Where Rethinking the Economy Begins

As we set up the prepared banners that morning, we weren’t entirely certain that the number of attendees would actually meet our expectations. While waiting for participants to arrive, I found myself observing the fabric banners and the designs printed upon them–the green doughnuts, the lettering, and the logos.

At a café located in the Palagan area of ​​Yogyakarta, we hosted a small workshop over two days–October 23–24, 2026–to help celebrate Global Donut Days, an annual event initiated by the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL). We, at CommsLab, aimed to introduce the new way of thinking about the economy proposed by Kate Raworth in her 2017 book, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist.

The idea for the workshop emerged shortly after we met with Xiaoting Hou-Jones, government and policy lead at the DEAL team, in Bangkok earlier this month. Through our conversation with her, we learned about Global Donut Days, which is held this year during the third week of October. This celebration aims to share ideas and put the concepts of Doughnut Economics into practice.

As it happens, we have an initiative that has yet to be realized. Through this initiative, we aim to foster a critical dialogue among the younger generation of economists regarding Indonesia’s economic system and its relation to the climate crisis, the threat of ecological disasters, and human well-being. “Global Donut Days is the perfect moment to carry this out,” said CommsLab lead coordinator Kurie Suditomo.

There was no special preparation for carrying out the plan. Time was indeed tight. Meanwhile, we also had to prepare various other things for different activities. All we could do was envision what the workshop would entail.

And with all the results of that “lightning speed” planning, we welcomed the participants as they arrived one by one, until we felt we had waited long enough to begin our first activity as part of the DEAL Community.

The core subject matter we have outlined involves helping participants understand the origins of ideas regarding new economic systems, including Doughnut Economics, while simultaneously exploring how these concepts relate to the economic reality in Indonesia. Regarding Doughnut Economics, we have deliberately focused on what it actually offers: a way of thinking. This approach teaches that understanding the economy does not have to begin with growth figures, investment, or macroeconomic indicators. It can begin with a very fundamental question: what do human beings need in order to live a decent life, and what must we not destroy so that such a life can continue?

“What stood out to me most was the idea that society is an integral part of the economy. That’s something we, as business practitioners, often forget. We tend to approach business very linearly, focused primarily on seeking profit,” said Maria Goreti, a master’s student in management currently completing her matriculation period, who admitted to still having some homework left: reading Kate Raworth’s book.

To add further nuance, and grounding it even more within the Indonesian context, we also introduced a sociological perspective, exploring how Doughnut Economics resonates with values of mutual support and collective life ​​that still prevail within  Indonesian society.

Much like a workshop, the presentations delivered by our collaborators–representatives from Center of Economic and Law Studies and Social Movement Institute–were interspersed with interactive activities facilitated by a member of our team. Beyond serving as icebreakers or a way to refresh the atmosphere, these activities helped participants absorb and reflect on the speakers’ ideas. Some of the activities we used were adapted from tools available on the DEAL website.

One of these tools invites participants to answer questions about places they personally value most and wish to see preserved, things they feel grateful for that others may not have, and ways they can contribute to sustaining the Earth that supports our shared life. These questions, which might seem far removed from economic matters but are–in substance–their very foundation, proved powerful enough to stir deep emotions among the participants. Some appeared visibly moved when asked for their impressions of the session; others even embraced one another.

Another participant, Adinda Ramadhani, a student at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM, expressed her optimism by describing a much better future for Indonesia as it celebrates its centenary in 2045: “Indonesia... becoming a place where humans and nature can coexist by maintaining a balance–a world that has improved, where greenery has spread further, and where humanity can live together in peace.”

Over the course of two days, exceeding our expectations, the workshop brought together around 20 participants from diverse backgrounds, including students, activists, and small and medium-sized enterprise owners; the students, in fact, came from fields of study outside of economics. More significant than the number of participants, however, was the presence of varied perspectives, which enriched the enthusiastic discussions that took place.

Two days is clearly a short amount of time–insufficient to shift how we think about the economy, let alone to transform a system that is already firmly established. But, in truth, that is not what a workshop is meant to achieve. What matters is that there is space for people to begin questioning things that have long been taken for granted, to imagine different possibilities, and to discover that they are not alone in that unease.

For us at CommsLab, that is the reason to keep going. An economy that places greater value on life will not emerge solely from good ideas; it requires an ever-growing number of people willing to discuss them, put them to the test, and work together to find ways to turn them into reality.