Our mission is to create a platform where scholars, artists, activists, and individuals from diverse backgrounds to collaborate in a collegial environment. While located at and operating under UNAIR, we maintain a semi-autonomous logic to pursue our goals of reshaping academic culture in Indonesia by challenging traditional boundaries between academic and non-academic knowledge production. This outlook, which HAB has propelled for years, resonates in our veins.

Since our inception in 2023, we have partnered with Humanities Across Borders (HAB) to foster equitable knowledge co-production by actively involving Surabaya’s society in some events. Our initial collaboration included workshops and an exhibition, Ritus Liyan, aimed at reimagining Plampitan’s history and everyday life aesthetics. Our collaborative efforts, which engaged multiple layers of society, continued at ICAS 13. At this ConFest, various formats beyond the conventional academic conference were held in multiple locations throughout Surabaya. Rather than merely using the city as a backdrop, we worked to engage local residents spread in many neighborhoods, alleyways, and corners in intellectual dialogue with ICAS. Exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, and other interactive formats embodied the spirit of our collaboration.

AIIOC’s focus on the Indian Ocean as a transdisciplinary subject highlights the significance of this region, especially in relation to Surabaya’s historical and often overlooked role in international connections. Indian Ocean serves as a figurative, a theoretical, and also a methodological spirit underlying our works. Furthering our mission in the future, AIIOC envisions to support fellowships for emerging scholars and artists, promote South-South-North collaborations with a decolonized approach, and disseminate knowledge in accessible formats.