing digital literacy and resilience, the program seeks to empower community members to safeguard themselves and others against digital threats, thereby fostering safer and more secure societies.

The primary objectives of the Building Digital Resilience program are to raise public awareness, foster digital literacy, promote safe online practices, enhance community collaboration, and empower vulnerable groups.

The official launch of the SLI project was held at Bandung Creative Hub and was attended by a diverse group of teachers and students.

Specifically, the program conducts workshops to raise awareness about digital threats, develops online resources to provide ongoing digital literacy education, and runs campaigns to encourage safe online behavior. Additionally, partnerships are being established with local schools, community centers, and nonprofit organizations to broaden the program’s reach and impact.

Digital Portrait of Indonesia: Findings from Various Social Strata

This project was launched at a Kick-Off event in Bandung, followed by educational visits to elementary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, and community centers. At the high school level, activities were conducted at five schools in the Bandung metropolitan area and one in Bogor Regency.

During these school visits, students demonstrated varying levels of engagement and understanding in response to the activities. Those from densely populated areas with lower-middle-income backgrounds tended to be more passive. According to one teacher, this may be due to economic hardships and challenging family circumstances.

Conversely, students from upper-middle-income environments responded enthusiastically and demonstrated a range of cognitive engagement, actively asking questions and adopting a critical attitude, as evidenced by the exceptionally lively responses during the gamification session.

An interactive gamification activity at a senior high school.

Teachers at a senior high school in Bogor Regency showed high interest in this project, as evidenced by their invitation to collaborate on the school’s podcast. This indicates that many teachers are also grappling with digital issues and recognize the need to enhance their digital literacy. The differences observed among schools highlight the impact of socioeconomic disparities on digital resilience, suggesting the importance of tailoring interventions to specific individual and community contexts.

Group photo at a junior high school following a series of engaging activities.

At the junior high and elementary school levels, the activities proved to be quite energy intensive. Participants at junior high schools, particularly those affiliated with Islamic boarding schools, were observed to be passive and lacked adequate digital literacy, despite the inclusion of computer science in the curriculum. This highlights the gap between formal education and practical digital literacy skills.

In the elementary schools visited, which were often located near marginalized residential areas, most activities were filled by fifth-grade students. Despite some students having limited reading and writing skills, many were actively engaged with the digital world, though often in ways considered inappropriate, with reports of some accessing harmful content, such as online gambling sites.

Pre-activity bonding interactions with students at a primary school.

According to one teacher, this behavior is influenced by the family environment, with many students imitating family members who engage in online gambling. One concerning finding was that nearly 80% of the elementary school students in these areas come from divorced families, which results in limited digital supervision at home. A low understanding of digital dangers makes children more vulnerable, and family instability further creates a void in parental supervision.

In one densely populated village in Bandung, residents were found to be actively involved in online gambling and quick loan schemes. A neighborhood association leader expressed serious concern about the illegal collection of funds, suggesting that these digital activities may be fostering corruption—or perhaps are themselves driven by corrupt practices. This finding highlights the intricate link between digital financial risks, socioeconomic status, and unlawful activities, including corruption.

Group photo with local community members in a densely populated area of Bandung Regency.

International Dissemination of the SLI Project

Another important aspect of the SLI project was the dissemination of its outcomes by the fellow at the 13th European Conference on Education, organized by the International Academic Forum (IAFOR), held in July 2025 at University College London, United Kingdom. The fellow received valuable feedback through knowledge exchange with academics from various countries, which contributed to achieving the objectives of the SLI project: enhancing digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness.

Presenting the results of the Building Digital Resilience project at IAFOR 2025.

Ronald William, a PhD student from Japan, provided insights into online gambling and other cybercrimes, saying that in Japan, the focus is not on eliminating gambling in general but on educating children from a young age to develop moral character and ethical self-awareness. He also noted that Japan has stringent financial transaction rules. Both domestic and international bank transfers, for example, require detailed and precise information. As a result, digital financial transactions in the country are well-protected.

Scholars from Italy shared their expertise in digital literacy education and cybersecurity awareness through project-based learning. According to them, this approach effectively enables students to apply the theories they have learned in the classroom in real-world settings, resulting in numerous insights that bridge theoretical knowledge with practical experience. This reflective process fosters the development of new knowledge that benefits both students and the community, enhancing digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness.

There was also significant input from Puan Siti, a scholar from Sabah, Malaysia. She noted that strict government regulations in Malaysia, such as those aligned with Islamic prohibitions against online gambling, encourage widespread community compliance. For example, ethnic Malays who are Muslim tend to fully adhere to these rules without the need for additional persuasion. As a result, access to online gambling is limited among the Malaysian public, especially those who are Muslim, who are also guided by strong religious principles.

Many other suggestions were made at the UK conference that may prove valuable for policymakers in Indonesia in addressing online crimes. These recommendations are summarized in the section below.

The Focus Group Discussion and Digital Resilience Workshop examined the information gathered during the school visits and explored opportunities for continued development.

The Focus Group Discussion and Digital Resilience Workshop examined the information gathered during the school visits and explored opportunities for continued development.

The results of this SLI project show profound policy implications for building digital resilience in Indonesia. Digital social deviance, such as online gambling addiction, is a growing issue that affects individuals across various socioeconomic backgrounds. While low-income groups are often targeted with promises of instant wealth, those from middle- and upper-income backgrounds may also engage in risky digital behaviors due to easy access to technology, limited digital literacy, peer and family influence, and such psychological needs as stress relief.

In schools, teachers and administrators play a crucial role in addressing digital deviance. However, many lack the necessary capacity, training, and policy support to effectively prevent or respond to these challenges.

Existing curricula, especially at the junior high school level, do not explicitly incorporate digital literacy, leaving schools to rely on informal programs, such as extracurricular activities or project-based learning. The heavy administrative burden on teachers further limits their ability to take on additional responsibilities related to digital risk prevention.

A multi-sectoral strategy is essential for building digital resilience. The pentahelix model, which brings together government, schools, families, communities, and academia, provides a framework for shared responsibility and collaboration. Parents need to be equipped with digital parenting skills, schools must integrate digital literacy into formal education, and governments are responsible for creating policies, providing resources, and establishing reporting mechanisms to combat harmful content. Community environments should also foster positive digital behavior through collective norms.

The Digital Resilience Education (DRE) module offers a structured approach to improving students’ ability to navigate the digital world safely. However, its implementation must be adapted to different educational levels, local cultures, and student needs. In primary schools, the focus may be on raising awareness, while at higher levels, the emphasis should shift toward developing critical thinking and digital self-control. Using Indonesia’s many local languages may enhance the relatability of messaging in specific regions. Nevertheless, external challenges persist, particularly family norms and peer influences that normalize deviant behavior.

The findings of the SLI project on Building Digital Resilience in West Java highlight the urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to address digital threats and promote digital literacy, especially among young people. Tackling socioeconomic disparities and integrating digital education into the school curriculum will be essential for creating a safer digital landscape. By adopting international best practices and fostering cooperation among educators, policymakers, and communities, Indonesia can build a more resilient digital society that protects vulnerable groups and promotes responsible, ethical online behavior.

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Sounds of Hope: A Musical Journey from War-Torn Syria to Global Acclaim

September 8, 2025

In the world of classical music, few institutions carry the weight of history and prestige like the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. Alongside the Juilliard School in New York and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, it stands as one of the world’s most revered music schools—an elite training ground for generations of top artists.

Founded in 1795 during the French Revolution, the Conservatoire de Paris traces its roots back to 1669, when Louis XIV established the Royal Academy of Music. Originally housed in the Palace of Versailles as a school for vocal and dramatic arts, it has since become one of the most respected institutions for higher music education. With alumni like Claude Debussy and Georges Bizet, it has served as a model for music academies around the world.

