General purpose:
To bring together students and scholars of all disciplinary backgrounds throughout the United Kingdom so that they can explore the most recent ideas regarding the ongoing reform of central and local government in Indonesia.

Background:
1. For many years, the relationship between local and central government has constituted one of the most challenging problems in Indonesia. To some extent, the problem reflects the geographical and cultural complexity of the nation, Indonesia being such a vast archipelago. But in the past this relationship between central and local government has also suffered from discriminatory policies introduced by former developmental regimes. It is often argued that in the past the central government exploited resources from across Indonesia for the purpose of developing certain parts of the country only; in consequence, development has been markedly uneven between the various regions.
2. New laws on local autonomy (Laws No.22 and 25) were passed in 1999 and came into effect in January 2001. However, it appears that a long road will have to be travelled before the objectives of these two pieces of legislation can be achieved. A cluster of obstacles hampers the process, including disparities between regions, the lack of appropriately qualified human resources and the absence of the necessary supra-structure such as an integrated data system. Moreover, new problems associated with local autonomy have given rise to public scepticism about the innovation; these include the appearance of so-called raja-raja kecil (new little sultans), unmonitored and rampant corruption in some local government offices, disputes around the management of grey areas such as rivers, forests and mines, and overlapping local regulations affecting inter-regional trade and industry.
3. The focus of decentralisation has been primarily on internal affairs, but Indonesian participation in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which was ratified by Law No. 7/1994, has made globalisation and free trade unavoidable. Hence our existence in the international community must be justified and understood. In order to do that, firstly we must understand how our internal system works. Yet, every major internal change such as decentralisation obliges us to rethink our foreign policy, especially with regard to international trade.
4. Indonesian students in the UK enjoy the privilege of pursuing their studies abroad, including access to wonderful facilities. It is therefore incumbent upon them to keep the interests of their mother country in mind. Thus there is a need for an opportunity for Indonesian students in the UK to get together with others to explore the latest thinking on current issues, drawing on their respective disciplines.

Objectives:
1. The seminar aims to make a contribution to the reinstatement of the image of Indonesia among the international community, particularly among the people of the UK.
2. The seminar aims to facilitate understanding of problems and opportunities associated with Indonesia’s decentralisation policy; it will address questions relating to the ongoing decentralisation process from various perspectives.
3. The seminar aims to provide an opportunity to learn from the experiences of Britain and/or other nations in managing the relationship between central and local government.
4. The seminar is designed as a forum for students, scholars and other interested parties to share their ideas about the ongoing reform of local and central governance in Indonesia.
5. The seminar aims to raise awareness of the need for decentralisation, both in maintaining the unity of Indonesia as a nation and in ensuring an equitable distribution of prosperity throughout the whole of the country.