The competition that the Tourism & BSO Sastra Oebah Team participated in on May 15-17, 2024 was called the Indonesian Tourism Competition. The competition was held at Bandung State Polytechnic. For the competition itself, as the title suggests, it is related to tourism. However, there are several general branches of competition, one of which is creative dance. The participants were spread throughout Indonesia, although not all of them participated. At that time, the team of students from the Faculty of Humanities, Gadjah Mada University won 3rd place out of 12 participants. Creative Dance Competition is a talent test that focuses on the creativity of contemporary dance movements including harmonization between wiraga, wirasa, wirama, weitra, accompanied by traditional music and modern Indonesian music. With the theme “Revive The Culture of The Land a Thousand Islands”, this competition aims to create a creative dance where participants can perform extinct traditional Indonesian dance performances with modern vibes.

Sastra Oebah is a semi-autonomous body of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, which is engaged in dance (traditional classical and contemporary creations). In 2023, Sastra Oebah was formed to become the new identity and face of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The beginning of the naming of Sastra Oebah itself is because it is in the Faculty of Letters (Faculty of Cultural Sciences) and Oebah means “moving” which is then elaborated as a symbol that BSO Sastra Oebah is a BSO engaged in dance. The establishment of Sastra Oebah was seen by several students who have potential in the field of dance. In this case, Sastra Oebah is able to realize several implied questions related to the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, which is identical to the variety of cultures in it, but does not have an institution/community engaged in this field (traditional classical dance and contemporary creations in particular). The mission of Sastra Oebah itself was formed by not being closed, which means that it is only open to students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. However, Sastra Oebah opens as many opportunities as possible for non-faculty students if they have an interest in joining Sastra Oebah. interested in joining as part of Sastra Oebah.

KPG Publisher (Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia) together with Palmerah, Yuk!, and Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) Universitas Gadjah Mada have successfully organized a cultural event entitled “Celebrating Indonesian-Chilean Poets’ Poetry: Discussion/Reading/Music Performance”. The event took place at the 7th floor Auditorium of Soegondo Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, Yogyakarta on Monday, May 27, 2024 from 3 to 5 pm.

The event was held to commemorate the launch of “Para la Vida: Antologi Puisi Indonesia-Chile”, which is the first poetry anthology that combines the works of Indonesian and Chilean poets. The anthology is the result of a residency program conducted by FX Rudy Gunawan and Afnan Malay in Chile in late 2022, supported by the Directorate General of Culture.

In addition to poetry readings from the anthology “Para la Vida”, the event also included a discussion with Rudy Gunawan, Ramayda Akmal, Annecy NM, hosted by Ni Made Purnamasari. Jubing Kristianto also presented music that responds to one of the poems that tells the story of Victor Jara and a composition about Chile. The event was open to the public and free of charge, so anyone interested could attend the event on the day of the event free of charge.

Adil Ka’ Talino, Bacuramin Ka’ Saruga, Basengat Ka’ Jubata, Culture Friends! Cultural Festival UGM Residence was back this year with a variety of appreciation and celebration of the diversity of the archipelago. Cultural Festival 13 comes with the theme “ , ” which was held on Saturday, June 1 until 2, 2024 at 14.00 – 22. Cultural Festival 13 was enlivened by Cultural Festival 13 Collaboration works, Cultural Art performances from Regional Student Organizations, Cultural quizzes for UGM Residence Dormitory Residents, titles of UGM Residence Works, UGMR Club, PMM MBKM, as well as Faculties and Schools, selection of Putra-Putri Culfest from Regional Student Organizations, and Guest Stars performances. This event was open to all UGM students, lecturers, education staff and the general public free of charge. A festive atmosphere was created at Cultural Festival 13 also with the presence of 23 fully participating student organizations, adding color and spirit to each of their actions and performances!

