ICOBIRD 2020
Jakarta – On the 24th-25th September 2020, Bina Nusantara University’s Department of International Relations held its 9th ICOBIRD conference with the main title of “Business, International Relations, Diplomacy during Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges, Response and Consequences”. The conference, held online for the very first time through Zoom and also livestreamed on YouTube, was opened with Willy Dwira Yudha as the master ceremony at 9 AM Jakarta time followed by the playing of Indonesia Raya, Hymne Binus University and welcoming remarks from Dr. Lili Yulyadi as the chairman of ICOBIRD 2020, dr. Rangga Aditya as the head of the Internatinonal Relations department and Prof. Tirta Mursitama as the vice rector of research and technology of BINUS University to all 538 participants on the Zoom meeting.
The first keynote session, brought by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ishtiaq Hossain from the International Islamic University of Malaysia and moderated by dr. Moch. Faisal, talked about how three developing countries – Senegal, Bangladesh, and Brazil – each fought the pandemic with each of their own strategies, the varying level of success, and what were the factors that made it work or not. The second keynote session was presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kim Hyung Jong of the Yonsei University, South Korea. Moderated by the head chairman of ICOBIRD 2020 himself, dr. Lili Yuliadi, dr. Kim explained how the ASEAN community faces the challenges of the global pandemic in the midst of building a strong ASEAN community – even delving deep into the economic, social, and human security factors of Covid-19.
The third and final keynote session was brought by Prof. Mark Beeson from Western Australia University based on the paper titled “The Politics of Pandemics: Covid-19 and the International Order” where he briefly talked about society’s effect on the environment, followed by the fundamental drivers of economic activity and major countries such as the United States’ response towards multilateralism and intergovernmental institutions during the testing times caused by the pandemic.
The keynote session was followed by two parallel sessions – the first parallel session, 1A to 1D, started at 1:15 PM Jakarta time for two hours with a half-hour break before the second parallel session, 2A to 2D, at 3:30-5:00 PM Jakarta time. Each panel from each of the two panels talked about different issues which were: state and politics; economic and regional development; security and regional issues; and finally, China and international politics. The panels, which was filled with many active and curious participants, was a platform for selected senior Binusian students and others to present their research findings. On the second and final day, there was a “Meet with the Editors” session on Zoom with Assoc. Prof. Ishtiaq Hossein as the Editor in Chief of ID starting from 9 AM Jakarta time before finally closing the event at 11 AM Jakarta time.