SDGs 4: Quality Education

Devi Ayu Lisdiana, commonly known as Devi, is a student from the English Department who excels in the sports of Pencak Silat and Kickboxing. During the Rapat Senat held on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, she was awarded as one of the outstanding students (mapres) in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM.

It all started when she saw a post about the faculty’s anniversary on FIB’s Instagram account. She then consulted with several lecturers in the English Deparment. This resulted in the decision that the Head of the English Department, Dr. Adi Sutrisno, M.A., proposed Devi to be one of the outstanding students.

Here are the various achievements accomplished by Devi:

1. Runner-up at the AUB CUP 2021 Open Pencak Silat Tournament
2. Runner-up at the PORDA XVI DIY 2022 Pencak Silat
3. 1st place in the Women’s Low Kick Exhibition Kickboxing Category at PORDA XVI DIY 2022
4. 1st place in Class D Women’s Pencak Silat at the DIY Regional Championship 2023
5. Runner-up in Class D Women’s at the 2022 National Invitational Inter-College Championship UNY
6. 1st place in Class E Women’s Pencak Silat Tournament Grobogan 1 Open 2023
7. Runner-up in the Women’s Low Kick category at the 2023 Rambo Kickboxing
8. 1st place in the UPY CUP IV 2023 National Pencak Silat Championship
9. Runner-up in the Pre-PON Kickboxing 2023

This serves as evidence that non-academic achievements are just as important as academic ones. Devi is proof that balancing academic and non-academic achievements is crucial. She undoubtedly went through various long processes before successfully achieving these championships. She often faced failures, which she used as fuel to rise again and continue her journey.

May Devi’s journey and her myriad of achievements serve as motivation for students at Universitas Gadjah Mada, especially in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, to always rise again even after thousand failures because failure is not the end of everything.

Congratulations to Devi Ayu Lisdiana!

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 10: Reduced Inequalities

On Friday, February 16, 2024, Pusat Bahasa FIB UGM hosted a workshop aimed at improving services for individuals with disabilities, particularly focusing on the academic community within FIB UGM, with the goal of supporting language enrichment for LPDP participants. The event commenced with a welcome address from the Dean of FIB UGM, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, M.Si., and continued with a discussion session led by Mrs. Wuri Handayani, S.E., Ak., M.Si., M.A., Ph.D. The discussion featured UGM students with disabilities from various faculties as speakers.

Mrs. Wuri initiated the discussion by sharing insights into the ethical considerations of interacting with individuals with disabilities. Throughout the Q&A session, UGM students with disabilities, accompanied by the UGM Disability Care Community, actively engaged in the dialogue. The questions posed by participants in the workshop addressed various aspects, with a particular emphasis on strategies for creating greater inclusivity in classroom teaching and learning activities for students with disabilities.

It is expected that this workshop will lead to an improvement in the services provided by the academic community of FIB UGM to participants with disabilities in LPDP language enrichment, making them more effective and targeted. The workshop serves as a platform for mutual learning and the development of a deeper understanding of the needs and best practices necessary to foster inclusivity in the academic environment.

SDGs 4: Quality Education

Culture is an inherent part of human daily life. The importance of culture in everyday life cannot be separated from its essence which plays an important role in determining the identity of a society. The formation of a community’s identity can be formed with characteristics consisting of a variety of cultural elements, including language, knowledge, and art. The element of art is the main concern in seeing the uniqueness of a culture, one of the components of art that attracts a lot of attention is the art of music.

Rafi Karninto is a 2020 Faculty of Cultural Sciences Anthropology UGM student who has produced several musical artworks that combine local cultural diversity. Rafi, his nickname, started his musical journey in 2017. Initially, he started his musical journey by covering regional songs such as the cover of the first song from Banjar, called Saputangan Babuncu Ampat in November 2017. After successfully covering his first song on the YouTube platform, Rafi started his cultural content videos on his YouTube platform by bringing cultural elements to gaming, vlogs, and dance creations.

In 2019, Rafi released his first original song titled “Pantun Tidayu”. Interestingly, this song combines three different languages: Ahe (Dayak Kanayatn), Pontianak Malay, and Mandarin. These three languages were also inspired by the origins of the three ethnic groups in West Kalimantan.

“From the beginning of creating the song, I enjoyed experimenting by blending music from different cultures into one piece,” Rafi said about the cultural musical work he has created.