On this valuable occasion, of course, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences did not want to be left behind to introduce its culture. Assisted by members of the Lembaga Eksekutif Mahasiswa  Fakultas Ilmu Budaya Universitas Gadjah Mada or abbreviated as LEM FIB UGM, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences set up a booth at the Cultural Festival. At the booth, many of the best cultural works of the Faculty students were exhibited such as fabrics, dresses, musical instruments, accessories, poetry, and many more. Interestingly, they also provided games with prizes for the visitors who came to make the booth look not boring and could attract people to visit. The requirement to play the prize game in the form of Spin Wheel was to follow Instagram @fib_ugm and @lemfib_ugm or upload an instastory by tagging the two accounts. Visitors who wanted to take pictures could take photos in front of the beautiful mirror that had been provided. The prizes provided for visitors who won the game were very diverse ranging from drinking water bottles, stickers, stationery, and others. Many visitors felt satisfied and entertained.

Purworejo, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in order to maintain the sustainability of the forest ecosystem, Lecturer of Indonesian Language and Literature Study Program of UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Dr. Novi Siti Kussuji Indrastuti, M.Hum., initiated a Community Service (PKM) program in collaboration with Perhutani Forest Management Unit (KPH) South Kedu and PT Kreasi Wisata Global as the management of Menoreh Dreamland tourism, planting together on the commitment of Green Ecotourism. The commitment to Green Ecotourism is shown through steps such as the mass planting of 150 pine tree seedlings and the provision of green open spaces and “Peleluk Pohon” rides as a means to interact directly with nature as well as a symbol of gratitude to nature and awareness of the importance of maintaining forest ecosystems. The joint planting program applies ecological, social, economic, and cultural principles to educate, maintain, and improve environmental sustainability, community welfare, and business sustainability. Not only joint planting, this activity also held an interesting, aesthetic, and fun “Plant and Hug Trees” socialization and education accompanied by live poetry media by Ibu Novi and music/songs, to the general public and environmental activists.

Natural degradation due to human exploitation such as degradation, deforestation, illegal logging, and land conversion into housing or agricultural land are some of the main factors that have caused the decline in forest area around the world. To overcome this, a real approach is needed to increase and foster awareness of the sustainability of forest ecosystems that humans must always protect. One approach with potential solutions is through the concept of Green Ecotourism or ecotourism. This sustainable solution offers an effective platform for education and counseling to the community about the importance of protecting forest ecosystems.

The output of the Community Service activities that have been carried out by Dr. Novi Siti Kussuji Indrastuti, M.Hum., are open to the public and can be accessed through the following link:

Policy Brief

• Policy Brief Raising Awareness of Oxygen Needs through Green Ecotourism Commitment (Case Study in Menoreh Dreamland, Kalilo, Kaligesing, Purworejo)

PKM Video

• Video of Green Ecotourism PKM Activities

Wednesday, May 8, 2024, Archaeology students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM conducted a field study activity with a visit to Istura Gedung Agung or known as the Presidential Palace of Yogyakarta. As a fulfillment of the mandatory Basic Conservation and Restoration course, this visit involved two batches of Archaeology students, Class of 2021 and Class of 2022, totaling more than 70 students who were guided by the Head of the UGM Archaeology Department, Dr. Mahirta, MA… The students each departed and arrived at the location at 08.30 WIB to gather and give directions by the mentors and instructors regarding matters that need to be considered during the visit.

The tour of the visiting group began with an introduction to the outside of the complex building around Istura Gedung Agung such as the guesthouse and the main building of Istura Gedung Agung along with a brief introduction to the three main rooms where the President welcomed guests. Next, the group of students was directed to the museum building, the Yogyakarta Presidential Palace Museum, to conduct an exclusive tour of the museum’s historical object collections with the art object management guide of the Yogyakarta Presidential Palace Museum, Theresa Sekar Wening, who is also an alumni of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Undergraduate Study Program.

While visiting the museum, the group was shown collections of art objects painted by famous artists such as expressionism or abstract paintings by painter Affandi Koesoema as well as a number of ceramic pottery artifacts, necklaces, and others. Not only seeing paintings and historical artifacts, the students also analyzed the conservation methods and techniques of historical objects according to the objectives of the courses studied. Through interactive museum visits, students are expected to gain knowledge that can be practiced when managing historical and archaeological objects as part of museum management.