The Japan Foundation is a non-profit institution owned by the Japanese government which is specifically dedicated to international cultural exchange activities. This institution seeks to create various activities and provide facilities and information so that individuals can interact with each other with the aim of deepening mutual understanding between Japanese society and other countries through arts and cultural exchange activities, education and learning Japanese in abroad, and Japanese studies abroad, and also collect the material and then distribute it. Even though it is based in Tokyo, The Japan Foundation already has 24 branch offices spread throughout the world. One of them is in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Japan Foundation Jakarta is tasked with carrying out activities initiated by the head office, contributing to Japanese and Indonesian cultural exchange activities, supporting and collaborating with external organizations, conducting research, and providing information related to all cultural exchange activities carried out by The Japan Foundation.

In order to provide support and strengthen collaboration, the Japan Foundation (JF) Jakarta visited the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program, Gadjah Mada University on Friday 26th of January 2024 at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The visit from the Japan Foundation (JF) Jakarta was represented by Deputy Mr. Yamazaki Takaya and Mrs. Kadoi Minako from the division of Japan Language Education. On this occasion, a meeting was held to discuss the cooperation that has existed for approximately 35 years since the establishment of the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Science, Gadjah Mada University in 1989. Apart from that, there were several important things that were also discussed, including making plans regarding future cooperation, discussing the development of Japanese science and the challenges faced in the current and future eras. It is hoped that this meeting will have a positive impact on the cooperative relationship between the two organizations in the future. In this way, the goals of both the Japan Foundation (JF) and the Japanese Language and Culture Study Program, especially in the field of education, can be carried out well.

On January 25th 2024 at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, a Faculty Working Meeting was held. The meeting discussed strategies for achieving Performance Achievement Targets, while the location of the meeting was in rooms 707 and 709 on the 7th floor of the Soegondo building. Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, S.Sos., M.Si., directly chaired the meeting which was attended by all lecturers at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences for approximately 4 hours starting from 9.00 am. The meeting was held in a hybrid manner and was attended by a total of 154 lecturers as meeting participants.

The Performance Achievement Target itself contains many things regarding the performance of each faculty’s resources, some of which are about things that the faculty has, the growth that is occurring, and what needs to be improved. Strengthening partnership cooperation in tridharma activities involving lecturers and students, developing an integrated innovation ecosystem, as well as increasing recognition of the excellence of study programs at national and international levels were also important points in the meeting. There are 30 indicators mandated directly by universities to faculties. Furthermore, the mandate giver who is the Chancellor of Gadjah Mada University, Prof. Dr. Ova Emilia, M.Med.Ed., Sp.OG(K), Ph.D., through the Planning Directorate will monitor and evaluate the achievement of performance indicator targets periodically/every quarter.

The Faculty of Cultural Sciences has many talented young students whose potential has been recognized by many people, one of them is Alya Ranti Azzahra. The student who is often called Alya, has succeeded in publishing 4 printed books which have been distributed on Gramedia, one of them has been filmed in cinemas & the other one has also been serialized on Genflix. This young woman from West Java is currently studying at the Indonesian Language and Literature department, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. At just 22 years old, she has already achieved many achievements. She admitted that she had loved reading and writing since childhood. She often took part in competitions and won. That is what then motivated her to take her writing talent more seriously.

In 2018, the rise ofphenomenon made Alya interested in writing and publishing work on that platform. Her first work, entitled The Other Side, has so far been read 23 million times. Since then, her works began to be recognized by readers and she began to write consistently. In 2020, the novel entitled The Other Side was published by Pastel Books, PT Mizan Pustaka. The novel was then filmed nationally in Indonesian cinemas by PT. Lingkar Karya Pratama and broadcast on March 17th 2022. In addition, her work entitled Broken Memories was broadcast on Genflix and succeeded in occupying the second highest position in the most watched series.

Alya admits that she feels happy when writing. According to her, she can express whatever is in her head without having to communicate it directly. “Because my mind is quite full and I like to imagine many things, I feel that writing is a ‘container’ for me. On the other hand, I think writing is like sharing feelings with other people. I can also create a new world. Also, I can express myself through the characters I create in the story.” She said on January 25th 2024 when she was asked about the reason why she liked writing so much. Furthermore, she also shared several tips for writing and producing work, such as:

• Always write from heart! It sounds classic, but anything written from the heart will definitely reach other hearts. Write sincerely and position yourself as if you are the character you are writing about.
• Consistent! Consistency in writing stories is really necessary. Especially as a digital writer. Readers are more likely to read our writing when we consistently write stories.
• Want to learn. You can start by learning about writing from writing books, writing seminars, and writers who have written before to find out writing tips. Apart from that, you also want to learn to develop yourself. Because now social media is developing very quickly.
• Read lots of books! To become a writer, of course you have to read a lot of books to find inspiration and increase your vocabulary.
• Be open to all suggestions and criticism, often chat with lots of people, be more sensitive to the environment around us because many new and brilliant ideas come from it.