Not only does Rafi sing songs in different languages, but he also arranges and orchestrates the arrangements of the songs he creates. Two of Rafi’s latest songs, titled “Pemuda” and “Jatinegara,” showcase his talent and ability in musical instruments. The song “Pemuda” was initially composed for a dance creation to commemorate Youth Pledge Day on October 28th while he was interning at the Youth Pledge Museum. In this song, he arranged the instrumentation to be adapted to the music of the 1920s era, while still incorporating ethnic elements from 7 regions that participated in the Second Youth Congress.

“As for the song ‘Jatinegara,’ the inspiration comes from my own neighborhood, Jatinegara District, which has a history from the colonial period and has interesting places to explore. The music uses Betawi gambang kromong with additional modern elements,” Rafi explained about the background of developing the song “Jatinegara,” which he created on March 9th, 2024.

From the various cultural works he has created and preserved, Rafi hopes to collaborate more with various artists and other cultural content creators in the future. He also hopes that his own works and those of cultural enthusiasts can continuously preserve local and Indonesian culture by having opportunities to showcase their works at various events.

To listen to more of Rafi’s music creations, readers can visit a dedicated page containing Rafi’s music works at this link.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | SDGs 17: Partnerships For The Goals

On Friday, March 8, 2024, as many as 16 UGM Archaeology students accompanied by three Department of Archaeology lecturers participated in the Borobudur Youth Engage 2024. This program is part of the cultural introduction program from UNESCO to youth, especially university students. The Borobudur Youth Engage 2024 program with UNESCO Jakarta collaborates with some universities such as Universitas Gadjah Mada through the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, Atma Jaya University, and Tidar University. In this activity, UGM Archaeology participated in a tour around Borobudur Temple and Borobudur Temple Tourism Area to learn the history of archaeological remains and management of cultural heritage management.

The UGM Archaeology group departed from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM at 05.30 WIB and arrived at Borobudur Temple at 06.30 WIB. When arriving at the location, the UGM Archaeology group went to the registration desk and was given special equipment in the form of sandals called upanat sandals. Upanat means footwear which is suitable to be mentioned as special sandals that must be used when visiting Borobudur Temple as a preventive measure from the Borobudur Conservation Center to prevent damage to the temple’s andesite stones. Uniquely, the shape of these upanat sandals follows the shape of the footwear found on Karmawibhangga Relief No. 150 from the walls of Borobudur Temple.

After registration, UGM Archaeology students including Atma Jaya University and Tidar University students visited the pavilion not far from the registration location to watch historical presentations and introduction of supporting sites around the Borobudur Temple area. After watching the presentation, the students departed on foot to the Borobudur Temple courtyard area. Arriving at the courtyard area, the students were assisted by a guide who explained the points of interest around the Borobudur Temple area which is a tourist attraction that is often visited by domestic and foreign visitors. The guide then invited the group to climb Borobudur Temple for a further tour of the meaning of the reliefs and statues around the temple.

After the temple tour ended, the group of students and lecturers visited one of the cultural heritage sites around Borobudur Temple, namely the Brongsongan Site. At this site, students are invited to have an interactive discussion with questions and answers about the Brongsongan Site which has some temple-style relics. After visiting the Brongsongan Site, the group followed the last agenda which was a meeting session and presentation by successful figures from the management of the Borobudur Temple area, one of which was the famous Batik Nawasena craft to the international scene.

This activity ended at 14.00 WIB, with the UGM Archaeology group returning to the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. The implementation of one of several activities from UNESCO is a start for UGM Archaeology students to recognize and learn more about local cultural heritage.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The Japanese Language and Culture Study Program welcomed Yuki Murakami, a Master’s student in the Development Economics Study Program from Kobe University, Japan, as an intern. The internship lasted for sixteen days from February 13th to 29th, with Masato Nakahara, Ph.D., as the supervisor lecturer.

During his internship at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yuki Murakami participated in various academic activities, including assisting in teaching classes, correcting exercises, and attending academic program activities. As a teaching assistant in the Japanese conversation class (Kaiwa), Murakami explained and practiced how Japanese people speak well and naturally, from basic knowledge to Japanese speaking habits. Furthermore, in the Japanese Thought History class, he assisted the lecturer in explaining how Japan found solutions to catch up with other countries after the implementation of sakoku (鎖国), which was Japan’s policy of isolation from the outside world.

Throughout his two-week stay in Indonesia, the intern student who was also known as Murakami-san shared his interesting experiences. At first, he was worried that the classes he taught would be considered unattractive by students. However, he was surprised that the students were active in class and easily became friendly with him. For him, feeling warmly accepted in a new place is an unforgettable feeling. Likewise, for the students, Murakami’s contribution as an intern student in the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program for two weeks has been inspiring and has provided new insights which become an unforgettable experience for Japanese Language and Culture students.