Yogyakarta, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 – The Arabic Literature Study Program of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) together with Dompet Dhuafa Yogyakarta held a talk show themed The Struggle of Palestinian Women and Children Amid the Israeli Onslaught. The event was held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 709 Soegondo Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

The event was attended by more than 100 participants consisting of students, lecturers, and a team from Dompet Dhuafa. The activity began with the opening, singing the national anthem Indonesia Raya and Gadjah Mada hymn, remarks from Dr. Zulfa Purnamawati, S.S., M.Hum. as Head of the Arabic Literature Department of UGM, remarks from Imam Hidayat, S.Pd.i, M.Pd. as a representative of Dompet Dhuafa, presentation of material guided by the moderator, question and answer session, closing, and ended with donations for the Palestinian people.

The main speaker of the event was Miss Fatma Alghusain, Executive Director of Amna Carefund. Miss Fatma is a female activist in Palestine who works to help the Palestinian people, especially women and children who are victims. In this event, Miss Fatma shared the spirit of struggle and resistance of the Palestinian people amidst the Israeli onslaught.

The current situation in Palestine is getting worse, especially after the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza and Rafah. Palestinians face difficulties in accessing health services as well as damaged infrastructure and lack of shelter due to the blockade and genocide carried out by Israel. In addition, they also lack proper food, water and clothing supplies. This is very much felt by Palestinians, especially pregnant women and children.

Thus, this event is expected to make a valuable contribution in strengthening solidarity and awareness of the urgency of the struggle for human rights, especially in conflict-affected areas such as Palestine.

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Education for sustainability | SDGs 4: Equal access | SDGs 4: Cultural diversity | SDG 5: Gender equality | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions | SDGs 16: Education | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Capacity building

Special Lecture and Workshop on “Gender and Sexuality in Indonesia,” a collaboration between the Department of Behavioral Sciences, College of Arts And Sciences, University of Michigan-Flint, USA, and the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, was held on May 8, 2024. That special lecture and workshop were part of a series of activities in the full summer short course, which will be held fromMay 8, 2024, until May 10, 2024. The theme of this event, “Gender and Sexuality in Indonesia,” was a short course that provides an opportunity to learn from local experts about these topics at Universitas Gadjah Mada, combined with a series of field visits. 

The aim of this short course is to help participants better understand the complexity and diversity of gender and sexuality aspects that intersect with Indonesian society as a whole. This is also an opportunity for students, both from the United States and Indonesia, to gain international perspectives and experiences. This short course is attended by 16 students from the University of Michigan-Flint, USA, under the guidance of Dr. Daniel Birchok. A series of activities has been planned since the beginning of this year, with 8 student committees from the Anthropology Department of Universitas Gadjah Mada under the guidance of Dr. Sita Hidayah and the Department of Anthropology of Universitas Gadjah Mada, led by Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi.

The event began by listening to the opening speech by Dr. Daniel Birchok. Dr. Birchok is an anthropologist of religion interested in religion and public life, especially Islam in Indonesia. His research focuses on everyday engagements with religious concepts, and he is especially interested in genealogical authority, religious temporalities, and ritual. He is writing about a group of Sufis (Islamic mystics) who reside on the west coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province, with special attention to how their changing forms of genealogical authority and evolving notions of orthodoxy reflect the place of religion in the Indonesian state. Next was the opening speech from (Dean/Vice Dean/Head of the Anthropology Department/Representative. 

Before they proceed with next agenda, there were some information regarding the activities of that short course. fisrt, they were conducted a special lecture and workshop featuring 3 remarkable speakers who are lecturers at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Next, there will be a special session conducted by Samsara. Following that, specifically for the 16 students from the University of Michigan-Flint, the committee, and accompanying lecturers, there will be a field trip to Aisyiyah. After that, our activities will continue with field trips to Sanggar Tari Didik Nini Thowok and Pondok Pesantren Waria Al-Fatah. On the final day, the day after tomorrow, activities will proceed with a field trip to Yashanti at Pasar Bringharjo and Rifka Annisa. 

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Cultural diversity | SDGs 4: Enrolment | SDGs 4: Equal access | SDG 10: Reduced inequality | SDGs 10: Culture | SDGs 10: Education | SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities | SDGs 11: Adaptable | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions | SDGs 16: Accountable institutions | SDGs 16: Education

The month of Ramadan has passed. Visits from outside the region to the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Mada are busy again. This time, on April 29, 2024 at 9 am, the faculty was visited by younger siblings who came all the way from Aceh, namely the modern boarding school MA Teuku Chiek Oemar Diyan. Wearing polite and closed clothes typical of the city of Mecca portico in green and combined with black suits and caps for men, 104 students and 6 accompanying teachers entered the auditorium in an orderly and enthusiastic manner while taking pictures and recording videos. The MC opened and warmly welcomed their arrival, followed by remarks from school representatives. “From the tip of Aceh, the first time to Java, many cultural differences are found so that we have to adapt a lot. Therefore, please apologize if there are mistakes made by our students,” said one of the accompanying teachers who gave a speech.

