Yogyakarta, 31/05/2025 – Another proud achievement came from mahadaya (students of Cultural Sciences). Nurcholish Ramadhan, a 2024 student from the Department of Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, successfully directed the production of a theater performance entitled Sat-Set. The show was performed by Teater Berdaya in Prabusena (Cultural, Art, and Islamic Appreciation Stage of PD IPM Bantul) 2025 on Saturday night, May 31, 2025 at 20.00 WIB, at the 1st Floor Hall of the Da’wah Building of PDM Bantul.

Sat-Set Theater tells the story of the love journey of Fikar, a 28-year-old man, the son of a panewu (sub-district head), who falls in love with Alya – the daughter of his late father’s best friend. An accidental meeting in the square is the beginning of Fikar’s love story. After some research, Fikar learns that Alya is the daughter of Paklik Pram, his father’s old friend. They stay close for a month, but Fikar never proposes. To provoke Fikar’s sincerity, Paklik Pram created the rumor that Alya would be married off. The plan worked. Although Fikar initially only expressed his feelings in front of Paklik and Bulik Pram, he finally received their blessing. Later, Fikar went to the park where he often visited with Alya. There they meet again after not seeing each other for several days. Finally, Fikar expresses his love and immediately asks Alya to marry him.

The uniqueness of Sat-Set theater lies in its source of inspiration. Nurcholish Ramadhan said that Sat-Set was inspired by Serat Riyanta, a Javanese literary work written by R. B. Soelardi in 1918. In an online interview conducted on June 12, 2025, Nurcholish explained that his interest in the fiber began with a course assignment. “After I read Serat Riyanta from beginning to end, I was interested and liked the story, so I had an idea to translate it into a performance,” he explained.

The production process of the performance was not free from challenges. Nurcholish mentioned that the limited duration required him to summarize the narrative of Serat Riyanta effectively, without losing the essence of the story. In addition, funding constraints were also an obstacle. Nevertheless, he was grateful that the performance could run optimally.

“Through this performance, I learned to go deeper into the work that was referred to when it was adapted into a theater script. Then, I feel happy to be able to accommodate the potential and talents of my fellow Muhammadiyah students in the arts,” he said.

Sat-Set Theater is a tangible form of nguri-uri ‘preserving’ and ngurip-urip ‘enlivening’ regional arts, literature, and culture. Past literary works hold a wealth of historical values, knowledge, moral and didactic teachings, and interesting stories to be revived. Through the excavation, preservation and utilization of these cultural treasures, the community not only benefits sustainably, but also builds a sense of pride in the nation’s noble identity. As Nurcholish said at the end of the interview. “A history and culture will always be preserved when there are people who want to nyinau (learn) and adum ilmu (share knowledge),” he concluded.

[Haryo Untoro]

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.

On Monday, 27 November 2023, the Tourism Study Programme of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada (Tourism Study Programme FIB UGM) received a guest visit from Management and Science University Malaysia (MSU). This visit is part of the University Visit activity which is held with the main purpose of conducting a comparative study between the Tourism Study Programmes of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM and MSU Malaysia.

The forum began with a warm welcome from Wiwik Sushartami, a representative of the UGM Tourism study programme, which was then followed by remarks from Nur Amirah, who represented MSU as a substitute for the dean. The first session of the schedule started with a brief presentation on the profile of Management and Science University (MSU). In this session, Mrs Nur Amirah gave a comprehensive overview of MSU (what is MSU, how is their remark in Malaysian education etc). Furthermore, the forum continued with art performances (dancing and singing) from MSU students. This art performance’s purpose entirely covers the richness of Malaysian culture.The next session from MSU was followed by an in-depth presentation on Malaysian culture delivered by their students.

After that, the Tourism Study Programme of FIB UGM introduced its study programme, including the profiles of several teaching staff who play a role in the formation of the next generation in the field of tourism. Interesting information was also delivered through presentations about Pancoh Tourism Village and Jogja Philosophical Axis by Tourism Study Programme students.

The QnA session was the highlight of the interaction between the students of Tourism Study Programme of FIB UGM and MSU. In this session, there were a lot of interesting questions asked by both Tourism study programme students and MSU students. Both sides showed great interest in each other’s culture. In closing, the University Visit ended with a group photo session and a short campus tour, giving a positive final impression and strengthening the relationship between educational institutions. This event not only opened up space for academic discussions but also enriched cross-cultural experiences for all participants.

Sleman (15/11/2023) – The Department of Archeology and the Archeology Student Association of Gadjah Mada University (HIMA) held a collaborative exhibition entitled Sagara Amarta in the series of the VI Archeology Festival with the theme of the Austronesian journey. The Sagara Amarta exhibition is located at the Soegondo Hall, 1st Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (FIB-UGM).

“At the Sagara Amarta exhibition stand at this year’s VI Archeology Festival, we from HIMA collaborated with several creative product business actors belonging to tourist villages around Borobudur Temple,” said HIMA Chair, Nurul Athifah, at Selamat Hall Soegondo, Wednesday 15 November 2023.

Nurul Athifah added that creative products belonging to tourist villages uphold local wisdom values. Apart from creative products from tourist villages around Borobudur Temple, creative products from UGM Archeology students were also displayed. The Sagara Amarta Exhibition also featured the UGM Majapahit Mandala. Apart from that, there are also culinary stands and photobooths.

“This event is free entry from 10 to 5 pm,” concluded Nurul Athifah.

Meanwhile, the collaborating parties were students’ creative product circles, one of whom was Mandira Brick, all of whom, Ahmad Zaki, said that the aim of participating in this exhibition was to introduce Mandira Brick products as student work. The Mandira Brick product itself is in the form of dismantling miniature temples like Lego, but using the interlock system in the temple.

“Mandira Brick has a mission to educate and introduce the preservation of cultural heritage, architectural art and temple construction techniques in Indonesia,” stressed Zaki.

Archaeological Festival VI: Sagara Amarta Exhibition on 15-17 November 2023 at the 1st Floor of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (FIB-UGM) held in collaboration with the Department of Archeology and the Archeology Student Association of Gadjah Mada University (HIMA) in collaboration with Borobudur Village Exotica , Pasek, Kahitz, Mandira Brick, Botak Shoes Cleaner (BSC), and Cuci Motor Mas Boy, sponsored by RH Dental Clinic (RDH), Jogja Agrapana Water Filter, and Sekar Tanjung Dance Studio.

Credit by Aditya Revianur, S.Hum., M.Hum.