The research results of the Pakpak Bharat survey and excavation team through its important heritage of mejan (an ancient relic) have been disseminated to all stakeholders in Pakpak Bharat Regency, North Sumatra, on Monday, 18 December 2023 in Salak, Pakpak Bharat, North Sumatra. Mejan is an ancestral heritage of Pakpak Bharat in the form of statues that are special and unique because they are not found in other regions and therefore deserve to be a proud identity of the Pakpak Bharat community.

The research team coordinator, Dr Mimi Savitri, M.A. outlined the importance of knowledge of the past life of the Pakpak Bharat community related to the existence of mejan. According to her, mejan is a marker, centre, or source of Pakpak people’s life in the past, because the social, economic, cultural, ritual, and gender equality of Pakpak Bharat’s ancestors is known from the remaining mejan that exist up to this moment. One important thing in studying the lives of Pakpak Bharat’s ancestors through mejan is the fact that their ancestor always embracing peace as the upmost value. Peace is one of the most crucial factor on successful development of a nation, which happened to be the goal in SDG’S 16.

Regional Secretary of Pakpak Bharat, Jalan Berutu, S.Pd. M.M. who was present representing the Regent expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Research Team from the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, because this collaboration is seen as a major step in the preservation of Pakpak Bharat Cultural Heritage. The cooperation between the two parties is an effort to achieve SDG’s 17 in the form of partnership to achieve goals. He also stated that this dissemination is important for determining the next development strategy of Pakpak Bharat in order to improve people’s welfare. This is in accordance with SDG’s 1 related to life without poverty and SDG’s 12 in the form of efforts to improve the quality of the environment in order to support the implementation of Development.

UGM celebrates its 74th anniversary on 19 December 2023. This year’s theme is Digital Transformation: Harmonising Innovation and Humanity, which highlights how humankind shall live side by side with the ‘digital life’ that seems more and more inevitable. Various activities were held to enliven this annual event. One of these events is Nitilaku.

The Nitilaku event is seen as a historical cultural symbolism in the form of a parade as a symbol of the establishment of Universitas Gadjah Mada. It started from a patch of land in Siti Hinggil of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace to became the UGM campus now in Bulaksumur. Over time, Nitilaku has transformed into a cultural event that combines various potentials from UGM, society, community, private sector, and government by highlighting historical elements of struggle and nationalism.

This year’s Nitilaku carries the theme “Kenduri Kebangsaan Merajut Tenun Ke-Indonesiaan” intending to maintain a good relationship with the Creator of the Universe. This event is carried out as a form of prayer for safety, avoiding disasters, and preventing all forms of badness that might occur due to human negligence. In addition, Nitilaku also serves as a medium for mutual awareness to maintain friendship among all nation’s citizens.

The Nitilaku event took place over two days, on 16-17 December 2023. In addition to the main event of Kenduri Kebangsaan, which includes speeches and interfaith prayer readings as well as the national carnival, Nitilaku also features various interesting activities. Art installations, kangen markets, MSME markets, and art stages will enliven the two days by involving various art and cultural communities. All of this is per the spirit of Nitilaku which mobilises broad participation from the community, especially the people of Yogyakarta.

Participation of Staff and Lecturers of FIB UGM

On Sunday, 17 December 2023, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences team participated in Nitilaku -which is one of a series of UGM 2023 Anniversary events-. On this occasion, the staff and lecturers of FIB UGM jointly participated in the parade with the route determined by the Dies committee. In line with the name of the faculty, the contingent of staff and lecturers from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences compactly wore traditional clothing from various regions. The contingent members also sang yells that ignited the spirit and made the atmosphere throughout the parade more exciting.

The National Student Scientific Week (PIMNAS) is an annual national scientific competition organised by the National Achievement Centre (Pusat Prestasi Nasional). In the 36th PIMNAS event held at Padjadjaran University on Thursday (30/11/2023), the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Student Team won double gold and silver medals. The team was led by Ilham Nur Rahman (Agricultural Industrial Technology) with members Abdila (History), Ilham Andriyanto (Cultural Anthropology), Hanieke Syahla (Cultural Anthropology), and Mia Fadilah (Biology). The team was mentored by Dr Aprillia Firmonasari, S.S., M.Hum., DEA.

This medal was won from their research entitled “Ethnobotanical Index of Rejang Tribe: Shifting, Inheritance, and Conservation Strategy of Local Knowledge Towards Food Security in Indonesia”. In the research, the team examined the shift and process of inheritance of knowledge of cultivation and utilisation of food plants in the Rejang Tribe, and used it as a basis for preparing a policy framework for food security. With an interdisciplinary research concept, the team combined the quantitative approach of knowledge index to detect knowledge shifts and ethnography to explore knowledge inheritance patterns.

On Saturday, 9 December 2023, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) held a short trip called Dolan Bareng event in Wanagama Forest, which was attended by FIB exchange students throughout Indonesia and international exchange students who are currently studying at FIB UGM. This activity aims to strengthen the bonds between students while providing an opportunity for refreshing after undergoing the end-of-semester exams.

The students departed from FIB UGM to Wanagama Forest using a bus. Upon their arrival, the group was warmly greeted with welcome drinks and snacks by the tour guide. While the students mingled and enjoyed their snacks, Prof. Dr Setiadi, M.Si., Dean of the Faculty, officially opened the event. The Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr Nur Saktiningrum, S.S., M.Hum, also gave a short briefing before the group started the journey through Wanagama Forest.

Following the path that had been prepared, the group of students explored the Wanagama Forest while getting to know the biodiversity in it. At the end of the trip, they were introduced to the typical Wanagama honeybee cultivation and invited to taste honey directly from the source. The activity was closed with lunch together before the group returned to the FIB UGM campus.

The Dolan Bareng event succeeded in creating valuable moments of togetherness amidst nature, involving students from various regions and countries. In addition, the Dolan Bareng agenda is in line with UGM’s commitment to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) point 4, namely Quality Education.

On Friday, December 1st 2023, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) encouraged students who were in their final exam period (UAS). To ease the burden on the minds of their students, FIB UGM handed out free snack parcels along with the provision of small greeting cards. This initiative results from a collaboration between FIB and Suar Asa, with the hope of providing moral support to students who may be too fixated on preparing for exams and forget the importance of taking a short break.

The distribution of free snacks before UAS is considered a positive step by the faculty to support students’ mental and emotional well-being. FIB UGM is committed to providing quality education and paying attention to students’ overall welfare. This simple action from the faculty was warmly welcomed by the students.

“We feel supported and loved by FIB UGM, please do it more often” explained one of the students who received snacks during the distribution event.

The snack distribution agenda before the final exam period aligns with UGM’s commitment to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 3, namely Good Health and Well-Being.