On a spring afternoon in Paris, the Conservatoire’s campus in La Villette Park was filled with the energy of young musicians from around the world. Among them was Bilal Alnemr, a Syrian-born violinist whose path to the Conservatoire has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Alnemr received a Sylff fellowship in 2019 and 2020 while working toward a master’s degree in classical instrumental music. But his journey began far from the concert halls of Europe—in the war-ravaged streets of Damascus.

“It’s been a series of miracles,” Alnemr says, reflecting on the path that brought him here.

A Toy Violin and a Father’s Faith

Alnemr’s earliest memory of music is a toy violin, gifted to him as a baby by his father, a passionate lover of music. The toy did not produce any sound, but the young boy’s relentless attempts to make it sing revealed a spark of talent. Noticing this, his father spent three months’ worth of the family’s living expenses to buy a real violin for his three-year-old son.

From that moment, music became Alnemr’s world. While other children played outside, he practiced in the basement of a local music school. At night, his father climbed onto the roof to adjust their satellite dish, tuning into French classical broadcasts at a time when access to international broadcast was prohibited by the Assad regime. He recorded the music onto DVDs, which became Bilal’s teachers.

In 2007, at age 11, Alnemr won Syria’s national competition for young musicians. His prize: a blue Sony Walkman. “That’s why I feel a special connection to Japan,” he says with a smile.

A Rising Star in Exile

Alnemr’s talent quickly gained recognition. After winning Syria’s Solhi Al-Wadi International Competition, he began performing across the Middle East and beyond—in India, Russia, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Then, in 2010, a French music teacher offered him a life-changing opportunity: admission to the Darius Milhaud Conservatory of Music in Aix-en-Provence. At just 13, Alnemr left Syria alone to pursue his dream.

But within a year, the Arab Spring ignited a brutal civil war in Syria. Alnemr was stranded in France, unable to return home or see his family. He practiced relentlessly, often from early morning until evening, driven by both ambition and heartbreak.

His dedication paid off, as he was unanimously accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris in 2013. A year later, he was named solo violinist for the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra. His performances caught the attention of renowned French violinist Renaud Capuçon, and Alnemr began winning international competitions.

In 2021, with the help of a Sylff fellowship, he earned his master’s degree from the Conservatoire, cementing his place among the world’s rising stars.

Music as a Bridge for Peace

Alnemr’s artistry is matched by his humanitarian vision. In 2019, he joined the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by conductor Daniel Barenboim and scholar Edward Said to unite young musicians from Israel and Arab states. The orchestra, which performed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and was honored by Japan’s Praemium Imperiale international art prize, stands as a symbol of coexistence through music.

That same year, Alnemr performed alongside legendary opera singer and human rights activist Barbara Hendricks at a UNHCR concert in Geneva, supporting education for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.

In 2021, after collaborations with Barenboim, Capuçon, and pianist Hélène Grimaud, Alnemr was officially recognized by the French government for his cultural contributions and granted French citizenship.

A Family Reunited

In 2016, five years after the war began, Alnemr was finally reunited with his family. His parents and sister arrived in the idyllic village of Vauvenargues near Aix-en-Provence carrying only two suitcases. The village, nestled beneath Mont Sainte-Victoire—immortalized by Cézanne and home to Picasso’s tomb—became their sanctuary.

To thank the community, Alnemr held a classical concert there in July 2022. The music of Beethoven and Mendelssohn echoed through the village’s cobbled streets, a tribute to resilience and gratitude.

“I’m deeply grateful to Japan and the Tokyo Foundation,” he says. “I’ll never forget the support I received.”

A Voice for Syria

Though the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024, Syria remains unstable, plagued by violence, factional conflict, and humanitarian crisis. In response, Alnemr co-founded a nonprofit in Switzerland to promote musical exchange between Syria and the international community.

“As a ‘citizen musician,’ I want to help bring peace and stability to my homeland,” he says.

From a silent toy violin in Damascus to standing ovations in Europe’s grandest halls, Bilal Alnemr’s story is a testament to the power of music—and the human spirit. (Compiled by Noburu Okabe)

Translated from an article originally published on the Tokyo Foundation’s Japanese website

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U of Texas Fellow’s Summer of Sustainable Impact: Sylff@Tokyo

August 20, 2025

Indonesia faces serious water-related challenges, with contaminated drinking water contributing to the deaths of over 10% of children under five due to diarrheal diseases. The situation is especially dire in Bali, where untreated sewage, household and business waste, and massive amounts of plastic pollution severely degrade water quality in rivers and coastal waters.

A promising solution is emerging from Terra Water Indonesia, a mission-driven startup producing high-quality water filters made entirely from natural and locally sourced materials. These filters not only eliminate the need for plastic water bottles but also provide safe water to vulnerable households.

Bridging Innovation and Impact

Cody Steverson, a graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, spent two months interning at Terra with the help of a Sylff fellowship. On August 7, 2025, he visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Tokyo on his way back to campus for the fall semester.

“Many people think of Bali as a paradise, but it’s grappling with a massive water problem,” Steverson explains. “Most people rely on plastic bottles that have sitting in the heat all day or boil water before drinking, which wastes a lot of energy.”

Terra’s affordable and highly effective pot filters, made from clay, activated carbon, and colloidal silver allow users to purify water from almost any freshwater source—taps, wells, rivers, rainwater, or even rice paddies.

“For a typical Indonesian family that usually buys bottled water, the lower end models would pay for themselves in just two months,” Steverson notes.

Despite the product’s effectiveness, Terra faced a major hurdle: lack of awareness. “People didn’t know we existed. They’d never seen anything like our filters before.”

Building Credibility through Partnerships

Launched in 2020, the Bali-based startup operates with a hybrid business model blending nonprofit and for-profit strategies. It collaborates with a network of organizations to identify and deliver filters to families in need.

“Businesses partnering with us would purchase, say, twenty water filters, which we would then distribute to local villages,” Steverson explains. “We basically waited for sales to come to us.” The filters have been rigorously tested by multiple universities and the Indonesian Ministry of Health, proving to be highly effective in eliminating waterborne diseases. However, this success had not been clearly communicated to the public.

To address this, Steverson focused on building strategic partnerships with local entities that already had strong credibility. “I negotiated with a Michelin-star restaurant and got them to start using our filters. The chef is now a huge fan of Terra, and this should bring a lot of brand awareness and open a brand-new market.”

He also partnered with a hotel that now highlights the filters as part of its sustainability efforts, and he reached out to the Makadaya Foundation—a major Indonesian startup accelerator with whom Terra did not have a relationship—which agreed to purchase eight filters.

Creating Lasting Impact

At the end of his two-month internship, Steverson represented Terra at a TEDx event in Jakarta. “I was able to meet a lot of people there who were curious about the filters—and also about the only American in the room,” he recalls. “Everybody’s aware of the water problem, but no one had a viable solution. It was incredibly rewarding to know that I was able to make impact and help raise awareness.”

Beyond strengthening Terra’s ties with local businesses—many of which are foreign-owned—Steverson also laid the groundwork for future collaboration between sustainability-focused startups in Bali and internationally minded students at the University of Texas.

His experience as the sole non-Indonesian staff member at Terra Water Indonesia highlights his commitment to social impact through collaboration. The Sylff Association secretariat applauds his dedication to earth-friendly, human-centered solutions and wishes him continued success in his future endeavors. (Compiled by Nozomu Kawamoto)

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Toward More Meaningful Inclusion of Indigenous Traditions in Nepal’s Climate Resilience Efforts

August 15, 2025
By 21457

An SLI forum organized by Shangrila Joshi (University of Oregon, 2008) in May 2025 explored how Nepal’s Machchhindra Nath Jatra exemplifies Indigenous climate resilience and how traditional governance can inform inclusive, sustainable policy in the face of growing environmental challenges.

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That Indigenous Peoples’ rights, knowledge, and concerns should be an important consideration in climate policy and action is today undisputed. Both the current global climate treaty, the Paris Agreement, and the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasize this sentiment in no uncertain terms.

