The Social Welfare Study Program at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta hosted a public lecture on Thursday featuring Dr. Shu-Hua Kang, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at National Taipei University in Taiwan, for a discussion on the development of nonprofit organizations and social innovation.

The lecture, held from 9 to 11 a.m., was titled “NPO Development in Taiwan: Practical Insights from My Journey in Social Work & Social Innovation.” Dr. Kang drew on Taiwan’s experience — as well as her own career in social work and nonprofit leadership — to examine how nonprofit organizations can respond to social needs while remaining innovative and sustainable. Izzul's students_10012026

The event was moderated by Wiwin Elsa, a 2025 cohort student in the Social Welfare Study Program. Lathiful Khuluq, Ph.D., a faculty member in the program, served as a discussant, offering reflections and perspectives on Dr. Kang’s presentation.

In his opening remarks, Muhammad Izzul Haq, S.Sos., M.Sc., Ph.D., head of the Social Welfare Study Program, welcomed Dr. Kang to UIN Sunan Kalijaga. The occasion also carried a personal academic connection: both Dr. Kang and Dr. Haq pursued their doctoral studies at McGill University’s School of Social Work in Canada.

Dr. Haq said the discussion of nonprofit organizations was particularly relevant for social work students because the profession extends well beyond government agencies and formal social services. Nonprofits can play significant roles in delivering social services, empowering communities, advocating for marginalized populations and developing social innovations.

He encouraged students to use the lecture as an opportunity to compare the experiences of Taiwan and Indonesia, asking what lessons from Taiwan might be adapted — rather than simply replicated — in the Indonesian social welfare context.

From Nonprofit Development to Social Innovation

In her presentation, Dr. Kang situated nonprofit organizations, or NPOs, within the “third sector,” complementing the roles of government and business in responding to social needs. Drawing on the work of Ralph M. Kramer, she emphasized that nonprofits do more than provide services: they can also pioneer new approaches, advocate for reform and preserve values.

Dr. Kang traced Taiwan’s nonprofit sector from its early reliance on charitable initiatives and overseas assistance to the emergence of a more independent civil society. Taiwan’s democratization, particularly after the end of martial law in 1987, created greater space for civic organizations, public participation and advocacy. Izzul's students_10012026 By 2019, a broad estimate that included foundations put the number of nonprofit organizations in Taiwan at more than 70,000.

The lecture then shifted from institutional history to Dr. Kang’s own professional journey. Her work with the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation and the AMA Museum illustrated how social work can move from accompaniment to public advocacy and collective action. The museum, which opened in 2016, was created to preserve the history of Taiwanese survivors of wartime military sexual slavery while presenting the women not simply through the violence they endured, but also through their strength and humanity.

Those experiences also helped shape Dr. Kang’s approach to social innovation. Through Swing Reeds, discarded burlap coffee bags are repurposed into creative products through partnerships with different groups. The initiative brings together environmental sustainability, support for local women’s groups, and opportunities for women’s employment and social participation.

Dr. Kang said the challenge for nonprofits was not simply to secure funding, but to remain financially and organizationally sustainable without losing sight of their social mission. That requires innovation, diversified funding, autonomy in government partnerships, sustainable workloads for staff and accountability to the communities organizations serve.

The discussion highlighted how social work can move beyond individual assistance toward advocacy, collective action, organizational development and social innovation. Taiwan’s experience offered students a comparative perspective on how nonprofit organizations can become important vehicles for social work practice.

The Social Welfare Study Program said it hoped the visit would broaden students’ international perspectives while opening opportunities for further academic exchange and collaboration between social work communities in Taiwan and Indonesia.

As Dr. Haq emphasized in his opening remarks, international academic exchange is not about simply importing another country’s model. Rather, it offers a space to learn from one another, compare experiences and critically reflect on the distinct social welfare contexts of both societies.