‘Solidarity Indonesia for Palestine’ aims to provide up-to-date information on the situation in Gaza and Palestine in general, highlight the effects of war on women and children, and implement and expand cooperation with partners, such as Dompet Duafa DIY and Amna Care Fund. This activity was held on Thursday, 28 March 2024, at Musholla An-Najah, Sleman, Yogyakarta. The Executive Director of Amna Care Fund delivered the material in Arabic so a translator companion was needed, Dr Mahmudah, M.Hum.

The activities also included fundraising conducted conventionally and through transfers or QRIS, with the total funds collected reaching almost 5,000,000.00. The funds will be channelled to the Amna Care Fund through Dompet Duafa DIY to support the dispatch of medical teams to Gaza, especially for the treatment of women and children with permanent disabilities. The event was closed with a group photo session.

The Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University really cares about preparing its graduates to face post-college life.  Prospective graduates have completed various kinds of upheavals during their college years. However, the real upheaval of life will come after they graduate. They will enter a new phase in life filled with greater challenges. Considering that the reality of life often does not match expectations, new graduates need to prepare themselves carefully and plan what steps they will take after graduating from college. For this purpose, Cultural Sciences designed a training program for prospective graduates and female graduates, with the aim of improving their personal qualities.

Rati Krisnawan is a successful entrepreneur who graduated from the Cultural Anthropology study program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM. Since becoming a student, Rati has made various achievements. Rati also received an award as the youngest and fastest cum laude graduate. Rati received various other awards, including: Inspirational Entrepreneur Woman of 2022; Award for Inspirational, Innovative, Visionary and Changemaker Women by WOMAN Magazine in 2023; . UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences alumni award in 2023. Currently, Rati is developing various businesses in the field of Event Organizer and FnB. In her presentation, Rati shared valuable knowledge about how she started conservation. Rati told her fellow graduate candidates to explore deeper values ​​within themselves and never stop exploring their own abilities.

Yogyakarta, August 26, 2024 – Faculty of Cultural Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM) held a meeting with the Linguistics Master Program of Nusa Cendana University (Undana) on Monday, August 26, 2024. The meeting took place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Conference Room 1, Poerbatjarakan Building 1st Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

This event aims to provide input to the Undana Linguistics Master Program regarding strategies and best practices in building and managing a quality Linguistics Master Program. Present at this meeting were representatives from FIB UGM consisting of: Dr. Nur Saktingrum, M.Hum., Dr. Suhandano, M.A., Dr. Sailal Arimi, M.Hum., Dr. Sajarwa, M.Hum., and Dr. Ramayda Akmal, M.A. Meanwhile, from Undana, there were also representatives who came all the way from Kupang, NTT: Dr. Sebastianus Fernandez, M.Pd., Dr. Jermy Balukh.

In this meeting, the representatives of FIB UGM shared their experiences and insights on how to develop an excellent Master of Linguistics program, including tips and tricks to attract more enthusiasts. The discussion covered various aspects such as curriculum development, innovative teaching methods, and effective promotion strategies.

The meeting is expected to provide valuable guidance and strengthen cooperation between the two institutions for the development of linguistics education in Indonesia. Thank you to all participants for attending and contributing to this constructive discussion.

Opening the new academic year, on August 14, 2024 the UGM Anthropology Department, The Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies, and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies held an Anthropology of Religion Seminar entitled “Islam, Ambiguity, and (In)Tolerance: Perspectives from Southeast Asia” which was held at the Auditorium of Soegondo building, Faculty of Arts UGM. On this occasion, Professor Ismail Fajrie Alatas and Dr. Martin Slama as speakers presented their work-in-progress.

The seminar was opened by Professor Ismail Fajrie Alatas by reviewing the thoughts of previous scholars such as Ernest Gellner who reemphasized the distinctiveness of anthropological studies of religion in understanding Islam as a system of social institutions and that orthodoxy contains power relations that manifest certain opinions. Meanwhile, his colleague, Dr. Martin Slama in this presentation highlighted more about the views of Southeast Asian communities regarding the concept of tolerance and intolerance in Islam towards the concept of ambiguity, drawing on the thoughts of Shahab Ahmed and Thomas Bauer, both arguing that Islam’s inability to respond to ambiguity is now an implication of modernity so that Islam becomes more intolerant and seems rigid like an ideology.

Enriching the discourse of religious studies and anthropology of religion in a more specific research locus is very important for the development of contemporary studies and insights for the wider community, as Dr. Sita Hidayah in her commentary mentioned that this research provides broader insights because it shifts the focus of Islamic studies towards Southeast Asia. Through various seminars, workshops, and discussions like this, the Anthropology Department is committed to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals including SDGs 4 quality education and SDGs 17 partnerships to achieve common goals.

Author: Novilatul Ananda Ramadhani

Photo: Puspita Nindya Sari

Editor: Admin of FIB Public Relations

On Thursday, June 14, 2024, a Sharing Session entitled “Developing Potential, Strategizing: Success with KBTT Study Program at Faculty of Arts UGM” was held online through the Zoom platform. This event aims to socialize the KBTT Study Program (Middle East Language and Culture Studies) to Indonesian students in Arab countries, as well as to establish cooperation between IMABTA, the KBTT student organization, and PPIDK (Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia Dunia Kawasan) Middle East and Africa.

This activity is part of the effort to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in terms of Quality Education and Partnerships to Achieve Goals. Through this session, it is hoped that undergraduate students from the Middle East and Africa will gain insight into alternative further study options and strengthen their analytical skills related to Arab world topics. This is important as they are already accustomed to using Arabic and living in these countries, which allows them to access data more easily.

The event began with an opening by the host, followed by remarks from the Head of Department. The core session consisted of the delivery of material delivered in PowerPoint presentation format for about 100 minutes, including 45 minutes of material and a question and answer session. After the delivery of the material, the activity continued with a photo session and closing.

This Sharing Session involved the PPIDK Middle East and Africa community and IMABTA members. In addition to the delivery of material, this event also includes various supporting activities such as discussions, soft promotion, book review, signing of cooperation, and scientific writing competitions. Through this collaboration, it is expected to strengthen global alliances and provide better learning opportunities for the students involved.