However, it is one thing to assert that something or someone is important. It is an entirely different matter to translate such assertions into meaningful action. To explore how such inclusion might be realized, I organized an SLI forum aimed at identifying meaningful ways to integrate Indigenous Peoples into climate action and policy.

Following a two-year ethnographic study, I am currently writing a book on the Machchhindra Nath Jatra held annually in Nepal. This is an ancient festival tradition practiced by the Newa people indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley that is believed to have been initiated in the seventh century CE in response to a 12-year drought. The jatra reflects a deep interconnection between Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and governing.

The festival is centered on the deity Machchhindra Nath—also known as Karunamaya, Avalokiteswor, and Bungdya—who is regarded as being responsible for bringing monsoon rains to the valley following the drought and is entrusted with protecting the valley’s residents from catastrophes. The contemporary Newa communities responsible for planning and executing the jatra continue to maintain a deep faith in the deity and the surrounding mythology.

The Machchhindra Nath chariot during the 2082 BS (2025 CE) procession through the streets of Patan.

More than a dozen social groups with expertise in different functions have niche roles to play in sustaining this important festival. I argue that an Indigenous Newa governance institution called the guthi is integral to the continuity of the work of these groups and therefore of this culturally and ecologically significant tradition. Guthi associations mobilize members of particular caste and clan groups to fulfill their ancestral duties. Historically, guthis were self-governing groups that invested surplus resources from agriculture to build the art and architecture of the Kathmandu Valley.

Not to be mistaken with the Newa guthi, the Guthi Sansthan is the state apparatus that controls appropriated traditional guthi lands and their financial surplus. It mobilizes some of these funds to sponsor the jatra and to minimally compensate hereditary guthi members for their labor.

Yanwa builders placing the ceremonial gwaro bamwo rattan disc, left, atop the Machchhindra Nath chariot, made from rattan and wood by Yanwa and Barahi builders, April 28, 2025. Yanwa builders putting the finishing touches on the decorated chariot, right, just before embarking on the annual procession, or Rath Jatra, May 1, 2025. Both photos by Shangrila Joshi.

Bringing Together Diverse Voices for Climate Adaptation

My SLI forum project, titled “The Significance of the Machchhindranath Jatra and the Newa Guthi for Climate Adaptation in Nepal,” drew the attention of Nepalese decision-makers on climate policy and action in government and nongovernment spaces to the relevance of this tradition as well as to the Indigenous Newa governance institution for contemporary climate adaptation and resilience. It created an opportunity for disparate groups working within their own spheres of influence to exchange knowledge, perspectives, and experience and to understand the relevance of one another’s contributions to Nepalese society and to global climate discourse.

During the planning phase of the SLI project, I met on numerous occasions with Indigenous community leaders and both government and nongovernment representatives. These preparatory sessions culminated in two half-day workshops and a full-day forum in May 2025, attended by over 150 participants, including Indigenous community leaders, experts from environmental agencies and cultural institutions, and government representatives.

The workshops featured discussions on the historical context and contemporary relevance of the festival tradition and the guthis for climate resilience and highlighted the important contributions made by the Yanwa, Barahi, Ghakku, Paneju, and other groups in sustaining this intangible heritage: the Yanwa and Barahi build the chariot from wood and rattan, the Ghakku guide the movement of the chariot’s wheels during the procession, and the Paneju perform worship and tantric rituals.

Also noteworthy were discussions about the unique challenges faced by members of the separate festival communities. Several participants emphasized the meeting’s historic significance for bringing together disparate groups in one venue and for recognizing both their contributions to society and the difficulties they face in sustaining their traditions and roles.

The day-long forum drew 61 participants, including key members of the various festival committees, expert representatives from the Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations focused on Indigenous issues, such as the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research and Development (CIPRED) and the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN). Special guests included a former Kumari (living goddess of Patan) and cultural expert Hari Ram Joshi.

The program enabled the sharing of expertise among a diverse group of participants and fostered interactive discussions on key themes of environmental and cultural sustainability, Indigenous knowledge, and the integration of both in the context of climate policy and action.

Feted scholar of Nepalese culture and history Hari Ram Joshi, left, inaugurating the multi-stakeholder forum on May 24, 2025, with past Kumari Chanira Bajracharya, Sylff fellow Shangrila Joshi, chair of the Paneju Sangh Yagya Ratna Shakya, and Dependra Shakya looking on.

Toward Integrated Climate and Cultural Policy

The forum concluded with government and civil society representatives reiterating the importance of viewing Indigenous traditions such as the jatra through the Indigenous point of view and acknowledging the need to significantly strengthen the implementation of international agreements such as the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (ILO 169) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), both of which Nepal has endorsed.

Meanwhile, Indigenous community leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue their ancestral traditions even as, according to their accounts, doing so has become increasingly challenging, given dwindling resources available to dedicate to this festival in light of the encroachment on guthi lands.

The interactive discussion among forum participants led to substantive recommendations, including the need to invest in research and documentation of this culturally and ecologically significant tradition, as well as to initiate proposals for land reforms that would enable the Indigenous groups responsible for sustaining the tradition to sufficiently draw on traditional guthi lands to sponsor their duties pertaining to the tradition. The different guthi associations connected to the tradition revealed unique circumstances and challenges toward sustaining their community functions but were in agreement that Indigenous representation within the leadership ranks of the Guthi Sansthan was integral to long-term sustainability.

A panel discussion on the role and inclusion of Newa traditional ecological knowledge in climate adaptation and resilience, with panelists, left to right, Shangrila Joshi, Pasang Sherpa (CIPRED), Lakpa Dhokpya (NEFIN), cultural preservation activist Alok Tuladhar, intangible heritage expert Monalisa Maharjan, session chair Matina Joshi (joint secretary and spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development), and session moderator Sindhu Dhungana (climate expert and past-joint secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment).

These recommendations underscore the urgent need to bridge traditional knowledge systems with modern climate policy, ensuring that Indigenous voices are not only heard but actively shape Nepal’s climate future.

 

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Fletcher Cyber Expert Discusses Bilateral Security Issues during Japan Visit: Sylff@Tokyo

July 10, 2025

On June 27, the Sylff Association secretariat had the pleasure of hosting Josephine Wolff from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she holds multiple roles: associate professor of cybersecurity policy, associate professor of computer science and engineering, and director of the Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs.

A leading expert in both computer science and technology policy, Wolff was visiting Japan to engage with cybersecurity professionals—meeting with defense officials at the National Institute for Defense Studies, holding discussions with specialists at the University of Tokyo, and reconnecting with many Fletcher alumni.

“Japan is one of our biggest sources of international students,” Wolff noted, “and I’ve spent the week visiting our former students who’re now working in the Japanese government and industry.”

Fletcher offers an interdisciplinary program that equips students with both technological literacy and a strong foundation in public policy—skills that are increasingly vital in combating cybercrime. Wolff highlighted that several Japanese alumni of the program are now spearheading a police task force focused on online scams targeting the elderly and other types of financial fraud.

Navigating the Complex Landscape of Cyber Threats

Cyberattacks with significant social impact are rapidly becoming a national security concern for governments worldwide. “Online fraud isn’t just about theft,” she explained. “Sometimes, money is being stolen to fund programs like North Korea’s weapons development. Ransomware has also been linked to financing hostile states, posing threats to the entire system of economic statecraft.”

Wolff cautions, though, against framing such incidents in overly militaristic terms. “Using language like ‘gray war’ can escalate a situation unnecessarily. Once you label something as war, it demands a very specific set of responses. My interest is in getting away from that language and focusing on what would be a more proportional response.”

She argues, for instance, that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election would fall short of acts of war. “That doesn’t mean it’s not serious or that we don’t need to respond to it. But if the threat is about manipulating people’s ideas, we don’t need to involve the armed forces.” Instead, she says, efforts should be made to enhance media literacy, provide tools for online safety, and seek accountability from the big platforms.

