On Monday, September 23, 2024, Students of the UGM Master of Middle Eastern Cultural Studies Program have carried out Community Service at the Sunan Pandanaran Yogyakarta Islamic Boarding School. The event was attended by the principal of Sunan Pandanaran Islamic Boarding School Yogyakarta, teacher representatives, and class XII students. The principal of Sunan Pandanaran Islamic Boarding School, Dr. KH Mu’tashim Billah, S.Q., M.Pd.I. said that he was very happy to host the community service from the Master of Middle Eastern Cultural Studies Program. This community service activity reflects the spirit of knowledge, togetherness, and care. The materials presented by KBTT students are expected to provide new insights for santri and santriwati in schools related to the Middle East, both from social, cultural, and political aspects.

The event continued with the presentation of material delivered by three students, namely Yusuf Idrus Malik, Vania Aina Sadikin, and Lutfi Nurfadli. The material presented by KBTT students included the countries of Egypt, Jordan, and the features of the Middle East. In the presentation of the three students, it was concluded that demographic diversity in the Middle East is one of the main characteristics of this region, covering aspects of socio-culture, religion, and political government.The Middle East is home to various tribes, languages, and traditions. From Arabs, Kurds, Persians, Turks, to Berbers, each ethnic group has its own unique culture and identity. These cultures are reflected in art, music, food, and customs. As for religion, the Middle East is very diverse, although the region is known as the birthplace of three major religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Islam, with its various sects such as Sunni and Shia, dominates social and political life in many countries. However, Christian, Yazidi, Druze, and Bahá’í communities also have a long history and contribute to cultural diversity.

Santri and santriwati of the Sunan Pandanaran Islamic boarding school were enthusiastic about the material as evidenced by the active forum discussion and souvenir distribution. At the end of the event, the principal of the Sunan Pandanaran Islamic Boarding School expressed his gratitude to PKM UGM students and motivated all students to study hard and practice the knowledge gained to the community. The event was closed by giving souvenirs from UGM to Sunan Pandanaran Islamic Boarding School and continued with a group photo session.

On October 1, 2024, the Folklore Class of the Cultural Anthropology Undergraduate Study Program, Department of Anthropology held a cultural workshop by inviting a guest lecturer. This Folklore class was taught by Dr. G.R. Lono Lastoro Simatupang, M.A. and Mubarika D.F.N, M.A. and what attracted the attention of the students this workshop discussed the Polonez Dance. The dance is an intangible cultural heritage from Poland. The material was delivered by Dr. Marzanna Popławska from the University of Warszawa, Poland. The workshop successfully highlighted the specialty of Polish performing arts and showed how intangible cultural heritage can optimize its role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The opening began with a warm welcome from Dr. Marzanna Popławska in Polish, “dzień dobry,” or “good morning” in Indonesian. The atmosphere immediately became intimate with the enthusiasm of the participants who wanted to learn more about the history and meaning of the Polonez Dance. Dr. Marzanna Popławska has been researching cultural heritage both in Poland and in other countries for more than 10 years, and has experience in studying the development of cultural heritage in Indonesia, which further enriched the discussion during the event.

The history and meaning of the Polonez or Polonaise Dance comes from the French “polish” which means “from Poland”, so this dance is one of the famous traditional dances from Poland. Its history can be traced to the Middle Ages and Renaissance with the name Polonaise becoming widely known in the 18th century. Dr. Popławska explained that Polonez is a very important intangible cultural heritage for Poland, being a symbol of nationality, honor, and unity. In 2015, Polonez Dance was recognized as Poland’s national dance alongside four other traditional dances. In 2019, Polonez was listed as one of the elements of Poland’s intangible cultural heritage and in 2023 Polonez Dance was officially recognized by UNESCO as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Polonez is a unique dance because it harmonizes performing arts with aspects of anthropology and folklore. This dance is not just a tradition or ritual, but a living and dynamic culture in Polish society. Polonez is also often performed at various state and ceremonial events, with costumes varying depending on the region of origin of the dancers. In Kraków, for example, dancers wear royal costumes and traditional clothes that reflect the nuances of Polish history.

In relation to the SDGs, Dr. Marzanna Popławska also emphasized the importance of preserving cultural heritage such as Polonez Dance in a global context, especially in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, Polonez Dance contributes to the achievement of SDG 11, namely “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, which aims to protect and maintain the world’s cultural heritage as part of the sustainability of communities and cities. Polonez Dance as an intangible cultural heritage has a vital role in maintaining the cultural identity of a nation while promoting togetherness, equality and harmony in its society. With its characteristic slow movements, Polonez Dance has signaled the values of honor, cooperation, and unity needed in the era of globalization. This is also in line with SDG 4, namely “Quality Education”, where the preservation of traditional culture provides a rich education about history and cultural identity to the younger generation, both at home and abroad.

