The programme will also feature remarks from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia. Tentatively, the Minister of Environment, Mr. Jumhur Hidayat, is also expected to share his perspective on the environmental and climate challenges facing our region, and on how Asia and Africa can strengthen collective action toward a more sustainable future. The Mayor of Bandung is expected to conclude the opening session with a visionary address, “From Bandung to the Future: Building the Asia-Africa City Network of the 21st Century.”
Oleh farhan Helmy
ON 11 July 2026, seventy-one years after the historic Asia-Africa Conference, Bandung will once again welcome friends from across Asia and Africa to Gedung Merdeka, the place where a shared vision of solidarity, dignity, and cooperation first inspired the Global South.
I am deeply honored to deliver a Special Address entitled Connected Asia-Africa Futures: Renewing the Bandung Spirit Through People-to-People Solidarity. As a systems thinker, climate governance practitioner, and person with a disability, I have come to believe that the greatest barriers in our lives are often not created by our bodies, they are created by systems that were never designed for all of us. That lesson extends far beyond disability. It challenges us to rethink climate change, inequality, urban resilience, and sustainable development as interconnected issues requiring interconnected solutions.
The programme will also feature remarks from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia. Tentatively, the Minister of Environment, Mr. Jumhur Hidayat, is also expected to share his perspective on the environmental and climate challenges facing our region, and on how Asia and Africa can strengthen collective action toward a more sustainable future. The Mayor of Bandung is expected to conclude the opening session with a visionary address, “From Bandung to the Future: Building the Asia-Africa City Network of the 21st Century.”
Together, these conversations seek to move beyond commemoration toward a renewed platform for collaboration among governments, cities, universities, civil society, businesses, and communities across more than 3,500 cities throughout Asia and Africa.
My sincere appreciation to the organizers for this opportunity and trust. I hope this gathering marks the beginning of a new chapter, where the Bandung Spirit evolves from a historic milestone into a living movement. Because climate change does not stop at national boundaries. Exclusion does not stop at national boundaries. And neither should solidarity. The future of Asia and Africa will not be built by a few. It will be built by all of us, together. ** Writer by Diland Indonesia The President
Editor : Rianto Muradi