Threats to Infrastructure and the Policy Response

There are operations, however, that feel closer to a prelude to war. “The main threat from China is not influence operations,” she emphasizes. “We’re more worried about potential attacks on critical infrastructure, and this calls for a very different set of protections.”

A military response would be considered only in the event of a truly severe incident, however. “If all the power in the United States were shut down, we would regard that as an act of war. But we’re not going to start dropping bombs if a website gets defaced.”

There can be many possible responses if a pipeline is shut off or the water supply is disrupted, including economic sanctions. “But this is a very challenging area for policymakers, because nobody is really clear on where the threshold is.”

As the internet of things continues to expand, Wolff warns of the growing risk of cyberattacks affecting physical systems. “With more devices connected and decisions outsourced to artificial intelligence, attacks could affect not just your laptop or phone; cars and ships might crash due to tampered navigation systems. This goes beyond the typical scope of ransomware.”

Despite these concerns, Wolff remains cautiously optimistic. “We should take some comfort in the fact that we haven’t yet seen the catastrophic cybercrimes we often fear. We’ve watched Russia fight a war for years now without being able to shut down Ukraine’s power grid. Honestly, I think Russia would have done so by now if they could, so that’s not a small victory.”

The Sylff Association secretariat deeply appreciates Wolff’s visit and is encouraged by the high level of expertise within the Sylff community—not only in advanced technology but also in shaping effective public policy. We look forward to welcoming more fellows and other visitors from Sylff institutions in the future. (Compiled by Nozomu Kawamoto)

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Data Deserts and Drowning Cities

July 7, 2025
By 21711

In a commentary originally published in Mongabay, Soumya Bhowmick (Jadavpur University, 2014, 2015) argues that India’s urban future is at a crossroads, as data deserts threaten sustainability, resilience, and natural capital in the country’s rapidly growing metropolises.

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Flood-affected areas in Amreli, Gujarat, in June 2015. Image by Indian Air Force, licensed under Government Open Data License–India (GODL).

India’s cities are racing into the future, swelling in size, complexity, and ambition. By 2030, more than 40% of the country’s population, around 600 million people, will call urban areas home.

Cities in India are engines of growth and already contribute over 70% of India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, for all this growth, India’s urban policymakers are flying blind. They are grappling with the monumental task of building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable cities. Still, they lack a clear understanding of crucial aspects like where vulnerabilities are high, where the opportunities lie, and the costs of inaction.

This is the crux of India’s urban paradox: a future unfolding at breakneck speed, guided by data that is outdated, fragmented, and incomplete. It has a direct impact on common people.

For example, the Praja Foundation reveals that in Mumbai, slum residents receive 45 litres of water per capita per day (LPCD), significantly below the recommended 135 LPCD. Furthermore, the absence of localised weather monitoring stations in populous cities like Noida and Ghaziabad leads to delayed or insufficient weather alerts, exacerbating vulnerability to extreme weather events. Without a serious overhaul of how we collect and use information, India’s cities risk becoming unmanageable, vulnerable, and unsustainable.

Mapping the Blind Spots

The problem runs deeper than just a lack of numbers. India’s cities are built on data deserts. Many still rely on the 2011 Census to make decisions about housing, transport, pollution control and public health. That’s a decade-old snapshot in a country where millions have migrated, new megacities have sprawled and the climate crisis has escalated. Entire neighbourhoods have emerged and others have been densified beyond recognition. Yet planners are left guessing about the basics: how many people live in which area, what services they need, and what risks they face.

A slum area in Goa. India’s urban policymakers are working in the dark, with a severe lack of data on people as decisions are made regarding housing, transport, public health and more. Image by urbzoo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

While a step forward, the NITI Aayog’s SDG Urban Index tracks only a narrow set of indicators, overlooking critical aspects such as climate resilience, social inclusion, and environmental quality. An assessment by the Janaagraha Centre of Citizenship and Democracy (2023) found that many Indian cities suffer from serious gaps in long-term urban climate planning.

This is not just an academic problem. A city that doesn’t know its climate risks or the state of its natural assets cannot prepare for the floods, heatwaves, and storms already battering India’s urban centres. Without these insights, cities remain blind to the real pressures on their systems: who is most vulnerable to floods, where air quality is worsening, or whether green spaces are shrinking. The lack of disaggregated, city-level data means urban policy becomes a guessing game, prone to misfires and blind spots. And it is not just about measuring more, but it’s about measuring smarter.

That’s where frameworks such as natural capital accounting and the Inclusive Wealth Framework present a new way forward. These frameworks look beyond narrow fixes for GDP or infrastructure counts and pose a deeper question: what creates a wealthy, liveable, and resilient city? They look beyond roads and buildings to the entire range of assets that support urban life, from clean air and green spaces to wetlands, tree canopies, education, and access to healthcare. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (2021), India has already begun to shift this dynamic by adopting a national statistical framework for natural capital accounting based on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). The SEEA framework gives policymakers a way to put a real economic value on ecosystems. It helps in accounting for benefits that often go unnoticed, such as the carbon stored in urban forests, the protection wetlands offer against floods, and rivers’ role in recharging groundwater.

It is essential to shift our perspective, as disregarding natural systems comes at a significant cost. India’s history offers a lesson. Between 1990 and 2008, India’s per capita GDP increased by an impressive 120%. However, during the same period, its natural capital—comprising forests, clean water, clean air, and other natural assets—decreased from 31% in 1990 to 15% in 2014 (of the total capital stock of the nation in 1990). This stark statistic, noted in the U.N. Inclusive Wealth Report (2018), illustrates how conventional economic measures conceal perilous trade-offs: cities can appear prosperous on paper while silently degrading the systems that support life and human flourishing.

A survey on sanitation being conducted in Bengaluru. A lack of city-level data to understand climate risks and the state of natural capital imply that cities are ill-prepared for extreme weather events and remain blind to who is most vulnerable to them. Representative image by SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 calls for inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities. It is particularly important for the way India’s urban future is unfolding. However, progress remains uneven and fragmented.

A 2023 study notes that an estimated 18% of Indian cities exhibit low efficiency in converting environmental gains into socioeconomic improvements, while nearly 55% fall short of their respective state-level SDG benchmarks. Despite their scale and significance, many urban centres operate without the data required to assess whether they are becoming more equitable, improving air quality, or effectively mitigating climate risks. The lack of granular, locally relevant metrics and the weak integration of environmental concerns into urban development planning have created systemic blind spots, undermining India’s ability to localise the SDG agenda effectively.

An integrated information system that combines economic, social, and environmental data is essential for progressing towards sustainable development. In India’s context, this means breaking down silos between city departments, creating a unified urban wealth dashboard that tracks everything from green cover and air quality to literacy rates and public health.

The Urban Ecology Equation

When cities adopt such an integrated approach, they gain the ability to identify trade-offs and make informed decisions. A plan to pave over wetlands for a new real estate project might seem like a quick economic win. However, when the loss of flood protection, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity is factored in through natural capital accounting, it becomes clear that the project may erode the city’s long-term resilience. Conversely, investing in tree planting or restoring river floodplains can be recognised as adding wealth, not just environmental value, but also economic and social benefits, such as cooler temperatures, improved health, and reduced disaster risk.

A polluted river bank in Pune district. An integrated information system combining economic, social, and environmental data is essential for sustainable development. For example, investing in restoring river floodplains can be recognised for its economic and social benefits, such as cooler temperatures, improved health, and reduced disaster risk. Image by DesiBoy101 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

This shift also requires transforming how cities govern. Many municipal bodies in India are under­resourced and fragmented and cannot collect, analyse, and act on data. Yet some promising models are emerging. The Smart Cities Mission has piloted Integrated Command and Control Centres since 2017- 2018 that utilise real-time data to manage urban services, such as traffic and waste management. These centres hint at what’s possible, but they are not enough. India’s cities need a complete change in the governance ecosystem where data is not an afterthought but a core part of how decisions are made, budgets are allocated, and progress is tracked.

