Envisioned to be an excellent and reputable university in providing educational services, Universitas Negeri Malang (UM) is committed to equipping the students to allow themselves to be life-long innovative learners. To materialize this mission, UM through the Office of International Affairs, supported by One Asia Foundation takes the opportunity to hold a series of courses on Asian Community, namely One Asia Lecture Series (OALS).

Asian community is not only unique but also dynamic in socio-economic, linguistic, and cultural activities. The dynamics are prospective to enrich the understanding of the multi-dimensional and multi-layered characters of Asian community. The understanding would bring people in the continent together and enable them to become global citizens through the diversities that are unique to the Asians. As such, to explore and reflect on Asian dynamics as ways in cultivating and casting Asian potentials would enhance students’ understanding of who we are, what we have, and what we can do for the betterment of the Asian community.

It came to our knowledge that we are currently living in a profoundly interconnected world where every move of ours affects every other individual in the society or even world. In this borderless and globalization world, hatred could easily spread and trigger others to do so, by the same token, if ones choose to perform the act of compassion.

The 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) shows the world is less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade. Covering 99.7% of the world’s population, the results of the 2018 GPI find that the global level of peace has deteriorated by 0.27% in the last year, marking the fourth successive year of deteriorations. The same list also shows that Asia happens to be one of the six regions experience deterioration, this kind of condition is calling Asians to act out immediately.

Bringing together experts from different backgrounds around the world, OALS aims to enhance collaboration with relevant parties across the Asian region. Scholars and practitioners from various institutions in the Asian region will participate in the lecture series to explore the practices, traditions and the philosophy of peace allowing the participants to see the potentials to realize better Asia in its view on peace.