SDGs 4: Quality Education

Culture is an inherent part of human daily life. The importance of culture in everyday life cannot be separated from its essence which plays an important role in determining the identity of a society. The formation of a community’s identity can be formed with characteristics consisting of a variety of cultural elements, including language, knowledge, and art. The element of art is the main concern in seeing the uniqueness of a culture, one of the components of art that attracts a lot of attention is the art of music.

Rafi Karninto is a 2020 Faculty of Cultural Sciences Anthropology UGM student who has produced several musical artworks that combine local cultural diversity. Rafi, his nickname, started his musical journey in 2017. Initially, he started his musical journey by covering regional songs such as the cover of the first song from Banjar, called Saputangan Babuncu Ampat in November 2017. After successfully covering his first song on the YouTube platform, Rafi started his cultural content videos on his YouTube platform by bringing cultural elements to gaming, vlogs, and dance creations.

In 2019, Rafi released his first original song titled “Pantun Tidayu”. Interestingly, this song combines three different languages: Ahe (Dayak Kanayatn), Pontianak Malay, and Mandarin. These three languages were also inspired by the origins of the three ethnic groups in West Kalimantan.

“From the beginning of creating the song, I enjoyed experimenting by blending music from different cultures into one piece,” Rafi said about the cultural musical work he has created.

Not only does Rafi sing songs in different languages, but he also arranges and orchestrates the arrangements of the songs he creates. Two of Rafi’s latest songs, titled “Pemuda” and “Jatinegara,” showcase his talent and ability in musical instruments. The song “Pemuda” was initially composed for a dance creation to commemorate Youth Pledge Day on October 28th while he was interning at the Youth Pledge Museum. In this song, he arranged the instrumentation to be adapted to the music of the 1920s era, while still incorporating ethnic elements from 7 regions that participated in the Second Youth Congress.

“As for the song ‘Jatinegara,’ the inspiration comes from my own neighborhood, Jatinegara District, which has a history from the colonial period and has interesting places to explore. The music uses Betawi gambang kromong with additional modern elements,” Rafi explained about the background of developing the song “Jatinegara,” which he created on March 9th, 2024.

From the various cultural works he has created and preserved, Rafi hopes to collaborate more with various artists and other cultural content creators in the future. He also hopes that his own works and those of cultural enthusiasts can continuously preserve local and Indonesian culture by having opportunities to showcase their works at various events.

To listen to more of Rafi’s music creations, readers can visit a dedicated page containing Rafi’s music works at this link.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | SDGs 17: Partnerships For The Goals

On Friday, March 8, 2024, as many as 16 UGM Archaeology students accompanied by three Department of Archaeology lecturers participated in the Borobudur Youth Engage 2024. This program is part of the cultural introduction program from UNESCO to youth, especially university students. The Borobudur Youth Engage 2024 program with UNESCO Jakarta collaborates with some universities such as Universitas Gadjah Mada through the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, Atma Jaya University, and Tidar University. In this activity, UGM Archaeology participated in a tour around Borobudur Temple and Borobudur Temple Tourism Area to learn the history of archaeological remains and management of cultural heritage management.

The UGM Archaeology group departed from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM at 05.30 WIB and arrived at Borobudur Temple at 06.30 WIB. When arriving at the location, the UGM Archaeology group went to the registration desk and was given special equipment in the form of sandals called upanat sandals. Upanat means footwear which is suitable to be mentioned as special sandals that must be used when visiting Borobudur Temple as a preventive measure from the Borobudur Conservation Center to prevent damage to the temple’s andesite stones. Uniquely, the shape of these upanat sandals follows the shape of the footwear found on Karmawibhangga Relief No. 150 from the walls of Borobudur Temple.

After registration, UGM Archaeology students including Atma Jaya University and Tidar University students visited the pavilion not far from the registration location to watch historical presentations and introduction of supporting sites around the Borobudur Temple area. After watching the presentation, the students departed on foot to the Borobudur Temple courtyard area. Arriving at the courtyard area, the students were assisted by a guide who explained the points of interest around the Borobudur Temple area which is a tourist attraction that is often visited by domestic and foreign visitors. The guide then invited the group to climb Borobudur Temple for a further tour of the meaning of the reliefs and statues around the temple.

