Kundasang: Scholars, educators, and artists from across Southeast Asia and beyond convened in the highland town of Kundasang for a five-day regional workshop organised under the Southeast Asia Neighbourhoods Network (Seannet), aimed at deepening connections between academic research, community knowledge, and place-based learning.
Jointly organised by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Universiti Malaya (UM), with support from the Henry Luce Foundation, the workshop ran from July 9 to 13 and brought together participants from more than 20 academic and grassroots institutions.
The event is part of Seannet’s broader initiative to reshape urban studies by foregrounding everyday life, memory, and resistance within neighbourhoods.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The programme was led by Dr Vilashini Somiah, a feminist anthropologist and senior lecturer at UM, who has conducted extensive fieldwork in Kundasang.
She was joined by UMS senior lecturer Dr Trixie Tangit, a linguist and anthropologist noted for her work on Indigenous knowledge systems and ethical community-based methodologies.
Participants engaged in a range of activities, including site visits to the rural villages of Cinta Mata, Bundu Tuhan, and Kiau Nuluh, as well as collaborative presentations, roundtable discussions, and guided neighbourhood walks.
The approach emphasized “slow research” — a relational and reciprocal methodology grounded in listening, observation, and respectful engagement.
“Kundasang is a repository of Indigenous wisdom, memory, and resistance,” said Dr Tangit.
“This workshop is not just a return to a research site; it is a return to a living archive of knowledge. Neighbourhoods like these challenge us to rethink justice, belonging, and coexistence in Southeast Asia.”
Dr Somiah highlighted the significance of the workshop’s deliberate and reflective pace. “We are not rushing through theory or data. We are walking, listening, sharing meals, and participating in ritual. This is research that is relational, reciprocal, and real,” she said.
Representatives from institutions such as the University of New South Wales, Leiden University, the National University of Singapore, and the University of the Philippines Diliman were in attendance, alongside grassroots partners like the CRIBS Foundation.
The event underscored Seannet’s ongoing commitment to community-rooted scholarship and intergenerational dialogue, positioning neighbourhoods not only as sites of academic inquiry but as vibrant spaces of creativity, resistance, and meaning-making within Southeast Asia’s evolving urban landscapes.