SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Yogyakarta, May 9, 2024 – The management of the Association of Arabic Literature Students at Universitas Gadjah Mada organized the IKMASA Leader Camp on Thursday and Friday, May 9-10, 2024, at Joglo Green House Sleman Yogyakarta. This annual event was attended by all the management members of the Association of Arabic Literature Students at UGM.

The event was attended by Garin Arivian Muhammad, S.S., an alumnus of Arabic Literature class of 2020 and the keynote speaker, Muhammad Nabil Sahabuddin, the Chair of IKMASA, and the management members of the Association of Arabic Literature Students 2024/2025.

The IKMASA Leader Camp began with a presentation by Garin Arivian Muhammad, S.S., who delivered a lecture on “Building Leadership Spirit: Cultivating a Culture of Empathy and Loyalty Towards the Organization.” In his presentation, Garin emphasized the importance of empathy and loyalty as the foundation for achieving organizational goals, summarized in his quote, “It’s impossible to achieve the maximum organizational goals if you don’t feel empathy and loyalty towards the organization.”

Garin also explained essential principles for an organization, including the importance of fostering empathy by engaging in existing issues and contributing the best. He stressed the need to work specifically, understand job responsibilities, and perform them with full dedication. Additionally, Garin highlighted the importance of thorough planning as a guide in carrying out organizational activities.

It is hoped that the IKMASA Leader Camp will enable the management of the Association of Arabic Literature Students 2024/2025 to continuously improve their work quality and execute the IKMASA work programs to the fullest.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 5: Gender Equality

Yogyakarta, May 8, 2024 – The Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Michigan-Flint, USA, held a public lecture titled “Gender and Society in Indonesia.” The event took place on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Soegondo Building 709, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, and was attended by students from various study programs.

The public lecture featured three main speakers who are experts in gender issues. They were Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, S.H., LL.M., Ph.D. from the Faculty of Law UGM, Dr. Novi Kurnia, M.Si., M.A. from the Department of Communication UGM, and Dr. Suzie Handajani, M.A. from the Department of Anthropology UGM. These three speakers presented material that enriched the understanding of gender from various perspectives: legal, social, political, and cultural.

Sri Wiyanti Eddyono reviewed significant changes in laws and policies in Indonesia related to reproductive health and sexual rights over the past five years, including child marriage, sexual violence (including cyber sexual violence), abortion, sexual violence in higher education, and sexual violence in the workplace. She emphasized the need for evaluation at three levels: substantive law, legal structure, and legal culture. Dr. Novi Kurnia discussed gender politics in Indonesia, which creates ‘restricted spaces’ for women and queer individuals in public spaces, including in film, and underscored the importance of shared responsibility among educators, the government, the film community, audiences, and society to discuss these sensitive issues. Without the courage to challenge patriarchal-homophobic culture, inclusive diversity in Indonesia will only remain a dream. Meanwhile, Dr. Suzie Handajani provided an anthropological perspective on the dynamics of gender and sexuality in Indonesia, focusing on the concepts of motherhood and the hijab during the New Order era, explaining how history and culture influence views and practices related to gender in Indonesia.

Gender issues are highly relevant and important in Indonesia, especially in the context of current social and political developments. By presenting a multidisciplinary perspective, this public lecture aimed to provide comprehensive insights to students on the complexities of gender issues in Indonesia. Additionally, this event also aimed to encourage critical and constructive discussion, as well as increase awareness of the importance of gender justice in various aspects of life.

The public lecture “Gender and Society in Indonesia” not only enriched the knowledge of students but also formed part of UGM’s efforts to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly points 5 and 4. Point 5, which emphasizes gender equality and women’s empowerment, was reflected through discussions about policies and practices affecting the rights of women and gender minorities. Point 4, which guarantees inclusive and quality education, was realized through the provision of an educational platform involving academic and international perspectives. Through this activity, UGM is committed to shaping a generation sensitive to gender justice and actively contributing to creating a more equal world.

