The new British Ambassador to Indonesia, Dominic Jermey made his first official visit to Yogyakarta on 17 November 2023. On this occasion, he delivered a public lecture at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Mada on UK-Indonesia bilateral relations in the fields of education, politics, climate change, digitalisation, arts and culture.

The event began with a warm welcome delivered by the Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation, and Alumni, Dr. Mimi Savitri, M.A. In her opening speech, Dr. Mimi Savitri sincerely expressed her appreciation for the high level of bilateral cooperation that has existed between the UK and Indonesia over the years. She emphasised the importance of this relationship as a foundation for further cooperation in academic and social fields.

The next segment was Dominic Jermey’s ambassadorial speech. In his speech, he stated that he had high hopes for the students present in the room to become the successors of the country’s development relay. He highlighted some crucial issues that are being faced by all countries in the world, namely climate change. According to him, the issue of climate change must be brought up and discussed further because the earth that is inhabited today will one day be inherited by younger generations. Students – he continued – can guard this problem according to their portion.

In the last half of his speech, Dominic Jermey warmly welcomed students who had the intention to continue their studies in the UK. He expressed his appreciation for the dedication of the prospective students. Dominic also encouraged the students and gave them the full support of the UK government to ensure the success of their academic journey in the country. In addition, he emphasised the importance of cooperation between countries in supporting knowledge exchange and global human resource development.

The public lecture session was closed with a Q&A session, where participants were given the opportunity to ask questions directly to Dominic Jermey. This session created an interactive atmosphere that allowed for an exchange of ideas and views between the speaker and the audience. Afterwards, the event was closed with a group selfie session.

Sleman (15/11/2023) – The Department of Archeology and the Archeology Student Association of Gadjah Mada University (HIMA) held a collaborative exhibition entitled Sagara Amarta in the series of the VI Archeology Festival with the theme of the Austronesian journey. The Sagara Amarta exhibition is located at the Soegondo Hall, 1st Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (FIB-UGM).

“At the Sagara Amarta exhibition stand at this year’s VI Archeology Festival, we from HIMA collaborated with several creative product business actors belonging to tourist villages around Borobudur Temple,” said HIMA Chair, Nurul Athifah, at Selamat Hall Soegondo, Wednesday 15 November 2023.

Nurul Athifah added that creative products belonging to tourist villages uphold local wisdom values. Apart from creative products from tourist villages around Borobudur Temple, creative products from UGM Archeology students were also displayed. The Sagara Amarta Exhibition also featured the UGM Majapahit Mandala. Apart from that, there are also culinary stands and photobooths.

“This event is free entry from 10 to 5 pm,” concluded Nurul Athifah.

Meanwhile, the collaborating parties were students’ creative product circles, one of whom was Mandira Brick, all of whom, Ahmad Zaki, said that the aim of participating in this exhibition was to introduce Mandira Brick products as student work. The Mandira Brick product itself is in the form of dismantling miniature temples like Lego, but using the interlock system in the temple.

“Mandira Brick has a mission to educate and introduce the preservation of cultural heritage, architectural art and temple construction techniques in Indonesia,” stressed Zaki.

Archaeological Festival VI: Sagara Amarta Exhibition on 15-17 November 2023 at the 1st Floor of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (FIB-UGM) held in collaboration with the Department of Archeology and the Archeology Student Association of Gadjah Mada University (HIMA) in collaboration with Borobudur Village Exotica , Pasek, Kahitz, Mandira Brick, Botak Shoes Cleaner (BSC), and Cuci Motor Mas Boy, sponsored by RH Dental Clinic (RDH), Jogja Agrapana Water Filter, and Sekar Tanjung Dance Studio.

Credit by Aditya Revianur, S.Hum., M.Hum.

The Department of History, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM is holding another Public Lecture entitled “Soewarsih Djojopuspito: The Life of a Colonial Female Nationalist in Independent Indonesia” on Friday, 10 November 2023. The event took place in the Multimedia Room on the 2nd floor of Margono Building. This Public Lecture focuses on discussing the life journey of a female nationalist during Indonesian independence. Hans Visser, an independent researcher from Alkmaar, was the main speaker in this event, while Dr. Agus Suwignyo, a lecturer from the Department of History, acted as the moderator.