Imagine a future where every major Indian city has an inclusive wealth dashboard that is regularly updated and made public, where residents can see not just how many kilometres of road have been built but also whether air quality has improved, whether tree cover has increased, and whether children’s access to education has expanded. Such transparency would make cities more accountable to their residents and empower communities to demand better outcomes. It would also help local governments prioritise investments that build long-term wealth, such as public transport, green infrastructure, renewable energy, affordable housing, and inclusive public spaces. By valuing natural and human capital alongside traditional economic assets, cities can make more intelligent choices that protect people and the planet.

Ultimately, this is not just about data but what we value as a society. India’s cities are at a crossroads. India’s cities face a choice. One path offers quick economic returns, but it also carries risks that damage the natural systems and community networks that support urban life. The other path calls for a deeper and more balanced approach, where development decisions consider not just infrastructure and income but also green spaces, clean air, public health, and long-term well-being. It is a chance to build cities that thrive today without compromising the future.

Soumya Bhowmick is a Fellow and Lead, World Economies and Sustainability at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy, Observer Research Foundation (ORF). This article is based on his PhD research at the School of Management, BML Munjal University, supported by the Sylff Research Grant (SRG) from the Tokyo Foundation, which enabled him to advance his work on the Inclusive Wealth Framework through consultations at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi.

Citation

Huge population, but no IMD station for coordination & updates in Noida–Ghaziabad. (2025, May 23). The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/huge-population-but-no-imd-station-for-coordination-updates-in-noida-ghaziabad/articleshow/121347852.cms.

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. (2023, October). Annual Survey of Inclusive City Systems 2023 [title corrected from Analysis of Sustainable Inclusive City Systems 2023, as cited in the original article]. https://www.janaagraha.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ASICS-2023.pdf.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Press Information Bureau. (2018, June 14). Integrated Command and Control Centre of Naya Raipur Smart City inaugurated by Prime Minister. Government of India.

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Struggling for the Algorithm: Far-Right Communication and Youth Political Participation

July 1, 2025
By 32202

Mónica Catarina Soares (University of Coimbra, 2016) argues that far-right movements in Portugal and Argentina are reshaping youth political attitudes through meme-savvy digital strategies and populist messaging that reframe exclusionary nationalism as culturally attractive rebellion.

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Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed a steady and alarming rise in far-right political influence. This phenomenon is not confined to any one region but has emerged as a transnational trend. Portugal and Argentina, two countries with relatively young democracies shaped by recent histories of dictatorship, have both seen a significant increase in far-right support.

In Portugal, the legislative elections held on May 18, 2025, followed the dissolution of a conservative coalition government that came to power in 2024, but which quickly collapsed amid a corruption scandal. The scandal implicated Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and revealed alleged bribery schemes involving a family enterprise currently connected to his wife and son.

Despite the political turmoil, the ruling coalition Aliança Democrática secured 91 of 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic with the largest vote share of 31.21%. However, the most notable outcome of the election was the continued ascent of the far-right party Chega, which obtained 22.76% of the vote and 60 parliamentary seats—surpassing the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista), which secured only 58 mandates.[1]

Chega has thus become the second-largest political force in Portugal, significantly altering the country’s traditional party system, undermining democratic pluralism, and advancing an exclusionary nationalist agenda.

On the same day, May 18, in Argentina, the far-right coalition La Libertad Avanza won the legislative elections in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires with 30.1% of the vote. This victory consolidated the position of Javier Milei, an economist-turned-media-personality who became president in 2023 with 55.69% of the vote (14,476,462 ballots cast in his favor).[2] Milei’s rapid rise has transformed Argentina’s political landscape, positioning radical libertarianism as an outlet for social discontent.

Although support for the far right extends across all age groups, it was young people in both Portugal and Argentina who initially structured this rise and who continue to play a central role in far-right discourse. In Portugal, exit polls conducted by Pitagórica[3] in 2025 showed—as in the 2022 and 2024 elections—that individuals aged 25–34 were the most likely to vote for Chega, with approximately 33% backing this party. Similarly, in Argentina, Milei’s support base includes a significant proportion of young people from working-class backgrounds affected by job insecurity and limited educational opportunities.[4]

These patterns raise important questions regarding the ideological realignment of younger generations and the communicative mechanisms employed by far-right movements to engage with them. Since November 2024, I have been conducting research in both countries to explore how digital culture and far-right discourse influence youth political behavior. Specifically, I examine the narratives that resonate with youth sensibilities, the communication styles used by official and unofficial far-right actors on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, and the extent to which these strategies reshape political imaginaries.

This research uses two primary methods for data collection: (1) expert interviews with political analysts and scholars and (2) a critical digital discourse analysis of far-right content disseminated across social media platforms. While the research is ongoing, the following sections present preliminary findings and interpretive reflections.

The Aesthetic of Rebellion: Why the Far Right Resonates with Youth

A central finding of this study is the far right’s effective appropriation of the aesthetic of rebellion. In contrast to its traditional image as a “dangerous relic of the past,” contemporary far-right communication rearticulates its message through formats that align with styles perceived as attractive and relevant by youth audiences.

On TikTok, Instagram reels, and YouTube shorts, far-right influencers frequently employ irony, irreverent humor, memes, and popular music to attack “woke” values, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and progressive causes, which they portray as hegemonic and oppressive. Today, the far right is increasingly perceived as amusing, disruptive, confrontational, and engaged with ordinary people—all characteristics that hold strong appeal for younger audiences.

In Argentina, libertarianism—once marginal in a country shaped by Peronism and progressive social movements—has been reframed as a form of generational rebellion. For many young supporters, Milei’s rhetoric offers a way of rejecting the status quo and challenging the political and social groups that have long held power. As one young supporter stated, “We’re not the spoiled elites of the Propuesta Republicana. We’re spicy—we’re like the Peronists of liberalism” (free translation).[5] This rhetorical positioning casts ultraliberalism as a form of authentic, anti-systemic resistance.

Who, then, embodies all that must be rejected? In Argentina, the answer, according to far-right imaginaries, is a demonized and composite figure referred to as the casta. This term refers to a deliberately vague and malleable amalgam of political elites, public-sector workers, social activists, intellectuals, and welfare recipients—groups portrayed not merely as disconnected from “the people” but as active agents in the nation’s decline.

Meme retrieved from Javier Milei’s official Instagram account. The text reads: “Crystal Clear: Clean Record, The Casta.”

The so-called elites are presented as socially and politically homogeneous, with internal conflicts and tensions deliberately obscured. This homogenized group is then accused of having systematically deceived the population: by obscuring the structural roots of persistent economic crises, by defending redistributive policies that allegedly reward idleness and their privileges, and by imposing victim-centered narratives of past dictatorships that distract people from the supposed historical truth.[6]

Within this revisionist and populist framework, the casta is seen not just as a privileged minority but as a treacherous force—one that has hijacked state institutions for its own benefit and corrupted the moral fabric of the nation.

These tropes are echoed in Portugal with striking consistency in Chega’s messaging. The party persistently calls for a moral and institutional “cleansing” of Portuguese society, targeting those it designates as unproductive or parasitic, a kind of Portuguese casta—namely, immigrants, welfare beneficiaries, and political opponents,[7] among others.

These proposals are framed not as acts of cruelty but as necessary corrections that reflect the frustrations of the “clean record”—especially young men—who feel abandoned, dishonored, and rendered invisible by mainstream institutions. In this way, punitive and exclusionary measures are reframed as moral imperatives and necessary practices, restoring a lost sense of fairness and social hierarchy under the guise of economic and national regeneration.

