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The highlight of the activitiy series celebrating the 78th Anniversary of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University, was successfully held with great fanfare on Saturday 2nd March 2024 in the faculty yard. This event has a unique name, namely GADIES, which is an abbreviation for Gebyar Acara Dies. The attendees consisting of lecturers, staff and their families, began to come to the event from around 6.30 am and filled in the guest book which would then be used as a door prize draw. Before announcing the door prizes, the first event started with a healthy walk along the route: Faculty of Cultural Sciences – Campus Mosque – Faculty of Psychology – Faculty of Law – Rectorate Building – then back to the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The faculty provides invited guests with a variety of food and drinks ranging from satay, meatballs, pecel rice, fruit ice, tea, and various kinds of boiled food. Eating food without a performance seems incomplete, that’s when Sastro Obah’s appearance makes the atmosphere more interesting.

The event was officially opened with speechfrom the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, S.Sos., M.Si.,. Not only did he open the event, but also he launched the superior programs of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, such as PERPUSTRA (Perpustakaan Sastra), POSBINDU, EOFIICE, and DIGLIB. The event became even more lively with further performances from other various cool performers, namely poetry readings by students of Indonesian Literature, Karawitan Dharma Wanita, Prasasti, Rampoe, and Korean Fan Dance. A door prize draw was announced between performances. The prizes prepared varied from the smallest, such as plates, to the largest, such as bicycles. At the same time, children from lecturers and staff from grades 1 to 6 of elementary school competed in a coloring and drawing competition held in the hallway of the Soegondo building.

Beside the free food booths that the committee had provided for invited guests, there were also other booths that enliven the event such as exhibition booths for study programs, sponsors, junk food, accessories, health tests by POSBINDU, books by PERPUSTRA, and even a 360 degrees photo booth which became the favorite among guests, especially women. When the sun was starting to sting, it indicated that it was starting to be noon and that meant that GADIES had reached the end of the event. At that time, the winners of the badminton, cleanliness and coloring/drawing competitions were announced. The event then closed with a music group entertainment performance with singers chosen at random or who volunteered to come on stage to show their singing talents.

n commemoration of the 74th Anniversary of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), UGM held various events and activities. One of the events was a wayang kulit performance titled “Banjaran Dwijawara”. The performance was a cross-style collaboration, combining the Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Banyumasan, and East Javanese styles in one wayang performance. The event was held on Saturday (16/12/2023) at Grha Sabha Pramana.

The story “Banjaran Dwijawara” is a compilation of the biographies of Rama Bargawa, Resi Dorna, and Arjuna. These three characters are faced with various complex problems. Rama Bargawa faces the oligarchs who act arbitrarily, Resi Dorna faces the issue of inclusivity, while Arjuna is in an era of gender equality.

In the implementation, students from the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program participated in enlivening and making the wayang performance a success. Their participation was manifested in their roles as the crew, the performers as musicians and singers who are members of the Keluarga Kesenian Mahasiswa Universitas Gadjah Mada, and Muhammad Siswoyo, a 2022 student, who became the dalang (puppeteer) of the East Javanese wayang kulit performance.

The story “Banjaran Dwijawara” is not only a form of entertainment, but also a means of learning through moral messages about how to behave and make decisions when facing a problem. In addition, this wayang kulit performance also serves as a medium to introduce and preserve wayang kulit art and its various styles, which are a form of cultural wealth in Indonesia. The introduction and preservation of Indonesian culture through this wayang performance is in line with point four of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely Quality Education.