On this occasion, the discussion thoroughly covered the contribution of Soewarsih Djojopuspito, a female writer and literary figure best known for her work entitled “Free Man” or “Buiten Het Gareel”. This work is recognised as an important part of Indonesian literary history. Not only that, in 2013, Soewarsih Djojopuspito was awarded the honour of Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma in recognition of her dedication to literature.

This Public Lecture provides a space to explore Soewarsih Djojopuspito in greater detail, exploring significant aspects of her life and contributions in the context of Indonesian history. The event is not only a platform to recognise an inspirational nationalist figure, but also an opportunity to reflect on the struggles undertaken by a determined woman like Djojopuspito..

UGM Department of History successfully organised a seminar entitled “From Sartono Kartodirdjo, Soedjatmoko, and Moh. Ali Towards Future Indonesian History Writing (I)” on 31 October 2023 at the Auditorium of Soegondo Building 7th Floor. The event was attended by around 100 participants from researchers, students, and the general public.

The seminar aimed to explore the future of Indonesian history writing by exploring the thoughts of figures such as Sartono Kartodirdjo, Soedjatmoko, and Moh. Ali. Three keynote speakers, Gani Achmad Jailani from Universitas Padjadjaran, Priska Marsila from Alumni UIN Sunan Gunung Jati, and Wahyu Purwiyastuti from Satya Wacana Christian University, presented materials covering various aspects of Indonesian historiography.

In addition to the keynote speakers, the seminar also involved 17 co-speakers who were selected through a call for papers selection. The participants were divided into six panels according to the predetermined theme groups. The hope is that this seminar can provide inspiration for the development of Indonesian history writing in the future.

A joint discussion session moderated by Prof Bambang Purwanto concluded the seminar. In closing, Prof Bambang asked interesting questions about the need to discuss the philosophy of history and whether the Indonesian-centric approach is relevant. He also emphasised that this seminar was the beginning of a deeper discussion on the philosophical aspects of history writing.

Recently, on 2 November 2023, Universitas Gadjah Mada paid a visit to the University of Zurich. During the visit, both institutions discussed ways to build on shared characteristics and strengthen existing relationships. The UGM delegation’s visit to the University of Zurich emphasised the common characteristics of these two universities and explored various opportunities for past and future cooperation.

At the institutional level, UGM and UZH are connected through University 21 (U21). U21 is a unique global network that brings together 29 of the world’s leading research-intensive universities. UGM is the newest member of U21 which joined in early 2021. While UZH has joined in 2017. U21 plays an important role in creating opportunities for student mobility and provides a platform to share approaches to address common challenges and trends in higher education.

For almost ten years, the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and the Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies (ISEK) at UZH have established a strong and lasting relationship. This partnership has been initiated and sustained by the dedication of Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi from UGM and Prof. Dr. Annuska Derks from UZH. Over the years, they have established a strong collaboration that has resulted in various programmes such as PhD student exchanges, research fellowships, writing residencies, and master student exchange programmes. UGM has also played a significant role in the International Summer School series called “Southeast Asia in Motion,” with the latest edition being hosted at UGM in August 2022.

Exploring New Ways to Collaborate

Professor Puji Astuti, UGM Director of Partnerships and Global Relations, expressed her excitement for the cooperation that has been established between UGM and UZH. They aim to strengthen this relationship further. They discussed the possibility of offering a double degree programme, which is popular among UZH students. The merging of two university systems can be challenging, but the exchange programme with UGM indirectly provides some solutions.

Meanwhile, ISEK is exploring other collaboration opportunities, such as research projects on alternative education. They are also planning an International Summer School in 2025, where UGM students and faculty will visit the University of Zurich. Molly Fitzpatrick, a researcher at ISEK, believes that this collaboration has been fruitful and hopes that it can be extended to other faculties.