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: Basic literacy skills | SDGs 8: Creativity and innovation | SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Fostering innovation

Sunday, May 5, 2024 was the last day of a series of Pasar Jembar events held at Jogja Nation Museum Bloc. The event offered many diverse UMKM stands that you could try on the spot or take home. Everything from traditional cuisine to antiques were sold there. Aside from selling local brands, the event also provided an open stage for entertainment where local communities could take part. One of the communities that enlivened the stage was the Gadjah Mada University Postgraduate Art community, commonly known as SAGA. SAGA sent representatives from the dance division to perform their Nyawiji Mukti dance and from the theater division to perform a poetry musicalization entitled “Kau Peluk Luka Punyaku” by Inri Savitri.

Interestingly, the delegate of the theater division is a graduate student from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Linguistics study program, class of 2022. Her name is Aisyah Riska. Apart from being active in the academic field, she is also active in developing her talents in the arts by joining several art communities during lectures. This 25-year-old woman often performs at various events and art performances, one of which on this occasion was at the Pasar Jembar event. With her ability to read poetry, she managed to hypnotize the audience with her poetry musicalization. The audience was touched by her recitation of a religious poem about God who accompanies us when we are wounded and is able to heal it. “I want to awaken people to remember that in the most painful situation they are not alone, there is God who always holds them tight, so be strong and get closer to Him,” she said.

SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Basic literacy skills | SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth | SDGs 8: Economic productivity | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Fostering innovation

An interesting agenda at the “NGABUBUREAD” event held by Perpustra on Thursday, 26th of March 2024 in the courtyard of the Soegondo Building, Faculty of Cultural Sciences yesterday was Baca Sastra and Ceritra (Cerita bareng Perpustra). Baca Sastra is an expression space for reading literary works presented by Lincak. As a community of poetry lovers at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University, Lincak is an expression space for the exploration of poetry and literary works. On the occasion of that afternoon, accompanied by the sound of serene rainwater, Lincak invited people to enjoy the presentation of literary works together.

Ari Bagus Panuntun, founder of Warung Sastra and also a Lecturer in French Literature at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University, joined them for a book talk as a speaker at Ceritra. Despite his background in French literature, Bagus was interested in the book industry and founded Warung Sastra. The bookstore with the slogan “Books, Coffee, Penyetan” is a place for book lovers in Yogyakarta to read and discuss. Here, Bagus reviewed the journey of a book from the author’s hands to the buyer. In the discussion session with the audience, he also shared tips on publishing a book, especially how to choose a good and trusted book publisher.

SDGs 1: Economic resources | SDG 4: Quality education | SDGs 4: Enrolment | SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth | SDGs 8: Aid for trade | SDG 9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure | SDGs 9: Cooperation | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Development assistance 

The inaugural program of Perpustra UGM which was named  “NGABUBUREAD”, was held on Thursday, 28th of March 2024 at 3 until 8 pm at Perpustra FIB UGM, this program was a soft opening event for Perpustra UGM, presenting discussions about the twists and turns of the book industry, providing space for the expression of reading literary works, and inviting anyone who is interested in the field of literacy to join the Perpustra community, namely TEMAN-KU. At the NgabubuRead event, Perpustra activated the registration of TEMAN-KU (Teman Kuning), a community that would be a friend of literacy growth with Perpustra.

Perpustra, this container-shaped library is not just a place to read, but also a creative place to maintain a shared literacy ecosystem to realize these efforts. Furthermore, they establish the TEMAN-KU (Teman Kuning) community as a place where all people grow together in literacy. This space can not only be used by local students, but can also be used by local publishers in Yogyakarta and other publishers to introduce literacy.

In addition to being a place for creativity, Perpustra can also be a place for people to sell and leave books. Perpustra is open every weekday (Monday-Friday) from 12 to 8 pm. Perpustra also offers opportunities for those of you who have the same goals to collaborate by contacting the phone number: +6285742473943 (Anggita Triyana) or email: perpustra.ugm@gmail.com. So far, Perpustra’s collaborators include Kitabisa, Kompas.com, Gramedia, Rekata Studio, bloc, Yogyakarta Literature Festival, Amnesty International, Bentara Budaya, KPG, Baca Bareng, Rumah Dongeng Mentari, Festival Lestari, Pasar Wiguna, Festival Kata, etc.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger | SDGs 2: End hunger | SDG 5: Gender equality | SDGs 5: Equality | SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation | SDGs 6: Clean water | SDG 10: Reduced inequalities | SDGs 10: Children | SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities | SDGs 11: Community | SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions | SDGs 16: Conflicts | SDG 17: Partnerships for goals | SDGs 17: Global partnership

In the midst of the raging conflict, the Palestinian people continue to struggle tirelessly to survive. To find out more about their condition and struggle, students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada attended a TALK SHOW entitled “The Struggle of Palestinian Women and Children Amidst the Israeli Onslaught” with FATMA ALGHUSAIN as the guest speaker. She is the Executive Director of Amna Care Fund, an organization that helps the Palestinian people, especially women and children. “I have experienced four wars while living in Palestine. But this one is not a war. This is genocide!” She said. Mrs Fatma Alghusain also explained the current situation in Palestine.

This activity will be held on Tuesday, 26 March 2024 at 11.00 – 13.00 WIB at Soegondo Building 709 for participants who can attend offline, and via the zoom link for participants who can only follow the event remotely or online. As a form of solidarity for the freedom of the Palestinian people, talk show participants can also prepare their best infaq. In addition to students, the event was also attended by the Head of Arabic Literature Study Programme UGM, Dr Zulfa Purnamawati, S. S., M.Hum. and Mr Imam Hidayat, S.Pd.I., M.Pd. as a representative of Dompet Dhuafa Yogyakarta. After the Q&A session ended, the Head of Arabic Literature UGM handed over souvenirs to the speakers. With this cooperation between the Arabic literature programme and the Dompet Dhuafa, it is hoped that it can make people aware of the current conditions in Palestine.