2026亞太藝術與人文國際研討會

專題演講：Sustainability from the Ground Up: Community Innovation and Hybrid Governance in Taiwan and Indonesia

講者：Dr Kurnia Novianti

2026年度外交部「臺灣獎助金」國際學者Dr Kurnia Novianti，來自印尼國家研究機構Research Centre for Area Studies, National Research and Innovation Agency (PRW-BRIN)，接受本系邀請參與2026 亞太藝術與人文國際研討會，發表專題演講，講題為Sustainability from the Ground Up: Community Innovation and Hybrid Governance in Taiwan and Indonesia，分享臺灣與印尼食物銀行與剩食管理的比較研究。演講內容摘要如下。

When people talk about urban sustainability, the discussion often revolves around policies, smart city programs, or government strategies. Yet in many cities, sustainability does not begin in meeting rooms. It grows in everyday spaces — in neighbourhood initiatives, small community groups, and organisations responding to practical problems around them, often through forms of social innovation that emerge from daily experience.

I chose this topic because I have always been curious about how ordinary people shape their cities in quiet ways, often without much recognition in formal policy debates. In this keynote, I will share reflections from my ongoing postdoctoral research in Taiwan, where I am looking at how food banks and community initiatives respond to food loss and waste in urban settings.

My research connects experiences from Taiwan and Indonesia. I am interested in what happens when community actors and local governments try to work together — and sometimes struggle. Rather than assuming collaboration is always harmonious, I ask: Who starts the relationship? Who sets the agenda? Whose voices carry more weight? These questions led me to explore what is often called hybrid governance — where responsibilities are shared between state and non-state actors.

As my fieldwork is still in progress, I offer reflections rather than final conclusions. Drawing from earlier work in Surabaya and current research in Taipei, I see both creativity and care within communities. At the same time, I recognise some issues, such as uneven access to resources and different degrees of institutional recognition. Sustainability, therefore, is not limited to environmental goals. It is also about relationships, power, and fairness.

Through this talk, I hope we can reflect together on how sustainability grows from the ground up, and how paying attention to everyday practices can deepen our understanding of innovation, governance, and social change across cities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Keywords: sustainability, community innovation, urban collaboration, hybrid governance, Taipei, Surabaya