🌍 FPCI’s Global Town Hall 2025: Rethinking power, people, and the planet
Event connects regions to find solutions for global issues
The Main Takeaway 🎯
The Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), founded by Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, promotes positive internationalism and brings young Indonesians into global conversations.
In 2025, FPCI teamed up with Global Citizen for the 6th Global Town Hall, a full-day virtual forum held on November 15 from Jakarta.
The event brought together over 40 speakers and 7,500 participants worldwide to discuss “The Future We Need,” tackling issues such as global order, civic movements, AI, climate change, and sustainable development—aiming to connect regions and spark real solutions for a shared future.
“The future we need cannot be written by a few; it must be jointly authored by all. This is why we believe in dialogue over division, cooperation over competition, and humanity over power.” Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian PM
Why It’s on Our Radar 🔍
Speakers from many countries discussed some global issues, including:
💬 Global Power Shift: U.S. dominance is waning as China and new blocs rise, redefining post-war geopolitics.
🧑🤝🧑 Civic Space Shrinking: Governments bypassing public input face protests and mistrust.
🤖 AI Divide: AI adoption grows fast in the Global North, leaving the Global South behind — sparking inequality concerns.
🔥 Climate Crisis: Global temperatures have exceeded the 1.5°C threshold, intensifying extreme weather.
🎯 SDG Struggles: Achieving the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals faces funding and conflict-related setbacks.
🇺🇸 Geopolitical Shock: U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to close USAID threatens aid-dependent sectors worldwide.
Why It Matters ⚠️
🌐 New World Order:
The rise of BRICS+ (11 members) shifts global power balances and weakens U.S. hegemony.
✊ Civic Movements:
Protests erupted in Indonesia over parliamentary allowances and in Nepal, where social media bans triggered mass unrest.
“Civil societies are mislabeled as radicals because states fail to listen,” said Pita Limjaroenrat, Harvard Kennedy School fellow.
🤖 The Rise of AI:
AI has caused 136,000 tech layoffs worldwide, while data centers consume 1.5% of global power — raising sustainability alarms.
🌪️ Climate Change:
Typhoons Fung-wong and Kalmaegi displaced 1.4 million Filipinos and killed over 250 people.
Philippine agriculture losses reached USD 2.41 million (UNOCHA).
💸 Sustainable Development:
The UN estimates USD 5 trillion annually is needed to meet SDGs by 2030 — most from donor funding, not governments.
Why This Hits Home ❤️
🤝 ASEAN promotes multilateralism based on mutual respect and shared responsibility that empower the global sovereignty. (Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian PM)
🤝 ASEAN values dialogue over division, cooperation over competition, and humanity over power. (Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian PM)
💬ASEAN supports the UN's 2030 SDG goals, focusing on ending poverty and hunger, ensuring access to health, education, gender equality, clean water, affordable energy, and promoting innovation for sustainable growth. (ASEAN Stats)
✊ One major civic movement in the region this year took place in Indonesia on August 25, 2025, as part of a campaign to secure a parliamentary housing allowance dispute.
🌾According to the e-Conomy SEA report, AI investment in Southeast Asia surpassed USD 30 billion in the first half of 2024 and has reached USD 50 billion since 2023, primarily in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, with a focus on infrastructure.
🌪️ Major climate-related disasters hit ASEAN, including Super Typhoon Fung-wong in the Philippines, and Cyclone Kalmaegi in the Philippines and Vietnam.
“The future we need so today is the day for citizens of the world, for common people, for thinking citizens, for grassroots, wherever you are. Speak up, inform, argue, debate, disagree, challenge, advice. Because the future belongs to us and to the next generation.”