The TikTok Algorithm

TikTok’s algorithm, like those of other platforms, privileges content that is emotionally engaging, visually dynamic, and easily consumable. Far-right communicators have mastered this environment by crafting charismatic digital personas—sometimes embodied by political figures such as Chega founder André Ventura and Milei themselves—and embedding ideological messages within entertainment-oriented formats. In this context, politics is transformed into a form of micro-entertainment and seamlessly integrated into users’ everyday scrolling practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a pivotal role in this transformation. It provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories, anti-state rhetoric, and libertarian fantasies of self-regulation. In Portugal, Chega took advantage of public frustrations with lockdowns and vaccination campaigns, framing state-imposed health measures as authoritarian overreach.[8] In Argentina, Milei released a film titled Pandemonics in which he portrays the pandemic response as an orchestrated scam. The movie ends with a punk-style anthem by Los Pibes Libertarios featuring the following credit lyrics:[9]

To hell with the damn “entrepre-losers”
To hell with the sodomites of capital
No more Keynesian trash
The liberal moment has arrived

We have a leader, a true icon
Who always manages to rattle the state
Javier Milei, future president
Javier Milei, the last punk

Always against the tax-funded pensions
Always against abusive statism
Fighting for a libertarian Argentina
And for the freedom of the working people (free translation)

This narrative resonated with young audiences who experienced the pandemic as a time of frustration, missed opportunities, and alienation. Moreover, far-right content consistently emphasizes that salvation will come through the party leader, who at this time was already portrayed as the president and the last hope in the fight for the country.

In Portugal, too, besides the use of fake news that supports his political views, Ventura’s online presence blends nationalist messaging with casual, trend-aware content—a strategy designed to normalize and sublimate violent political discourse. He shares images featuring a cat from the Chega central office, posts reaction videos, and comments on trending topics in a tone resembling that of a close friend. This form of political parasocial interaction—one-sided emotional bonds between followers and public figures—fosters a sense of intimacy and identification: Ventura appears approachable, authentic, and continuously present in the digital lives of his followers.

Photo retrieved from André Ventura’s official Instagram account.

In a context marked by widespread political disaffection—especially pronounced among working-class youth—far-right digital strategies have successfully cultivated a sense of proximity, immediacy, and responsiveness. Unlike mainstream political parties, which often appear distant, technocratic, and reliant on traditional media or complex political discourse, far-right actors leverage social media platforms to simulate a continuous, direct, and informal dialogue with their followers. This mediated intimacy cultivates a perception of accessibility and responsiveness that traditional political parties often fail to provide, fostering among followers a sense of being heard and represented in real time.

It is important to note that digital engagement is not confined to official politicians or party figures. The far-right online presence often comprises a diverse ecosystem of actors: influencers who engage audiences through more casual or lifestyle-oriented content, thereby broadening the movement’s appeal beyond explicitly political arenas, alongside smaller, fragmented groups, some of which openly promote neo-Nazi ideologies, for example. This multilayer network fosters an environment where radical ideas circulate across both overtly political and seemingly apolitical contexts.

No Future? Rebuilding Hope and Meaning

A recurring theme emerging from my fieldwork is the pervasive sense among young people of being trapped in a present devoid of a future. For many, democratic regimes and progressive political projects have failed to deliver promises of social mobility, dignity, or collective well-being. This widespread frustration, stemming from precarious employment, lack of affordable housing, and a profound sense of systemic marginalization, has driven many youths to seek new sources of meaning that provide both existential purpose and symbolic repositioning within society.

But what exactly do these movements offer to improve the lives of young people? On the surface, they promise status, success, and recognition in a world fraught with insecurities. However, such promises are often deliberately intertwined with ambiguous or confusing prospects for a better life. Notably, the far right does not advocate collective egalitarianism regarding these aspirations for a better life. Instead, its message emphasizes that positive social status depends on becoming an individually productive worker—more disciplined, resilient, but also more ruthless. The fierce struggle against the “caste” demands this stance, as this group is portrayed as perpetually attempting to game the system.

In both countries, young people are urged to rectify the perceived mistakes of their parents and grandparents, who are blamed for creating and sustaining the “caste”—generations allegedly seduced by the false promises of democracy, socialism, communism, or egalitarian reformism, and now dismissed as “things from old people.” It is now their historical mission to finally play the “right card” to overcome exploitation, not by rejecting it but by embracing its most radical and unrestrained form.

The core message is clear: the failure of the past was not capitalism but the resistance to its unrestricted development. The only barrier standing between young people and their dreams of economic and national development is a “leftist impoverishing state” that allegedly hindered the true flourishing of capitalism and compromised their generation. Therefore, the proposed solution is not revolution or reforms but purification: capitalism beyond contestation, legitimized by the fantasy of a liberated, unburdened, neoliberal subject. This vision is framed through masculinized archetypes—the self-made entrepreneur, the tax-resisting hero, the “clean record” citizen, among others.

The Entrenchment of Right-Wing Frameworks

Preliminary findings suggest that we are not witnessing a passing fad but a profound shift in political culture. Far-right movements have succeeded in establishing new common-sense frameworks among youth, particularly through digital media. These frameworks offer emotional gratification, inclusion, and a sense of belonging in a world otherwise experienced as unstable and unjust. Their success is underpinned by effective marketing strategies, often internationally funded and professionally managed, which blend ideological content with viral aesthetics.

While resistance remains—from street protests to media critiques—progressive forces have largely failed to offer compelling counter-narratives capable of matching the emotional and communicative resonance of the far-right.

Graffiti proclaiming that the homeland is not for sale and that people must choose between the homeland and the IMF, painted on barricades near the Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires, April 2025.

This research underscores the need for renewed attention to the ways digital communication reshapes political imaginaries and for urgent rethinking of civic education, digital literacy, and youth political engagement. If far-right discourse has become “the new punk,” then progressive movements must respond not only with better arguments but with more compelling affective and cultural strategies.

The stakes are high. The far right’s caricatured, shallow, and laughable nature have led many to underestimate its power and allowed them to grow enormously, without their true danger being fully acknowledged, in Portuguese and Argentine society, as well as worldwide. However, the history of the twentieth century serves as a stark reminder that this familiar path leads not merely to instability but to the erosion of democratic institutions and the exponential rise of political barbarism. And it is already happening.

Notes

[1] Ministry of Internal Administration, Resultados globais, 2025, accessed June 4, 2025, https://www.legislativas2025.mai.gov.pt/resultados/globais.

[2] National Electoral Directorate, Elecciones 2023: Segunda Vuelta, 2023, accessed June 5, 2025, https://resultados.mininterior.gob.ar/resultados/2023/3/1/0.

[3] Pedro Magalhães and João Cancela, As bases sociais do novo sistema partidário português, 2025, accessed June 4, 2025, https://www.pedro-magalhaes.org/as-bases-sociais-do-novo-sistema-partidario-portugues-2022-2025/.

[4] Ezequiel Ipar, “La rabia grita derecha,” Le Monde Diplomatique (edición 289), 2023, accessed June 6, 2025, https://www.eldiplo.org/283-por-que-la-derecha-conquista-a-los-jovenes/la-rabia-grita-derecha/.

[5] Melina Vázquez, “Los picantes del liberalismo: Jóvenes militantes de Milei y ‘nuevas derechas,’” in Está entre nosotros: ¿De dónde sale y hasta dónde puede llegar la extrema derecha que no vimos venir? edited by Pablo Semán, 2023, 81–122.

[6] Hernán Confino and Rodrigo Tizón, Anatomía de una mentira: Quiénes y por qué justifican a la represión de los setenta, Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura, 2024.

[7] Mariana Mendes, “Enough of What? An Analysis of Chega’s Populist Radical Right Agenda,” South European Society and Politics 26, no. 3 (2021): 329–353.

[8] Mónica Soares and Marcela Uchôa, “Is It Just about a Renewed Conspiracy? Endorsement of a Far-Right Subjectivity in Portuguese Movements against Covid-19 Sanitary Control Measures,” Journal for the Study of Radicalism 18, no. 1 (2024): 181–208.

