On Monday 13th of May 2024, the English Literature Program held an alumni talk with Drs. M. Wahid Supriyadi at Soegondo Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. Drs. M. Wahid Supriyadi had worked as the Indonesian Ambassador to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus since 2016. The year of 2020 was the year of retirement for Drs. M. Wahid Supriyadi as an Indonesian ambassador.

The Career Talk was attended by all students of the UGM English Literature Program batch 2021, 2022, and 2023. The event was opened by the host Aimar Prabhaswara Dzakri, the President of the English Literature Department Student Association (IMAJI) 2023. The event continued with a warm welcome by the Head of the English Literature Program, Dr. Adi Sutrisno, M.A.

This event aims to enhance students’ understanding of careers in politics and diplomacy. The importance of knowing contemporary issues regarding relations between countries is to create an educated society, strengthen universal solidarity, and be aware of the latest global news. In essence, individuals are part of a large group of people in the world. An individual has a role and contribution to the development and peace of the world.

Story after story was told by Pak Wahid to the students. The story starts from his career journey to the tips given by Pak Wahid to students who want to pursue their career path in diplomacy. He shared tips by saying to broaden the understanding of global issues through reading a lot of the latest news, both those happening in Indonesia and those happening in a worldwide scale.

During the question and answer session, Pak Wahid said that not only students of international relations-related study programs have the opportunity to work in foreign institutions/ministries. He said that anyone can pursue a career as a diplomat, both men and women. He also advised the students to avidly read various books and make reading books a hobby. It is no secret that books can help improve critical thinking, one of the elements needed by students and it is essential in the professional world.

The event ended with the awarding of a book written by Mr. Wahid to one of the student participants who actively asked questions during the activity. The title of the book is Diplomasi Ringan dan Lucu Kisah Nyata. After the awarding session, Pak Wahid and the students took selfies together and had a group photo session.

The evaluation and preparation of the BPK Region X Technical POS was held on April 23-26, 2024 at the Solia Zigna Hotel, Surakarta. This activity is part of the 2024 work program of BPK Region X, which in the previous year had compiled POS Technical Activities for several types of main tasks and functions of the working groups within BPK Region X. Participants who attended were all staff from the BPK Region X office from each working group. The activity began with a presentation from a resource person related to the main task of the BPK (Cultural Preservation Center), namely the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Promotion Objects, especially the Protection aspect which includes Cultural Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Given that the Development and Utilization tasks are currently under the newly inaugurated MCB (Museum and Cultural Heritage) office. On this occasion, material was presented on aspects related to preservation activities in accordance with academic principles and rules according to the scientific field of archaeology. At the beginning of the presentation, the challenges of the field of archaeology in the future, especially those related to the preservation of cultural heritage, the parties who are stakeholders and have an interest in cultural heritage, were presented.

Changes in the scientific paradigm and also the condition of society also affect the scheme of involvement of stakeholders with an interest in cultural heritage. The development of research methods in the academic world needs to be conveyed to the participants in an effort to maintain the scientific spirit of each working group’s activities at the CPC. The presentation was closed with discussion and questions from the participants.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 11-12, 2024, the annual Sasana Debat Mahasiswa (SADEWA) 2024 debate competition organized by the Directorate of Student Affairs UGM through the Sasana Debat Mahasiswa (SADEWA) committee under the auspices of Gadjah Mada Debating Society UGM, was held again. The SADEWA 2024 debate competition was held at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, precisely at the Soegondo Building which lasted for two days. This debate competition consists of Indonesian and English debate competitions, aims as a selection for participation in the 2024 National University Debating Championship (NUDC) and the 2024 Indonesian Student Debate Competition at the National level, as well as increasing talent and critical thinking skills within the scope of Gadjah Mada University students.

The SADEWA 2024 debate competition uses the British Parliamentary (BP) system with one chamber or competition session consisting of four different teams (Government Opener, Opposition Opener, Government Member, Opposition Member) who debate each other within seven minutes and twenty seconds with random motions related to social issues, history, politics, family, and others. In this year’s SADEWA 2024 competition, eight teams from different faculties participated in the English debate competition, followed by twelve teams in the Indonesian debate competition. The activity was held from 08.00 WIB to 17.30 WIB, in two days of activities with the first day there was a special speech from Mugiyarto, S.IP., as Head of the Student Organization and Activities Section, Directorate of Student Affairs UGM.