Dino Patti Djalal, FPCI Chairman
The Big Picture 📸
The Global Town Hall featured five key discussions:
1️⃣ Anticipating the next world order
2️⃣ Civil society as a stabilizing force
3️⃣ The AI revolution at work
4️⃣ Building a climate-ready global alliance
5️⃣ Refocusing the SDG agenda for 2030
Regional Solutions 🌏
🌐 New World Order:
The UN needs to reform the UN Charter, UN Security Council to better support peace, justice, human rights, equality, territorial integrity, and sovereignty, especially addressing the veto power that creates inequality in a changing world. (Dino Patti Djalal, FPCI Chairman)
ASEAN must continue to connect regions, ideas, and people while promoting multilateralism to build a safer world founded on justice and hope. (Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian PM)
The Global South must speak up more to be recognized in decision-making and to balance the power of the Global North. (Piotr Opalinski, Head of Asian Observatory at the Centre for International Relations, Poland)
Africa should be seen as a key partner, not just a source of revenue, to improve the region’s welfare. (Patience K. Naamanya, Member of Uganda Council of Foreign Relations)
🧑🤝🧑Civil societies:
Civil society organizations need to work together to engage politicians and authorities and voice their concerns. (Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International)
Support civil society groups and join global movements that challenge the system for justice and equality, even amid budget cuts. (Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International)
Civil society organizations should rethink their reliance on funding and find creative ways to secure resources to continue their mission. (Arthur Larok, Secretary General of ActionAid International)
Civil society needs to mobilize public opinion, including through social media, to push for authenticity. (Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Editor of The Hindu)
Let media organizations freely express themselves and support civil society actors. (Sanjay Sethi, Co-Executive Director of Artistic Freedom Initiative)
🤖The Rise of AI:
Ensure the government reviews ethical guidelines and industry commitments before expanding AI use or making related policies. (Edward Tsoi, Co-Founder of AI Safety Asia)
Train government officials & workers to improve skills, especially in areas where AI cannot replace them. (Edward Tsoi, Co-Founder of AI Safety Asia)
Create AI that is human-centered, safe, affordable, and protects users. (Sara Baptiste-Brown, Social and Societal Leader and Board Administrator at AI Impact Alliance)
Enhance regional cooperation to develop and manage AI technology together. (Hoda Alkhzaimi, Strategic Economic, Technology, and Investment Advisor; National Expert on Advanced Sciences and Future Economy)
🌱Climate change:
ASEAN and other regions must highlight climate change urgently in international and regional forums, and avoid using climate change as a political campaign tool. (Wan Atikah Wan Yusoff, Head of programme Management at Penang Harmony Corporation Harmonico)
Develop new climate financing mechanisms and create platforms that connect governments with civil society on climate policy. (Alifa Zalfa Poetry Wicaksono, Disaster and Climate Resilience Program Officer of Resilience Development Initiative)
🌱Sustainable development:
Create a platform connecting the public, government, and private sectors from the Global North and South to discuss frameworks, financing, investment, and collaboration for developing key sectors—like health, education, and technology—to achieve the SDGs. (Dima Al-Khatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation)
✨ Beyond the Headlines
The global speakers agreed to suggest additional solutions beyond the main topics, including:
🌾 Agriculture & Food Security: Prioritize farmers, women, and youth for market access and resilience. (Aggie Asiimwe Konde, Director of Communications, Innovation, and Advocacy at AGRA)
👩💼 Women & Youth Empowerment: Promote gender equality in decision-making and sustainability leadership. (Alifa Zalfa Poetry Wicaksono, Disaster and Climate Resilience Program Officer of Resilience Development Initiative)
🌍 Social Unity: Build people-to-people diplomacy to counter extremism and misinformation across Southeast Asia. (Rabbi Eliot J. Baskin, Spiritual Leader and Interfaith Peace Globetrotter at Shalom Park, Aurora, Colorado)
Need More Angles?
ASEAN Stats The ASEAN SDG Indicators Progress Report 2025
BRICS About the BRICS
Global Town Hall Global Town Hall 2025, The Future We Need
The Himalayan Times Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigns after deadly Gen Z protests
UN News Nepal PM resigns after deadly crackdown on youth protests; UN urges calm
(AJI/JUN/NGO/VBD/QOB)
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