[9] Valentina Di Croce, El Arca de Milei: ¿Cómo y con quién construyó su poder? Buenos Aires: Futurock Ediciones, 2024.

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Chairman Sasakawa Meets with Sussex Fellow During Albania Visit

June 19, 2025

Following his attendance at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, held from June 9 to 13, 2025, Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa visited the Albanian capital of Tirana.

There, Chairman Sasakawa met with Albanian President Bajram Begaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Foreign Minister Igli Hasani. At a luncheon hosted by Japanese Ambassador to Albania Kikuko Kato, he also reconnected with Odeta Barbullushi, a 2003 Sylff fellowship recipient at the University of Sussex, where she earned a master’s degree with honors in contemporary European studies.

Chairman Sasakawa with Sussex fellow Odeta Barbullushi, a guest at a luncheon hosted by Japanese Ambassador Kikuko Kato.

Barbullushi is currently a resident professor at the Tirana campus of the College of Europe. She is a foreign policy expert and former diplomat, she has served as sherpa and advisor to the Albanian prime minister on EU integration and regional cooperation, as well as deputy minister of foreign affairs and chief of cabinet to the minister for Europe and foreign affairs.

Sasakawa with other participants of a UNOC3 meeting with UN Secretary-General Guterres, center.

At UNOC3, Chairman Sasakawa delivered a speech during Ocean Action Panel 2 on the theme: “Increasing Ocean-Related Scientific Cooperation, Knowledge, Capacity Building, Marine Technology and Education to Strengthen the Science-Policy Interface for Ocean Health.” He also attended a meeting with US Secretary-General António Guterres.

Sasakawa receives a doctor honoris causa from Western Balkans University President Ferdinand Gjana.

In Tirana, Chairman Sasakawa was awarded an honorary doctorate from Western Balkans University “in recognition of his visionary leadership and extraordinary contribution to global well-being, social inclusion, and human dignity.” He delivered an “emotional and inspiring” speech recounting his life journey—from a childhood marked by loss and postwar hardship to a lifelong commitment to humanitarian causes and the protection of human dignity.

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Thinking, Governing, and Healing “with” the Hauraki Gulf

June 17, 2025
By 31645

Efforts to co-govern the Hauraki Gulf in Aotearoa (New Zealand) through Indigenous frameworks is facing political pushback. Dara Craig (University of Oregon, 2023) explores what it means to govern with—not over—a living marine ancestor.

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Amidst global calls to reimagine governance through Indigenous and relational frameworks, Aotearoa (New Zealand) released a landmark marine spatial plan for Tīkapa Moana (the Hauraki Gulf), a nationally treasured marine ecosystem with her own mauri (life force) and meaning (Sea Change 2017). Despite its promise and widespread support, the plan has stalled, existing opposition has amplified, and the cultural and ecological health of Tīkapa Moana continues to decline (Hauraki Gulf Forum 2023).

My SRG project began with a guiding question: what might it mean to engage Tīkapa Moana not solely as a site of governance but as a living co-governor—a third party to be learned from, managed with, and restored to rightful relationship?

 

Sunset on Te-Motu-Arai-Roa (Waiheke Island), a motu (island) in Tīkapa Moana.

Tīkapa Moana is home to over one-third of Aotearoa’s residents and is central to whakapapa (genealogy), identity, and kai (food) harvest for Indigenous Māori communities (Hauraki Gulf Forum 2020). In 2017, seeking to restore balance and uphold mauri, a community-nominated working group released the Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan (Sea Change 2017). The plan proposed four kinds of marine protected areas, including Ahu Moana, a co-governance initiative between iwi (tribes) and local communities, oriented toward shared conservation goals and cultural care.

Yet, implementation has been slow and contested. Despite broad support, Ahu Moana has been challenged by anti-Indigenous backlash, with opponents invoking the idea of “safeguarding democracy” as a veiled resistance to Māori involvement. Some government officials have disparaged co-governance as “[giving] power to people based on who their grandparents were,” arguing that “fish don’t do race” (Gulf Users’ Group 2023). As a result, Ahu Moana pilot projects remain at an impasse.

These tensions point to deeper fractures—living legacies of colonialism, clashes between worldviews, and divergent relationships to Tīkapa Moana herself. My project thus considers how co-governance initiatives like Ahu Moana are not only political but also relational and ontological, raising questions about who the Gulf is and how she is engaged. Rather than viewing the Gulf as a passive backdrop or sea of resources to be exploited, I frame Tīkapa Moana as an ancestor, knowledge holder, and teacher.

In collaboration with iwi members and community organizations—and from my position as a white, non-Indigenous researcher—this project considers:

  • Thinking with the Gulf: What methodological commitments guide community-based, decolonial research in Aotearoa? How do different knowledge systems shape research in Tīkapa Moana, and what responsibilities emerge for non-Indigenous scholars within these contexts?
  • Governing with the Gulf: How do different actors, such as iwi, academics, and environmentalists, understand their relationships and responsibilities to Tīkapa Moana, and how do these orientations shape political possibilities? What does it mean to govern with Tīkapa Moana, rather than over her? How do co-governance initiatives implicate her mauri and cultural health?
  • Healing with the Gulf: What lessons are emerging from Ahu Moana? How might they elevate nonhuman voices and suggest more just models of coastal care in Aotearoa and beyond?

This SRG project lays the groundwork for a long-term research agenda that bridges collaborative coastal governance efforts in Aotearoa and the Pacific Northwest. By understanding how Indigenous-led approaches to marine governance unfold in parallel settler-colonial contexts, I hope to devote my career to supporting more just blue futures across the Pacific. More broadly, this work contributes to the marine social sciences by extending questions of agency, voice, and governance to the moana (sea) herself. It centers Tīkapa Moana as a co-constitutive force in healing and revitalizing her own mauri.

Grounding in Place

Tīkapa Moana is a taonga (treasure), playground, pātaka kai (food storehouse), and ancestor (Hauraki Gulf Forum 2023, 4). Spanning more than 14,000 km2 and bordered by shorelines that house more than 2 million people, her importance in Aotearoa and beyond cannot be overstated. Tīkapa Moana has been of utmost spiritual significance to Māori since the first waka (canoes) navigated her waters thousands of years ago, and these relationships are still reflected in mātauranga (Māori knowledge and worldview), tīkanga (protocols), and practices of kaitiakitanga (environmental guardianship).

Environmentally, she is the seabird capital of the world and home to hundreds of endemic marine species. Economically, Tīkapa Moana and her catchment support the lives and livelihoods of over a third of the country’s population. Her shores host Aotearoa’s largest metropolitan area, busiest commercial shipping port, and extensive tracts of farmland; her waters are leading centers for Aotearoa’s commercial fisheries and aquaculture sectors (Hauraki Gulf Forum 2017). Hundreds of thousands of tourists and recreational users visit her waters every year, swimming, playing, fishing, and appreciating her mana (power).

The author (Dara Craig) diving among silver sweep fish and Ecklonia kelp in Ta Hāwere-a-Maki, Aotearoa’s first marine reserve (Cape Rodney to Oakakari Point Marine Reserve, locally known as the Goat Island Marine Reserve). Photo by Shaun Lee.

Despite her widespread importance, Tīkapa Moana continues to face escalating threats to her mauri. Overfishing, seabed degradation, sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and climate change are among the most pressing issues facing the Gulf. More specifically, according to the most recent “State of Our Gulf” report, tāmure (snapper) and tarakihi (deep sea perch) populations need time to rebuild, koura (crayfish) are practically extinct in heavily fished areas, and tipa (scallop) fisheries have effectively collapsed (Hauraki Gulf Forum 2023).

These species are all important taonga and relatives to Māori, signaling the urgency of reciprocal stewardship efforts. While progress has been made at the central and regional government levels toward rebuilding certain depleted fish stocks and creating new marine protected areas, iwi have continued to lead in implementing localized rāhui (temporary closures), restoring mussel beds, and encouraging healing throughout Tīkapa Moana.

