INTERNATIONAL AND INTER/TRANSDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE Bandung-Surabaya-Blitar with possible extra activities in Bali, Yogyakarta or in the new Indonesian capital Nusantara (itinerary still to be decided) Indonesia, October 28-November 1, 2025
https://bandungspirit.org/
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND FOR PARTICIPATION
The conference is open to individual and group paper presentations. Those willing to present their papers are invited to submit their abstracts until July 31, 2025. Selected papers may be included in an edited volume to be launched during the conference. The notification of selected abstracts will be communicated to their authors progressively according to their availability. The earlier the abstracts are submitted, the sooner the authors will get notified. Abstracts of approximately 200-300 words (excluding figures, tables, and references) and basic personal data of the authors are to be submitted online at: https://forms.gle/hHwqGP7wTzVRLMJ8A
OFFLINE AND ONLINE PARTICIPATION
The conference will be organised offline (physically) with possible online (virtual)
participation following the circumstances. The programme will be based on offline (physical)
participants on Jakarta time zone.
Special session / Panel / Roundtable
WITH PALESTINE TO BUILD THE WORLD ANEW
INTRODUCTION
The 1955 Bandung Conference put on the table five cases of decolonisation to be settled: North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), South Africa (Apartheid), Yemen (Aden) and Palestine (Israeli occupation). While four other issues have been settled progressively, 70 years later, the question of Palestine remains unchanged. It has been even worse by the time, especially during the last few years with a spectacular genocide in front of the planetary public.
In the wake of ongoing atrocities and the evidence of genocide against the Palestinian people, Bandung+70 will host an urgent and focused session/panel/roundtable/workshop on Palestine. As we mark 70 years since the historic 1955 Bandung Conference—a milestone of anti-colonial solidarity—we reaffirm the necessity of standing firmly with peoples resisting imperialism, occupation, and erasure.
This session aims to create a vital space for critical reflection, political analysis, and internationalist solidarity in the face of escalating violence and dispossession in Palestine. We call for contributions that confront the realities of genocide, apartheid, settler colonialism, and resistance, with an emphasis on decolonial, anti-imperialist, and justice-centred approaches.
We welcome proposals from scholars, activists, artists, and organizers on themes including (but not limited to):
- The ongoing genocide and mechanisms of international impunity
- Resistance strategies and the role of international support
- The global resurgence of solidarity, especially in the Global South
- Cultural and intellectual decolonization
- The legacy of Bandung and its relevance to Palestine today and for the Palestine of Tomorrow
Format: We welcome a range of formats—academic papers, roundtable dialogues, activist interventions, creative presentations, and workshops.
This is not a moment for silence. It is a time to mobilize knowledge, build alliances, and confront complicity. We invite all who refuse genocide and injustice to join us in amplifying the call for Palestinian liberation.
Coordinators
Isabel Lourenço, Portugal (Doctor, Researcher at the Center for African Studies with a focus on Colonialism, International Law and Human Rights, University of Porto, Portugal)
Yon Machmudi, Indonesia (Doctor, Asian and Middle East Studies, History, Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia)
Working Group members
Sami Awad (Bethlehem, Palestine), Beatriz Bissio (Brazil), Bruno Drweski (France), Noha Khalaf (Jordan/Palestine/France), Dimitrios Konstantakopoulos (Greece), Yanti (T.) Kusumanto (The Netherlands), Ziad Medoukh (Gaza, Palestine), Manoranjan Mohanty (India), Mazin Qumsiyeh (Bethlehem, Palestine), Magda Refaa (Egypt/France), Diana Sfetlana Stoica (Romandia/Hungary), Yanuardi Syukur (Indonesia)
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