The activity “Socialization of Archaeological Research Results in Kalumpang Sub-district, Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi” was the final part of delineation activities in preparation for the establishment of the location of ODCB findings into CB. This activity consisted of four presentation sessions and ended with a discussion session. Two presentation materials were the presentation of research results in Kalumpang, especially the latest findings, one material about the condition of Kalumpang’s natural environment and its potential as a “Geoheritage Park”, and one material from the aspect of protection of Suspected Cultural Heritage Objects. The material presented by Dr. Anggraeni, M.A., entitled “Minanga Sipakko (Sitokon) and Palemba Sites Evidence of Cultural Development in Karama Valley, Kalumpang District”. In the question and answer session at the end of the socialization, there were many questions and inputs from the participants. One of the traditional leaders suggested changing the name of the Minanga Sipakko Site to Sitokon Site which is better known by the local community, while another participant who is a teacher suggested that socialization activities could be carried out every year.

Considering that among the participants were teachers and junior high school students, after the socialization event was closed, Dr. Anggraeni, M.A. conducted an interview with one of the teachers and junior high school students to inform them about the book “Kalumpang Pottery Product Design Development Module Based on Archaeological Remains”. The book was prepared to provide an example to revive the enthusiasm of potters in Kalumpang District to produce. The skills still possessed by potters in Lebani Hamlet are threatened with extinction if there is no next generation. Therefore, teachers and students are encouraged to become agents of pottery product design development so that pottery-making skills can be preserved. In this case, the inspiration for the development of ornamental varieties comes from the remains of decorated pottery found in archaeological sites in the Kalumpang District area. The role of teachers and students from Kalumpang is to bridge and ensure that the modules and prototype examples of decorated pottery that have been prepared can really be useful and inspire an increase in the variety of pottery products.

This effort was taken considering that Kalumpang teachers and students are the ones who can continuously provide assistance. Meanwhile, researchers can only occasionally be present to assist and evaluate the results of pottery product development. Teachers and students are also expected to serve as intermediaries between producers and consumers. Without consumers, the productivity of potters would not be maintained and developed.

The waste emergency that occurred in Yogyakarta and its surrounding areas due to the closure of the Piyungan Landfill (TPA) which experienced excess capacity had a negative impact on environmental problems, including in Naga Asri Permai Housing, Kwarasan, Nogotirto, Gamping, Sleman. Garbage that is not transported for a long time creates an unpleasant odor that pollutes the environment and invites insects, especially flies, to come and breed. Some residents also take the initiative to burn garbage in residential areas so that the burning smoke pollutes the air which can endanger health.

This problem has been going on for a long time and is likely to continue considering that until now the local government has not been able to overcome this waste emergency problem. For this reason, it is necessary to think and act together at the lowest level, namely the community, to help overcome this problem. If so far the handling of waste has only focused on downstream in the form of final disposal, it is necessary to think about how to deal with it from upstream. together to tackle it from upstream, namely households as waste producers.

Households as the largest producers of waste need to be involved in efforts to control and manage the waste they produce. The movement to reduce or minimize waste production through waste sorting actions, the 3R Movement (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and others, at the household level. Socialization activities need to be encouraged to raise awareness that the waste problem is a shared responsibility starting from oneself, family, immediate environment to the surrounding environment. For this reason, Stedi Wardoyo, S.S., M.A., lecturer in Japanese Language and Culture initiated socialization activities and waste handling simulations as a first step to raise awareness of residents in the smallest environment, namely Dasa Wisma A Housing Naga Asri Permai, Gamping, Sleman, which totals 14 heads of families.

Activities in the form of lectures and counseling related to waste management in the household scope. On the occasion, there was also a demonstration of processing organic waste into compost and bio-enzymes by environmental and waste processing practitioner, Mrs. Neni Widuri Lestari from Guwosari Training Center (GWTC) Pajangan, Bantul.