|
|
'A Rookie Researcher's
report' by Assistant Professor Nikki Briones,
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
Participant in SEACSN Academic Exchange Programme.
Visiting Researcher at Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS), Jakarta, Indonesia, through the SEACSN
Research and Exchange Programme, April-May 2003
The month I spent researching on the “ASEAN Way” and
territorial disputes in Southeast Asia was a fruitful,
enriching and memorable experience especially for a rookie
researcher like me. Being a young member of the academic
community, I have had only limited research experience.
I was mostly researching part-time or assisting senior
professors. The SEACSN Research Grant, to me, was truly
significant in that it allowed me a number of meaningful “firsts”.
For the first time, I got to do independent research.
Secondly, I got to research full-time and devote attention
solely to research activities. Finally, I got to research
outside the Philippines and establish contact with other
researchers in the Southeast Asian region. Being able
to examine documents, conduct interviews, and be immersed
in other countries in Southeast Asia has both deepened
and broadened my perspective. In the process of gathering
data, I was able to expand my personal and institutional
networks, and quite fortunately, had the chance to forge
warm friendships with a number of my counterparts.
At my host institution, I worked with other young researchers
like myself. CSIS, or the Centre for Strategic and International
Studies in Jakarta, is a policy and research institution
that enjoys a respected niche in Indonesia after more
than 3 decades of establishing its reputation. It has
more than 100 staff composed of senior analysts balanced
off by a healthy proportion of junior researchers and
interns from all over. The environment was vibrant and
dynamic with coffee break conversations often turning
into friendly policy debates coloured by multi-disciplinary
differences among those from diverse backgrounds such
as economics, political and social sciences, and my own
feminist and peace studies. These daily interactions,
coupled with interviews with experts, and access to many
reading materials gave me new insights and challenged
me to rethink my original assumptions.
On my way to Jakarta, I had a stopover in Singapore and
had a chance to briefly visit the NUS main and law libraries,
as well as the national library of Singapore. At another
side-trip to the regional office in USM in Penang, Malaysia,
I also received additional materials. In Jakarta, I was
overwhelmed by the CSIS library which houses an impressive
specialized collection of some 100,000 volumes. I particularly
enjoyed the atmosphere of the library. It was open to
the public and was always full of students and researchers,
giving me the impression that CSIS was truly a national
resource enjoyed by the people. Besides the open library,
I was also able to access documents at the ASEAN-ISIS
Secretariat which had well organized papers and proceedings
from ISIS and CISCAP activities. I was able to consult
with CSIS staff that have been involved in ISIS and ARF
and found their insights valuable. I also had a chance
to visit the Habibie Centre where I interviewed Indonesia’s
former Assistant Minister/Foreign Affairs Secretary Dewi
Fortuna Anwar. I found myself busy, not only with data
gathering through interviews and document analysis, but
also with involvement with a CSIS activity.
On my way to Jakarta, I had a stopover in Singapore and
had a chance to briefly visit the NUS main and law libraries,
as well as the national library of Singapore. At another
side-trip to the regional office in USM in Penang, Malaysia,
I also received additional materials. In Jakarta, I was
overwhelmed by the CSIS library which houses an impressive
specialized collection of some 100,000 volumes. I particularly
enjoyed the atmosphere of the library. It was open to
the public and was always full of students and researchers,
giving me the impression that CSIS was truly a national
resource enjoyed by the people. Besides the open library,
I was also able to access documents at the ASEAN-ISIS
Secretariat which had well organized papers and proceedings
from ISIS and CISCAP activities. I was able to consult
with CSIS staff that have been involved in ISIS and ARF
and found their insights valuable. I also had a chance
to visit the Habibie Centre where I interviewed Indonesia’s
former Assistant Minister/Foreign Affairs Secretary Dewi
Fortuna Anwar. I found myself busy, not only with data
gathering through interviews and document analysis, but
also with involvement with a CSIS activity.
The SEACSN grant stipulates that I should render service
to my host institution by participating in their activities.
At CSIS, I was tasked to join the team on creating a
Gender Agenda for the 3rd ASEAN People’s Assembly
(APA). At last year’s APA, a Gender Workshop on
Women’s Sources of Insecurity was held and it was
discussed that war, conflict, poverty, identity, and
religion were some sources of insecurity. Together with
my CSIS counterparts, we brainstormed, then wrote and
submitted proposals to the institution’s executive
director. At the time of the writing of this report,
our communication was continuing and I received word
from CSIS that there were plans that our team on women
may be sent to attend the Asia-Pacific Roundtable in
Malaysia in August. I am excited with the prospects of
meeting CSIS people again and establishing other new
contacts in the near future. I was encouraged by CSIS
to volunteer to help in the organization of the 3rd APA
which will be held in Manila in September.
Content
|
|
|
|
