Cairo, Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – Muhammad Raushan Afkar, a student of Arabic Literature UGM, successfully completed the 3-month Cairo Credit Transfer Program. Along with 11 colleagues from Universitas Sebelas Maret, Universitas Padjajaran, and Universitas Al-Azhar Indonesia, Afkar joined the study program at the International Center for Arab Studies and Training and Faculty of Letters, Benha University, Egypt. The experience of studying in the land of camels gave him valuable knowledge about the Arabic language and culture which became an important foundation in the development of his studies.

During the program, they were not only taught practical proficiency in Arabic, but were also exposed to the rich culture and history of Arab countries. Students are given in-depth knowledge of the history of Arab civilization and Muslims, as well as the role and contribution of Islamic leaders in creating history.

In every meeting, lecturers actively involve students in listening, analyzing texts, question and answer discussions, and communicating exclusively in Arabic. Students are even encouraged to communicate only in Arabic and will be penalized with a monetary fine if they violate the rules. The money collected is then donated to help the poor people of Egypt. This shows the spirit of solidarity and social responsibility in an academic environment.

In addition, lecturers also enrich the learning experience by bringing typical Egyptian items into the classroom, such as food and cultural artifacts. Thus, students not only gain a comprehensive knowledge of Arabic language and culture, but also acquire a unique and memorable learning experience amidst the richness of Egyptian culture.

At the end of the program, students are given the opportunity to express the knowledge and skills they gained during their journey from Indonesia to Egypt and while living in Egypt through the creation of an Arabic drama with the theme “Journey from Indonesia to Egypt”. Through this drama, students not only show their official Arabic language skills, but also slip some local languages owned by Egypt when interacting and socializing with native Egyptians.

After this program, students are expected to apply what they have learned in Egypt to student life at UGM. They are encouraged to integrate their experiences into their daily activities, both in the use of Arabic language and in the promotion of Arabic culture in the campus environment. Thus, their learning experience does not only stop in Egypt, but also becomes a strong foundation to develop themselves in the future.

On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Archaeology students of Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM participated in an online workshop titled, “Borobudur World Heritage Site in Cultural Landscape Portrait” held by UNESCO Jakarta. This online workshop invited students from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Tidar University, and Atma Jaya University. This activity aims to enable students to learn more about the impact and influence of Borobudur Temple on the cultural landscape in the area around Borobudur Temple, both tangible and intangible in the scope of culture.

The digital workshop began with a speech by Ms. Moe Chiba, Head of the Culture Unit, UNESCO Jakarta. Followed by presentation sessions by Heri Setiawan from the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education Indonesia, Cultural Heritage Museum, Panji Kusumah from the Eksotika Desa community, hosted by Hairus Salim, Anthropologist from Universitas Gadjah Mada. An introduction to the impact and influence of Borobudur Temple on the cultural landscape was reflected on the history and efforts made. The preservation of Borobudur Temple as a cultural heritage, whether for local, national, or international communities through the designation of world heritage by UNESCO No. 592 in 1991.

The uniqueness of Borobudur Temple in its designation as a world heritage site by UNESCO is in the criteria that have been achieved. Generally, a cultural heritage site is designated as world heritage by fulfilling one of the ten cultural criteria, but Borobudur Temple fulfills three criteria (criteria 1, criteria 2, and criteria 6). The criteria achieved build Borobudur world heritage in a historical narrative that represents the brilliance of the creativity of the Borobudur community in its history of building the temple along with the cultural traditions of local values that are still inherent. This uniqueness is also supported by the existence of rural areas around the temple area which also provides unique characteristics of Borobudur Temple.

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Starting from a Familiarity Night activity for postgraduate students in literature class 23, even period, on Sunday 3rd of March 2024 in Kalimasada, there was another event that they had without planning. Their agenda that morning was having breakfast. Coincidentally, there was a place to order food near the villa where they were staying. When they got there, who would have thought that this place was the house of Mr. Sardi or who is familiarly called Sardi Beib. So after eating at his house, they were shown works of art that Mr. Sardi had made from used goods. They saw various kinds of works, from statues, masks, night lamps, to the famous crystal wayang.

Pak Sardi also said that all of his work is processed from used items that are no longer used. In other words, he turns rubbish into something beautiful and valuable. This is so because he had marketed his work abroad at fantastic prices. He also often organizes cultural arts activities which are then covered by local, national and foreign media. According to Sabrian, one of the students who had the opportunity to visit at that time, the visit was very inspiring, because in addition to introducing wayang, Mr Sardi also shared his experiences while working in the world of arts and culture. This further motivated him to continue learning about arts and culture, as a literature student.