Author: Afif Naufal Widiadi

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Enrolment | SDGs 4: Equal access | SDGs 4: Education for sustainability | SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth 

Career Talk: Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs was a discussion program about future careers, especially for English literature graduates, which was organized by IMAJI (English Literature Department Student Association) and attended by various active students of the English Literature study program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, from all generations. The study program deliberately presented a speaker who had a lot of great experience that can be a motivation for students. The speaker was MOHAMAD WAHID SUPRIYADI, Indonesian Ambassador for UAE (2008-2011), Indonesian Ambassador for Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus (2016-2020), Visiting Professor of International Relations from Tomsk State University. The event took place on May 13rd, 2024 at 10 until 12 am in Soegondo room 310, hosted by a Master of Ceremony, Aimar Prabhaswara Dzakri, who is an English literature student at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

In this activity, students did not only listen to knowledge from one direction or from the speaker, but they felt reciprocity because they discussed and voiced their opinions which were later commented on and answered by the speaker. They discussed about Indonesians who study or work abroad but do not want to return. Mr. Mohammad Wahid Supriyadi responded that this could not be said to be a traitor or something like that considering the facilities provided by this country to them are not as good as when abroad and even many great people are not appreciated. There were also those who asked about what made him from the UGM English Literature study program finally appointed as an ambassador from Indonesia in Russia with full powers. He also shared that he initially only corrected English documents when no one else could, then was appointed to write speeches of high-ranking officials, then became the minutes of international meetings. Finally, he gave a conclusion at the end of the meeting that the problem of many people is that they are too quiet, as a diplomat you have to talk more.

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Education for sustainability | SDGs 4: Equal access | SDGs 4: Cultural diversity | SDG 5: Gender equality | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions | SDGs 16: Education | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Capacity building

Special Lecture and Workshop on “Gender and Sexuality in Indonesia,” a collaboration between the Department of Behavioral Sciences, College of Arts And Sciences, University of Michigan-Flint, USA, and the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, was held on May 8, 2024. That special lecture and workshop were part of a series of activities in the full summer short course, which will be held fromMay 8, 2024, until May 10, 2024. The theme of this event, “Gender and Sexuality in Indonesia,” was a short course that provides an opportunity to learn from local experts about these topics at Universitas Gadjah Mada, combined with a series of field visits. 

The aim of this short course is to help participants better understand the complexity and diversity of gender and sexuality aspects that intersect with Indonesian society as a whole. This is also an opportunity for students, both from the United States and Indonesia, to gain international perspectives and experiences. This short course is attended by 16 students from the University of Michigan-Flint, USA, under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Birchok. A series of activities has been planned since the beginning of this year, with 8 student committees from the Anthropology Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada under the guidance of Dr. Sita Hidayah and the Department of Anthropology of Universitas Gadjah Mada, led by Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi.

The event began by listening to the opening speech by Dr. Daniel Birchok. Dr. Birchok is an anthropologist of religion interested in religion and public life, especially Islam in Indonesia. His research focuses on everyday engagements with religious concepts, and he is especially interested in genealogical authority, religious temporalities, and ritual. He is writing about a group of Sufis (Islamic mystics) who reside on the west coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province, with special attention to how their changing forms of genealogical authority and evolving notions of orthodoxy reflect the place of religion in the Indonesian state. Next was the opening speech from (Dean/Vice Dean/Head of the Anthropology Department/Representative. 

Before they proceed with next agenda, there were some information regarding the activities of that short course. fisrt, they were conducted a special lecture and workshop featuring 3 remarkable speakers who are lecturers at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Next, there will be a special session conducted by Samsara. Following that, specifically for the 16 students from the University of Michigan-Flint, the committee, and accompanying lecturers, there will be a field trip to Aisyiyah. After that, our activities will continue with field trips to Sanggar Tari Didik Nini Thowok and Pondok Pesantren Waria Al-Fatah. On the final day, the day after tomorrow, activities will proceed with a field trip to Yashanti at Pasar Bringharjo and Rifka Annisa.