In closing, Alya gives advice to the prospective writers that when we decide to become writers, we give our whole body and soul to the writing. We have to really like the world of writing. Write a story honestly and from the heart. Always be open to suggestions and criticism, often chat with people, & never stop learning. Just have fun writing, but don’t forget to come from the heart! She hopes that her journey to achieve success can motivate and provide valuable lessons for many people.

Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, M.Si approved the collaboration program proposed by Ma’arif Nahdlatul Ulama University Kebumen on July 17, 2023. This program is a collaborative seminar activity with the theme “Cross Cultural Understanding” which involves students of the Indonesian Language and Cultural Learning Service (INCULS) FIB, UGM, and the English Language Education Undergraduate Study Program, FKIP, UMNU Kebumen. This program is intended as a resource assignment for lecturers/teachers who are native speakers of English for enrichment lecture activities. This collaboration is carried out by proposing, organizing, and evaluating collaborative activity programs; which are scheduled for four years.

This program began to be realized on December 23 2023 by holding a Sharing Culture Talkshow event which was held at UMNU University Kebumen. In this event, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences sent several INCULS UGM students, including Sundas Ejaz from Pakistan, Nor Najinah Saad from Thailand, Sabrina Joy S. Tan from the Philippines, Mbemba Badjie from Gambia, and Ahmed Abdallah Faouzi Attia from Algeria. They are students studying culture at INCULS UGM and were accompanied in this series of events by Dr. Rudi Ekasiswanto, M. Hum. as Deputy Coordinator of INCULS UGM and Muhamad Zamchasari, S.S. as INCULS UGM teaching staff.

This event began with a Wayang Golek performance which told the multicultural history of Kebumen and continued with various Kebumen regional cultural performances including Kuda Lumping, Lawet Dance, and Pencak Silat Pagar Nusa by the students. Apart from that, traditional Kebumen culinary delights were also served to all participants. The next session was a talk show and presentation of the culture of each country by native speakers presented through INCULS FIB UGM.

This activity will become an annual program for students taking the Cross Cultural Understanding course organized by UMNU Kebumen together with the UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences as their final project (UMNU Kebumen). This program aims to implement the Tri Dharma of Higher Education by developing collaborative activities that are mutually beneficial.

To deepen the study of Southeast Asia and deepen academic cooperation with Indonesia, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences held a special visit to the NCCU College of Foreign Language and Literature on December 15, 2023 (Friday). The delegation on this visiting team was Prof. Setiadi, M. Si., dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Dr. Nur Saktiningrum, SS, M. Hum, dean of academic and student affairs, and Drs. Muhadi Sugiono, M.A., a representative from the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies.

First of all, the Dean of NCCU College of Foreign Language and Literature, Zheng Jiayu, gave the opening speech. He thanked the group of guests from Indonesia who had come to visit. Next, the conversation was continued by Vice President Zhao Jingqi who gave a brief explanation about the NCCU College of Foreign Language and Literature. After that, we continued with Assistant Professor Cheng Ji Shiwei and Assistant Professor Bao Qiyun from the Bachelor of Southeast Asian Languages and Cultures who each introduced plans regarding Indonesian language courses and academic activities.

In the next material presentation session, Prof. Setiadi, M. Si., gave a presentation on the internationalization of Indonesian. Then Dr. Nur Saktiningrum, SS, M.Hum explained the academic environment of Gadjah Mada University by explaining the INCULS program owned by FIB UGM. The presentation from the FIB UGM team was closed by Drs. Muhadi Sugiono, M.A. explained that ASEAN Identity consists of politics and security, economics, society, and culture. The community supports Southeast Asia’s plan to build a community of “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” in the future.

Finally, Dean Zheng Jiayu and Prof. Dr. Setiadi, M. Si signed a cooperation agreement between the two institutions and exchanged copies. The agreement aims to increase academic cooperation between the two parties, including student exchanges, double degrees, consistent five-year bachelor/master plans, exchange of teachers and researchers, cooperation in organizing lectures, seminars, workshops, etc. .,. With the signing of this MOU, it is hoped that it can further enhance cooperation and exchanges between schools, enrich teaching and research material resources in Southeast Asia, provide more international exchange channels for teachers and students, and foster international professional relations.

At the same time, Zhao Jingqi, deputy dean and program director, signed an academic cooperation plan agreement between the program and the Southeast Asian Social Research Center with Drs. Muhadi Sugiono, MA, to promote cooperation in teaching and research between the two parties, such as summer course programs, internships, cooperative research, and publishing, etc.

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