After the temple tour ended, the group of students and lecturers visited one of the cultural heritage sites around Borobudur Temple, namely the Brongsongan Site. At this site, students are invited to have an interactive discussion with questions and answers about the Brongsongan Site which has some temple-style relics. After visiting the Brongsongan Site, the group followed the last agenda which was a meeting session and presentation by successful figures from the management of the Borobudur Temple area, one of which was the famous Batik Nawasena craft to the international scene.

This activity ended at 14.00 WIB, with the UGM Archaeology group returning to the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. The implementation of one of several activities from UNESCO is a start for UGM Archaeology students to recognize and learn more about local cultural heritage.

SDGs 1: No Poverty | SGDs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SGDs 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Yogyakarta, Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – The Arabic Literature Study Program of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held an Entrepreneurship and Self-Development Lecture by presenting a national trainer, Dr. Ir. Siti Andarwati, S.Pt., MP, IPM, ASEAN Eng. The event aimed to equip students with knowledge and practical skills in building an entrepreneurial spirit and developing self-potential. The lecture, which was attended by high enthusiasm from UGM Arabic Literature students, was held twice online, namely on February 20 and 27, 2024.

In the first session, Dr. Ir. Siti Andarwati, S.Pt., MP., IPM., ASEAN Eng. presented material on “Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Scope”. This material opened the students’ insights into the basic concepts of entrepreneurship, potential business opportunities, and strategies for building a successful business. In the second session, the focus shifted to “Potential for Student Entrepreneurship Development”. This national trainer encouraged students to dare to be entrepreneurs and explore their potential. As a form of implementation of the knowledge gained, the students at the end of the activity were given the task of developing business ideas by making products. This aims to train their creative and critical thinking skills in building innovative and sustainable businesses.

Through this Entrepreneurship and Self-Development Lecture, it is hoped that it can foster an entrepreneurial spirit and equip UGM Arabic Literature students with qualified knowledge and skills to become entrepreneurs.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDGs 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Yogyakarta, Wednesday, February 28, 2024 – The Arabic Literature Study Program of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held a Public Lecture entitled “The Importance of Arabic Literature in the Contemporary World of Work” on Wednesday (28/2) at the Auditorium of Soegondo Building 7th Floor, Faculty of Arts UGM. The event was attended by Dr. Zulfa Purnamawati, S.S., M.Hum., Chairperson of the Arabic Literature Study Program, Arief Budiman, S.S., M.A., as Ikmasa supervisor, and two inspiring speakers, Afifatul Munjidah and Muhammad Egata Asysyakur, alumni of Arabic Literature UGM who are successful in various fields.

This Public Lecture aims to equip Arabic Literature students with insights and knowledge about broad job opportunities in the contemporary era. Afifatul Munjidah, an alumnus of the Arabic Literature class of 2013 who is active in the field of education and entrepreneurship, shared her experience in building a multidimensional career. Afif is a practitioner teacher in the Kampus Merdeka program, partnership staff at Baitul Maal Nurul Ashri, and the owner of Moen House Id and Moenjastip. He emphasized the importance of having plans and strategies to achieve goals, as well as always striving to develop themselves.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Egata Asysyakur, an alumnus of the Arabic Literature class of 2015 Assistant Manager of Sheikh Muhammad Jaber, and Founder of PT Albalad Alameen Indonesia, told his inspiring story of building a company engaged in Hajj and Umrah, halal tourism, da’wah events, and publishing. He motivated the students to focus on completing their responsibilities because Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change themselves.

This public lecture was closed with a question and answer session from the students. It is hoped that by organizing this event, UGM Arabic Literature students will be more motivated to develop their potential and achieve broad job opportunities in various fields.

SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Yogyakarta, Saturday, February 24, 2024 – The Arabic Literature Student Association (IKMASA) of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) inaugurated the Naseem Cabinet in an Ikmasa 2024/2025 Management Inauguration event held on Saturday, February 24, 2024 in Soegondo Room 709.

The event was attended by Dr. Sudibyo, M.Hum., Head of the Department of Language and Literature, and Dr. Zulfa Purnamawati, S.S., M.Hum., Head of the Arabic Literature Study Program. The handover of positions was carried out from the old chairman, Sabik Hikami, to Muhammad Nabil Sahabuddin who will lead Ikmasa for the 2024/2025 period.

This activity began with the opening, remarks from the Head of Language and Literature, remarks from the Head of Arabic Literature Study Program, handover and inauguration, remarks from the new Head of Ikmasa, and ended with closing and group photos. It is hoped that with this change of management, Ikmasa can continue to develop and advance UGM Arabic Literature students in various fields.