In conclusion, this workshop not only successfully introduced the beauty and depth of meaning of Polonez Dance to the participants, but also showed how intangible cultural heritage can contribute to the achievement of sustainable global development goals. Through Polonez Dance, people can learn about the importance of appreciating cultural diversity and promoting universal values such as unity, honor, and peace.

The event was closed with an interactive Q&A session, where participants had the opportunity to ask more about Dr. Marzanna Popławska’s experience in researching intangible cultural heritage in various countries, as well as how Polonez Dance can continue to be preserved in the midst of modernization and changing times. This workshop inspired the participants to continue preserving and promoting their own cultural heritage, while supporting the achievement of the SDGs through education, cultural preservation, and international collaboration.

Muhammad Lodhi Firmansyah
Photo: Puspita Nindya Sari
Translator: Sandya Kirani

ARTraduction, with its logo interpreted from AR or the initials of Andina Rorimpandey, a nationally certified French translator recognized by the French Embassy. ARTraduction not only focuses on French-Indonesian-English translation, but also strives to enrich the Indonesian public’s knowledge of French culture through social media, such as Instagram and Blog where ARTraduction shares information on culture, language, tourist attractions, culinary, education system in France and other francophone countries and other interesting information.

As a translation agency, ARTraduction provides translation services for legal and general documents, including books. In addition, the agency also offers editing, proofreading, consecutive interpreting, legalization at the French Embassy, and third-party partnerships for Schengen and other countries’ visas, as well as apostille at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

ARTraduction’s commitment to education and networking is also evident in its collaboration with several public universities as guest lecturers. ARTraduction is also part of the Ministry of Education’s Teaching Practitioner program, becoming a French-Indonesian translation practitioner. This is concretely done with Gadjah Mada University to strengthen ARTraduction’s commitment in supporting education, by accepting student interns since the even semester of the 2022-2023 academic year.

That way, it is certain that the experience experienced by students as interns at this institution can bring useful knowledge and benefit themselves and the world. Being a translator is not an easy or even trivial thing, but a profession that requires a lot of experience and perseverance. So that in the future, students as ARTraduction interns and also part of UGM can take part in the design of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Quality Education and Partnership points.

Author: Angela Amalia Kellen
Editor: Rifal Fadlurrahman
Translator: Sandya Kirani

Yogyakarta, August 28, 2024 – The French Studies Student Association (HMSP) of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held a movie screening of “Hiroshima, Mon Amour” (1969) at IFI-LIP Yogyakarta.

Francinéma is one of the work programs of the interest and talent department of HMSP. This activity aims to introduce the culture of francophone countries through film screenings. This French-language movie screening activity is carried out regularly. Movie watching activities are also usually followed by a brief discussion about the movie shown.

On this occasion, HMSP collaborated with HI-Cine, the film club of UGM International Relations study program students. This activity was held at the Auditorium of IFI-LIP Yogyakarta by screening one of the masterpieces of French cinema “Hiroshima, Mon Amour” released in 1969 by director Alain Resnais. This activity received high enthusiasm with the participation of more than 100 spectators.

On Thursday, September 25, 2024, the Japanese Language and Culture study program welcomed guest lecturers from Padjadjaran University. The arrival of the lecturer from Padjadjaran University was related to the implementation of a joint lecture on the topic of Onomatopoeia.

The lecturers from Padjadjaran University, consisting of lecturers from the Sundanese Literature and Japanese Literature study programs, shared their research progress on the topic of Strengthening Understanding of Japanese Onomatopoeia through Website-Based Utilization of Local Wisdom (Sundanese) to students and lecturers of the Japanese Language and Culture study program.

In the project, lecturers from Sundanese Literature and Japanese Literature of Padjadjaran University are trying to develop a dictionary of Japanese onomatopoeia that can be found in Sundanese. The dictionary is still made in Indonesian-Japanese with of course an explanation of the meaning of the onomatopoeia. The existence of the Sundanese equivalent is to facilitate the understanding of the meaning of onomatopoeia for Japanese language learners, in this case Sundanese Japanese language learners. Then, the lecturer from Padjadjaran University also explained their plan to include pictures or visualizations of onomatopoeia in the dictionary to make it easier to understand the meaning of onomatopoeia. This project was carried out with the hope of facilitating the understanding of Japanese onomatopoeia through its equivalent in the local language. The lecturer from Japanese Language and Culture agreed to this because they often encounter cases where students find it easier to find equivalents and understand the meaning of onomatopoeia in the local language than in Indonesian.

At the end of the lecture session, the lecturer of Japanese Language and Culture gave a suggestion to attract Japanese Literature study programs in various universities spread throughout the region in order to increase the variety of equivalents in the local language of each region. In addition, there was an input to create a website so that the public can also participate in the development of the dictionary because it does not rule out the emergence of new onomatopoeias. This activity was then closed with a group photo session.

Author: Valentina Pramahita Iswari

Editor: Yulia Agustiani