Next, they watched video screenings and quizzes. This session not only practiced concentration, but also increased knowledge about Universitas Gadjah Mada and the Faculty of Cultural Sciences in particular. To add more insight to the students, an additional session was provided, namely a sharing session of Prof. Irwan’s journey from Aceh to become a professor at UGM. He gave motivation that villagers can go international if they go to UGM. FIB also does not see where we are from because everyone is diverse, “Acehnese nutrition is still good because they eat fish, which is lacking in business, so let’s try and Insha Allah we will meet again here,” he said. Mas Yusuf, who is the staff of the academic and student affairs department, also conveyed some more specific things about academics, and introduced the web which has complete information. The students’ enthusiasm was even more apparent during the questioning session. The event was closed with a very entertaining performance from the students.

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Education for sustainability | SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth | SDGs 8: Decent work for all | SDGs 9: Affordable access | SDG 10: Reduced inequalities | SDGs 10: Education | SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities | SDGs 11: Adaptable | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions | SDGs 16: Accountable institutions

The happy graduates and their parents were present at the Raden Soegondo Building Auditorium, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM / to take part in the Mangayubagya Graduate Program Graduate Program Third period Academic Year 2023/2024 on April 24, 2024. As usual before starting the event, do not forget the Master of Ceremony, which at that time was entrusted to Vivin and Diyah, conveyed some information for safety and smoothness during the event. The audience was then asked to stand while the Dean, Deputy Dean, Head of Department, and Head of Postgraduate Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada entered the ceremony room. After all attendees were in the room, the MC welcomed everyone. 

The event began with several speeches. The first speech, from the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, will be represented by the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Nur Saktiningrum, M.Hum. The second speech will be delivered by the Deputy Graduate of the Middle East Cultural Studies Master Program, Br. Rafika Fidlaty Zulfa, M.A. The event continued with the presentation of Beksan Nirbaya Dance performed by FIB UGM students who are members of the Sastro Obah student activity unit. Beksan Nirbaya or Edan-edanan dance is one of dozens of dances in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The dance is named “Edan-edanan Nirbaya Dance”. “Nir” which means reject, “Baya” which means danger so that this dance is interpreted as a dance that rejects danger, especially during the wedding procession or other major events. With four dancers and pairs, this dance was created not only as a ritual to repel bad luck, but also as entertainment.

The next event was the submission of graduation documents consisting of English diplomas and transcripts. The graduation documents were submitted by each Head of Study Program to the graduates. The graduates came forward in an orderly manner to receive the graduation documents followed by a group photo. Before closing, the event was paused for a moment to pray for protection and safety for us and goodness for the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The joint prayer was led by Br. Cahya Daru, M.A. Finally, the Dean, Deputy Deans, Heads of Departments, and Heads of Postgraduate Study Programs, Faculty of Sciences followed by graduates and parents / guardians were allowed to leave the ceremony room. The organizing committee would like to thank you for your presence in this mangayubagya event.

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Education in developing | SDGs 4: Education | SDGs 4: Access to education | SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth | SDGs 8: Creativity and innovation | SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure | SDGs 9: Affordable access | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions | SDGs 16: Accountable institutions | SDGs 16: Education | SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals | SDGs 17: Capacity building | SDGs 17: Fostering innovation

Just as additional information about the position of the Anthropology department of FIB UGM, in the middle of a collection of anthropology departments in the world, is now at level 51-100 (top 100). The question is: approximately whether the UGM Anthropology department is at the same level as anthropology departments at other universities? The answer is very surprising. UGM Department of Anthropology is on the same level as Anthropology departments at the following universities: Monash University (Australia), John Hopkins University, Northwestern University (USA), Radboud University in Nijmegen (Netherlands), City University of New York (CUNY) where Eric Wolf is a famous anthropology figure; a famous Anthropology figure, University of California San Diego, University of North Carolina (where James Peacock, who researched Muhammadiyah in Yogya), Oslo University, Bergen University (where Fredrik Barth a famous Norwegian anthropologist), University of Illinois (where Edward Bruner, who researched Batak people, and many more anthropology departments in other famous universities. Congratulations to our Anthropology friends!

Dean of Faculty of Arts UGM, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, said the achievement of Anthropology UGM was certainly very proud considering it is very rare for study programs in Indonesia to enter the top 100 in the world. “For Faculty of Cultural Sciences, this achievement becomes a trigger as well as learning so that other study programs can enter the same category,” Setiadi told reporters on Saturday (13/4). He acknowledged the success of Anthropology Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM in being ranked 51 QS World University Rankings (WUR) by Subject for 2024 is inseparable from the excellence of academic assessment, publications, number of citations, impact to the quality of graduates produced. According to him, the support provided by FIB UGM in the availability of research funds, opening up opportunities for cooperation, and facilitating the development of human resources for further studies greatly supports this study program to be more advanced and international. “Moreover, we at FIB already have a policy to determine lecturers who must graduate from doctoral degree and recruitment of new lecturers must also have doctoral degrees,” he said.