Guiding Methods

Collaboration in Aotearoa has been central to my research. I first connected with iwi and community collaborators in 2018 and have maintained these relationships over the past seven years, visiting for work in 2020, continuing conversations via Zoom in 2021–23, and conducting ethnographic fieldwork in 2024–25. I have been hosted by the University of Auckland, working closely with Daniel Hikuroa, and—in partnership with collaborators—I have engaged in oral histories, storywork, participatory observation, and archival research.

With the support of SRG funding, I recently completed two rounds of ethnographic fieldwork across the corners of Tīkapa Moana, conducting 30 in-depth oral histories with iwi members, government officials, academics, environmentalists, and industry representatives. I also engaged in archival research and document analysis at Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa (the National Library of New Zealand) and volunteered as a diver with a community marine project working to heal the social ecologies and mauri of Tīkapa Moana. I have gratefully been invited to participate in public hearings, government workshops, educational outreach events, community-led marine regeneration projects, scuba dives—both for recreation and scientific surveying—and hui (meetings) at marae (Māori communal meeting grounds), making sure to follow proper tikanga (protocol) regarding consent and respect.

 

Kina (sea urchins) collected during a “Kelp Gardeners” dive with the Waiheke Marine Project, a community-driven kaupapa (plan, program) that “[coordinates] action for marine regeneration on Waiheke Island.” The goal of the project is to respectfully “remove adult kina to help encourage kelp regeneration” and “[learn] how to be better kaitiaki (stewards).”

I am currently finalizing transcriptions and “making meaning” of data using Kovach’s thematic analysis strategy for Indigenous methodologies (2009, 208), so findings are forthcoming. I am also following up with collaborators to verify transcripts, review preliminary interpretations, and assess written drafts prior to public release. In the coming months, I hope to organize a “share back” visit that continues to prioritize community-centered knowledge-sharing and reciprocity. Together with collaborators, we will organize a series of kōrero (conversations) to share emerging findings, foster cross-cultural conversations, and reflect on the tensions and possibilities for healing Tīkapa Moana moving forward.

Significance and Future Research

Around the world, settler-colonial states are increasingly called to reckon with the cultural and ecological legacies of dispossession—damage that has severed long-standing relationships between Indigenous peoples and the lands and waters they have stewarded since time immemorial (e.g., Layden et al. 2025; Leonard et al. 2023; Liboiron 2021). Some nations have begun to revise their governance frameworks in support of Indigenous leadership—not only in Indigenous-held territories but also on public lands and waters through shared stewardship, co-management, and co-governance arrangements (e.g., Diggon et al. 2021; Kooistra et al. 2022; Peart 2018; Reid et al. 2020). While these models have proliferated in management and policy discourse, much remains unknown about how they unfold in practice, and most importantly, how they (re)shape relationships between people, institutions, and living ecosystems.

Enclosure Bay on Waiheke Island is sheltered by large rocks and is home to a number of Waiheke Marine Project actions, including Kelp Gardeners dive and snorkel events.

 This project situates Ahu Moana within these broader shifts, exploring not just how governance happens but what it unsettles and what/who it might restore. The work responds to growing calls for community-engaged, place-based governance approaches by foregrounding Tīkapa Moana not as an object of policy but an active co-governor and collaborator in regeneration (e.g., George and Wiebe 2020; Lobo and Parsons 2023; Shefer and Bozalek 2022). It offers a relational framework for thinking with marine ecosystems as political, social, and ancestral actors.

While some findings are inherently place-based and contextually specific, the project lays the groundwork to eventually compare collaborative governance in Aotearoa and the Pacific Northwest that could offer insights that resonate across the Pacific. At a moment when co-governance is politically contested in Aotearoa and globally, I hope to elucidate the relationships between collaborative governance, fractured social ecologies, and repair. It encourages future building that begins not from a push for more technocratic solutions but from the recognition that Tīkapa Moana and seascapes around the world are beings in need of restored relationship.

References

Diggon, Steve, Caroline Butler, Aaron Heidt, et al. 2021. “The Marine Plan Partnership: Indigenous Community-Based Marine Spatial Planning.” Marine Policy 132: 103510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.04.014.

George, Rachel Yacaaʔal, and Sarah Marie Wiebe. 2020. “Fluid Decolonial Futures: Water as a Life, Ocean Citizenship and Seascape Relationality.” New Political Science 42 (4): 498–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/07393148.2020.1842706.

Gulf Users’ Group. 2023. “Where the Main Parties Stand on Co-Governance of the Hauraki Gulf.” Last modified September 1, 2023. https://www.gulfusers.org.nz/media-releases/where-the-main-parties-stand-on-co-governance-of-the-hauraki-gulf.

Hauraki Gulf Forum. 2020. “State of Our Gulf 2020.” https://gulfjournal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/State-of-our-Gulf-2020.pdf.

Hauraki Gulf Forum. 2023. “State of Our Gulf 2023.” https://gulfjournal.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/SOER-online.pdf.

Kooistra, Chad, Courtney Schultz, Jesse Abrams, and Heidi Huber-Stearns. 2022. “Institutionalizing the United States Forest Service’s Shared Stewardship Strategy in the Western United States.” Journal of Forestry 120 (5): 588–603. https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvac010.

Kovach, Margaret. 2009. Indigenous Methodologies: Characteristics, Conversations, and Contexts. University of Toronto Press.

Layden, Tamara, Dominque M. David-Chavez, Emma Galofré García, et al. 2025. “Confronting Colonial History: Toward Healing, Just, and Equitable Indigenous Conservation Futures.” Ecology & Society 30 (1). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15890-300133.

Leonard, Kelsey, Dominique David-Chavez, Deondre Smiles, et al. 2023. “Water Back: A Review Centering Rematriation and Indigenous Water Research Sovereignty.” Water Alternatives 16 (2): 374–428.

Liboiron, Max. 2021. Pollution Is Colonialism. Duke University Press.

Lobo, Michele, and Meg Parsons. 2023. “Decolonizing Ocean Spaces: Saltwater Co-Belonging and Responsibilities.” Progress in Environmental Geography 2 (1–2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2753968723117923.

Peart, Raewyn. 2018. “A ‘Sea Change’ in Marine Planning: The Development of New Zealand’s First Marine Spatial Plan.” Policy Quarterly 13 (2). https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v13i2.4658.

Reid, Andrea J., Lauren E. Eckert, John-Francis Lane, et al. 2020. “‘Two-Eyed Seeing:’ An Indigenous Framework to Transform Fisheries Research and Management.” Fish and Fisheries 22 (2): 243–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12516.

Sea Change. 2017. “Sea Change Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan.” https://seachange.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/5086-SCTTTP-Marine-Spatial-Plan-WR.pdf.

Shefer, Tamara, and Vivienne Bozalek. 2022. “Wild Swimming Methodologies for Decolonial Feminist Justice-to-Come Scholarship,” Feminist Review 130 (1). https://doi.org/10.1177/01417789211069351.

 

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Norwegian Foreign Minister Expresses Gratitude for Sylff Fellowship

June 5, 2025

Chairman Sasakawa was warmly welcomed by Norwegian Foreign Minister and Oslo Fellow Espen Barth Eide at the June 3 reception.

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, a Sylff fellowship recipient at the University of Oslo, met with Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa on June 3 at a reception in Tokyo honoring his visit to Japan.

Earlier that day, Minister Eide held talks with Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya. Marking the 120th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Norway, the two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation in security—including developments in Ukraine and the Middle East—economic ties, and people-to-people exchange. They also welcomed progress in green initiatives, such as offshore wind power generation projects.

Eide, who received his Sylff fellowship in 1994, was leading a delegation to Expo 2025 in Osaka, where, on June 2, Norway’s National Day was celebrated at the National Day Hall and Nordic Pavilion.